It was an all too familiar case of déjà vu for Southend United, as for the second time in the space of just four days they were cruelled denied at the very death, after suffering a 2-1 defeat at home to Charlton Athletic.
After losing to a last minute goal at Norwich City on Tuesday night, the Blues were left undone again in the final stages at Roots Hall, following unsavoury circumstances in the first half involving former midfielder Nicky Bailey.
Steve Tilson warned that Southend would need to keep Bailey quiet and it was his pathetic actions that unfortunately proved pivotal in helping Charlton towards three points they scarcely deserved.
Bailey conned the referee by feigning injury to get Jean-Francois Christophe sent off and despite Matt Paterson handing the Blues the lead, the numerical advantage allowed Charlton to win the game through second half goals from Akpo Sodje and Kyel Reid.
In the early stages, a 20 yard shot from Bailey brought a good save from Steve Mildenhall, as the goalkeeper palmed the ball behind his goal.
Paterson found himself in a decent position outside the penalty box, but could only arrow a wayward shot off target, before, at the other end, a brilliant tackle from Christophe stopped Lloyd Sam in his tracks as he looked to race through on goal.
Southend were enjoying long spells of possession and nearly opened up the scoring through Sanchez Watt, with the loanee meeting Simon Francis' right wing cross with a header which was turned around his post by Rob Elliot.
Controversy soon struck through in the 25th minute of the match though, after the Blues were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box.
As Christophe went to pick up the ball, he was pushed in the back by Bailey and as the French midfielder confronted him, Bailey dramatically fell to the floor as if he was looking for a late entry into this year's Oscars, even though there was no contact.
Despite this, the referee predictably flashed a red card to Christophe and left Southend to play out the rest of the encounter with 10 men.
From the resulting free kick, Elliot produced another fine save to push away Francis' effort, but he was soon left red-faced as Southend opened the scoring in the 31st minute.
Paterson let fly with a 30 yard strike that looked set to be comfortably saved by Elliot, but the goalkeeper somehow allowed the ball to squirm underneath his body before it crept over the goal line.
A brilliant save from Mildenhall denied Sam from a tight angle inside the box, as Southend went in at the break one nil to the good.
With the extra man in play, Charlton unsurprisingly applied the pressure after the break, with Mooney volleying into the gloves of Mildenhall before the same player was left with his head in his hands, with Simon Francis brilliantly blocking his shot in front of a gaping goal.
Mildenhall was now the far busier of the two goalkeepers and he made a fantastic save to keep out a strike from Reid before Adam Barrett arrived to head the loose ball off the line.
But with 72 minutes on the cards, Charlton drew level, as a low cross from the left by Reid was volleyed home by Akpo Sodje.
Southend certainly had their moments, with Francis coming close to scoring when drilling a free kick that cannoned back off the woodwork before Francis Laurent saw his rebound effort blocked to safety in front of goal.
Jean-Yves M'Voto probably should have scored when powering a header from a corner that flew over the top, but with six minutes of injury time soon raised, it was during the second minute of this period that Charlton were able to reverse the scoreline in their favour.
Reid was allowed to get in behind the defence and rifle a low shot past Mildenhall to provide another unjust end for a Southend side, who again deserved better reward against their promotion chasing rivals.
Southend: Mildenhall, Francis, M'Voto, Baldwin, Barrett, Scannell (Malone 71), Christophe, McCormack, Watt (Laurent 66), Paterson (Moussa 57), Vernon.
Charlton: Elliot, Richardson, Bailey, Llera, Semedo (Reid 61), Racon, Sam (Wagstaff 86), Mooney (McKenzie 72), A Sodje, Dailly, Jackson.
