“Lee Novak and Jordan Rhodes combined really well to put us back in front. But we weren’t able to keep the lead.”
Town are fourth ahead of the trip to Essex, but Smithies remains optimistic on automatic promotion.
He added: “We know we’ve drawn too many games. But I don’t think there’s too much to be down about.
“The new manager’s come in and he’s not made massive changes because he thinks there’s not a lot wrong. He’s just trying to make a few tweaks.
“When I look around the dressing room I see what’s probably the best squad in the division. We’ve 11 games to go and I fancy us to do it.”