Sturrock: 'Hope fighting spirit showed will persuade the big crowd to come back'
Blues boss Paul Sturrock took some of the flak away from his side after seeing his side lose top spot in League Two after the 1-1 draw against Morecambe in front of 9,732, their biggest crowd of the season, following the Roots Hall footy for a fiver promotion.
Phil Jevons put the Shrimps in front in the 53rd minute but later saw red for shoving Anthony Grant, before Stewart Drummond's own goal salvaged a point for Southend after superb work from right-back Sean Clohessy.Sturrock told the PA: "At the end of the day it's a point gained and not two lost because we came back from a losing position. The first half was a non-event and Morecambe made it difficult for us with five men at the back. I tried to change things because of that at the start of the second half and I hold my hands up to getting it wrong. The changes made us more open and led to them taking the lead."
However, Luggy was happy with the fightback that saw his side at least end the day in second place with a four point gap over Port Vale in 8th.
Sturrock continued: "But we responded well to that and that's pleasing. We would've lost a game like this last season and I hope the fighting spirit we showed towards the end will persuade the big crowd here to come back next week."
We hope so, as Martin Ling's Torquay United take on the Essex boys next weekend.
The Official Match Report: www.southendunited.co.uk
Bentley: 'We knew we would be under pressure for long periods' No real complaints from Shrimps player/manager Jim Bentley as the draw maintained Morecambe's superb unbeaten league run away from the Globe Arena, where they have lost three times! Bentley also spoke to the PA: "I'm devastated not to have won but, if you look at the bigger picture, we have gone down to 10 men against the team that were top of the table, so it was a hard-earned point. Everyone from the back to the front was on top of their game and has defended well." Harsh words were said to his team by Bentley after the last home defeat to AFC Wimbledon and he felt they responed well. Bentley said:"We knew it was going to be a big challenge and I think the lads were up to the challenge. We knew we would be under pressure for long periods and we would have to get them on the break, which is what we have done. I told them before the match that the important thing was to stay unbeaten away from home and tighten up, which we have done." They have indeed, but remain four points behind the Shrimpers and have to improve that record on their own turf. A local view: www.morecambefc.comLeague Two Top Seven
1 Crawley Town 13 6 0 1 16 6 3 1 2 8 12 9 1 3 24 18 28 +6 2 Southend United 13 4 2 1 10 4 4 0 2 12 9 8 2 3 22 13 26 +9 3 Oxford United 13 2 4 0 10 5 4 1 2 8 6 6 5 2 18 11 23 +7 4 Cheltenham Town 13 4 1 1 9 4 3 1 3 11 11 7 2 4 20 15 23 +5 5 Shrewsbury Town 13 5 1 0 13 5 2 1 4 6 11 7 2 4 19 16 23 +3 6 AFC Wimbledon 13 3 1 3 14 14 4 1 1 9 7 7 2 4 23 21 23 +2 7 Morecambe 13 2 1 3 12 7 4 3 0 12 5 6 4 3 24 12 22 +12Source: FOOTYMAD
