Two goals from Francis Laurent helped Southend United twice come from behind at home to Brentford to earn a 2-2 draw.
An early strike from former striker Charlie MacDonald summed up a disappointing first half, but the Blues produced a rousing performance after the break, despite the fact the gap from safety increased to five points in the League One table.
The Blues saw their preparations hit as early as the warm-up, after captain Adam Barrett aggravated his hamstring and was replaced in the line-up by Jean-Yves M'Voto, as Pat Baldwin took over the armband.
Brentford started the more purposeful side, with MacDonald threading the ball through to Lewis Grabban to run on goal, but with just Steve Mildenhall to beat, he blazed the ball on to the roof of the net.
Yet it was a carbon copy move that brought about the opening goal in the 21st minute, with Carl Cort this time playing the incisive pass for MacDonald to race in the clear and make no mistake to drill the ball underneath the body of Mildenhall and into the back of the net.
Laurent looked to offer a threat at the other end of the field when heading just past the left-hand post from Simon Francis's free kick before shooting over the top from the edge of the box.
Another opportunity arrived at the end of the first half, when Scott Vernon reacted first to flick on Johnny Herd's corner, but Karleigh Osborne was in the right place to advert the danger by heading the ball over the top of his own crossbar.
Southend were much improved after the interval, with Vernon shooting off target from a decent position inside the box before a short corner saw Alan McCormack drill a long range strike narrowly over the top of the goal.
But with 56 minutes on the clock, the Blues were back on level terms.
Good work down the right wing saw Moussa play Laurent into the box and his mazy run led to a low shot deflecting into the net past Wojciech Szczesny.
The same combination nearly sent Laurent in the clear, but he was unable to control Moussa's through ball before the Belgian midfielder had an excellent chance himself, but shot over from inside the box.
Despite being on top though, Brentford hit Southend on the break in the 62nd minute, as the visitors picked up possession in midfield and counter attacked forward, leaving Carl Cort in the clear to arrow the ball beyond Mildenhall.
Yet within a minute, the Blues were back on level terms, with Moussa's cross deflecting into the path of Laurent in front of goal, who knocked in his fifth goal of the season.
There was a long delay as goalkeeper Szczesny was injured in the build-up to the move, ultimately being replaced by Nikki Bull.
Southend continued to press for a winner, but Brentford gave signs of needing to be on guard at the other end, as Myles Weston's 15 yard strike was parried to safety by Mildenhall.
Jean-Francois Christophe came close from a free kick, with his shot from a tight angle blocked by Bull before seven minutes of added-on time was displayed by the fourth official.
A succession of corners continued to cause Brentford trouble, but they again took advantage to break forward from one such attack, with Grabban faced with just Mildenhall to beat, but the goalkeeper turned his low shot behind the goal.
It was the last chance of the match, with the final whistle blown on an entertaining affair, with Southend returning to host Brighton & Hove Albion this Saturday.
Southend: Mildenhall, Francis, M'Voto, Baldwin, Herd, Grant, Christophe, McCormack, Moussa, Laurent, Vernon.
Brentford: Szczesny (Bull 67), Bean (Hunt 42), Cort, MacDonald, Weston, Wood, Diagouraga, Osborne (Foster 46), Grabban, Balkestein, Legge.
