Two second half goals in quick succession dealt Southend their first defeat of pre-season at the hands of Premier League outfit Fulham.

Erik Nevland and Danny Murphy were both on target, as Fulham left Roots Hall on the back of a 2-0 victory.

Southend made an encouraging start to the match and had the better of the first half.

Damian Scannell was a lively presence down the right flank and cut inside to unleash a heavy shot over the crossbar.

Lee Barnard came close to breaking the deadlock when he latched on to a threaded pass from Nicky Bailey, but was denied by a smart save from goalkeeper David Stockdale.

Southend continued to attack and a brilliant run from Bailey nearly ended with the goal it deserved.

Bailey - playing against his former side - bypassed a series of challenges as he raced through the Fulham defence, only for Stockdale to make a vital save from in front of goal.

Fulham applied more pressure after the break though, with Nevland hitting the woodwork and Steve Mildenhall tipping a Murphy free kick around the post.

It was the same two players who then scored, as Nevland beat Mildenhall to Simon Davies' left wing cross to head into an empty net after 59 minutes.

Just two minutes later and Murphy doubled their lead by blasting the ball into the bottom left-hand corner from the edge of the box.

Even though Fulham had clearly stepped it up, Southend still went close with Adam Barrett crashing a header on to the post before Lee Barnard fired narrowly over the top from an acute angle.

Southend: Mildenhall (Joyce 74), Francis, Sankofa (Herd 46), Bailey, Clarke, Barrett, McCormack, Barnard, Walker, Scannell (Furlong 46), Moussa.