Southend United boss Phil Brown has described the performance of Michael Timlin in Thursday night's victory over Stevenage as "the bravest" that he has ever witnessed.

The 30-year-old was forced to play with a protective cap during the League Two playoff semi-final at Roots Hall due to a clash of heads with Bira Dembele in the first leg.

Timlin was in no doubt that he was ready to feature, despite receiving a number of stitches to the wound above his eye, and Brown was quick to praise the scorer of his side's third goal on the night.

"For Michael Timlin to get that goal - dear me! It emphasised the commitment that was shown to try to win the game," BBC Sport quotes him as saying. "We never do things easy at this place - it doesn't seem that way anyway.

"I have made some big decisions in my life football-wise and that's probably the biggest, Michael Timlin to play. On Sunday he went in for that horrific challenge and their captain's laid out.

"In the 90th minute here he went into another header with a skullcap on - it was just the bravest performance I've seen from an individual in my managerial time."

Southend won the tie 4-2 on aggregate to advance through to the final, where they will meet Wycombe Wanderers.