View from various sections of the press...
Southend Echo
SOUTHEND United slumped to a 3-1 defeat at struggling Northampton Town this afternoon to heap more pressure on manager Phil Brown.
The setback – which came in Brown’s 250th game in charge of the club – was Blues’ seventh in eight games.
And it came in the Shrimpers’ first outing since the departures of Ryan Leonard and Nile Ranger.
BBC Sport
Northampton gave their League One survival hopes a big boost with a win over Southend.
John-Joe O'Toole's early opener was cancelled out by Jason Demetriou's penalty but Matt Grimes scored from the spot before Alex Revell's late third lifted the Cobblers to within two points of safety as Southend suffered a sixth league defeat in seven.
Northampton Chronicle & Echo
The final scoreline was deceptively comfortable but, as far as importance goes, these three points were about as precious as they come and the fact Northampton earned them alongside a much-improved performance, in the second-half at least, suggests they are not done with this season just yet.
A few nerves had been shredded by the time Alex Revell swept a precise finish into the bottom corner in the final minute, finally consigning Southend United to another defeat and allowing Sixfields to breathe easy, but despite an edgy, unconvincing finale, Town had done more than enough to merit their victory.