Southend grabbed a vital three points in their fight for survival as they put in a gutsy performance to beat Burton Albion 3-2 at Roots Hall with Timothee Dieng’s header proving to be the winner.
Blues took the lead midway through the first-half when Simon Cox played a low ball into the box for Sam Mantom to slide in and score from close range.
Southend then doubled their lead early in the second-half when Cox had the wherewithal to pick out Harry Bunn at the far post for a tap in and put daylight between the two sides.
Burton though got one back on the hour mark when John Brayford scored with a neat finish after getting on the end of a Reece Hutchinson cross.
But Blues would come back and restore their two-goal lead shortly after when Dieng rose highest to nod in Michael Kightly’s far post cross to put Southend on course for three huge points.
Mark Oxley pulled off a superb save to deny Lucas Akins late on before Marcus Harness slotted in to make it a nervy finish with four minutes of normal time remaining.
Kevin Bond’s side though held out for their first win under his stewardship and first since mid-January as they climbed out of the relegation zone ahead of the 3pm kick-offs.
