ANDY Woodman admits Colchester United playmaker Jack Payne caused his newly-promoted Bromley side problems in their League Two clash.
But the Ravens boss felt the U's midfielder did not hurt his team as much as he expected, following the 1-1 draw at the JobServe Community Stadium.
Payne was Colchester's man of the match and supplied the cross for Owura Edwards' equaliser but former U's goalkeeper Woodman was content with a point.
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Woodman said: "Jack Payne is a good player.
"We knew that Jack would cause us problems, dropping into areas where we couldn't kind of get the press on him.
"No-one really wanted to come out of their holes and be exposed, so it was probably a bit of a nice day for him.
"But he didn't really hurt us as much as I thought he would - I know that sounds a bit weird!
"It was only the last 15 minutes but other than that, I thought we were pretty comfortable in certain parts of the game."
Bromley had led through Michael Cheek's first-half penalty, in their first-ever league game with Colchester.
But Edwards' equaliser rescued a point for the U's, as the spoils were shared.
“I’ll take a point away from home, at this point in the season," said Woodman.
“We are learning on the job and learning quick because last week, we might have lost this.
“It’s no good me flowering it up and saying we were brilliant in both halves.
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“I’d be lying if I said we weren’t up against it a little bit in the second half.
“They brought on some pretty quick players and pressed us back a little bit, like you expect the home team to do.
“I think they’ll be a little bit more disappointed than us but we’ll take a point.
“I’m only worried about what we do and I think it’s a good point for us.
“Last week, we were in a good position (against Crewe) and we took our foot off the pedal and cost ourselves.
“We’re learning on the job and we’re learning pretty quickly, so I’m well happy.
"I think it's really important to remind everybody that we haven't got the riches and the budgets of these clubs.
"It's not an excuse, that's just fact and I'm not moaning about that.
"We've not got as much money to spend on players as other clubs.
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"We've kept the core group of the players that went up and I think they're doing well; I think they've given a good showing.
"If you'd have said to me seven points at this stage, I'd have said 'brilliant' so I'm well chuffed.
"We know what we are; we're not a big club, we're a small club that's on the up and we're growing and learning so no qualms from me.
"A point at Colchester, we'll take that."
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