Source: PA
Sturrock: Poor opening cost us
Southend manager Paul Sturrock was left to rue his side`s slow start as they went down 2-1 to Cheltenham but admitted he could take some positives from the game.
Robins boss Mark Yates fired his side up by forcing them to watch a DVD of their mid-December 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Shrimpers as part of their preparations for the match.
And they certainly made amends as they raced into a two-goal lead after just five minutes thanks to Marlon Pack and Wes Thomas. Barry Corr pulled one back in the 77th minute but it was the Robins who were left whistling a sweet tune this time around.
"It was very disappointing to have gone two goals down early on during a four-minute spell when we didn`t clear our lines," said Sturrock, while also revealing he would be looking for offensive players during the January transfer window.
"Rhys (Evans) held his hands up for the first one, but it took us the whole of the first half to find our rhythm. The second half was much better and more like we have been playing, but going two goals down to any team in this league, especially Cheltenham, was always going to give us a mountain to climb.
"It's hard to take but at least we showed the positiveness in the second half that was missing in the first. If we take the first four minutes away then we have won the game, and that's the way to look at it."
