Southend 2 (Wordsworth 36, Prosser 43)
Reds 1 (Scowen pen 24)
A disappointing afternoon in Essex saw the Reds slip to a 2-1 defeat, having initially had the lead through Josh Scowen's spot-kick.
The midfielder's penalty was overturned by two goals before half time, and the Reds had little to go at in front of goal after the break.
After the home side sliced a shot wide early on through Mooney, the Reds had the ball in the net at the other end although Crowley was denied by the flag.
Smith capitalised on a mistake before shooting straight at Bentley and Crowley's cool finish on the follow-up was denied by the linesman's flag with four minutes played.
Davies made a smart stop at his near post after Wordsworth capitalised on a slip by Nyatanga prior to smashing towards goal on 10 minutes.
On 18 minutes Dan Crowley went close with a free-kick from 22 yards, bending just over the bar and skimming the top of the net. At the other end, Davies had to throw his cap on another scuffed effort as Weston
The game burst into life on 23 minutes as Marley Watkins chased down a nothing ball, forcing Bentley to bring him down. The goalkeeper was only given a yellow card but Josh Scowen punished the home side as he slotted the penalty home.
The next effort of the match saw another goal and, unfortunately for the Reds, it was the home side. Weston made a nuisance of himself in the box and showed good strength before laying the ball off for Wordsworth, who drilled into the bottom corner for 1-1 on 36 minutes.
Cards were aplenty with Wabara, Wordsworth and then Pigott all finding their names in the book before half time - the latter of which for a crunching late tackle on Alfie Mawson.
It was 2-1 to Southend two minutes before half time. The home side got lucky with a deflected cross that looped over the head of Davies and to the far stick for Prosser to stab home from two yards.
Second half
Four minutes after the restart, Marley Watkins had to be replaced by Sam Winnall as Watkins was moving awkwardly following a collision in the first half.
The Reds had a decent passage of play on 51 minutes with Crowley seeing an effort blocked prompting the hosts to counter, although Smith was on hand to clear any danger.
Alfie Mawson took matters into his own hands on 58 minutes as he charged towards goal but his shot cleared the crossbar and the stand.
Lee Johnson made the Reds' second substitution on 65 minutes as Michael Smith was replaced by Simeon Jackson.
The second period was a slow burner compared to the first half but the Reds kept plugging away to try and find an equaliser. Jackson latched onto a long ball from Mawson but was thwarted by a late block in the box.
The Reds were pushing for the equaliser but nothing seemed to be dropping their way. A Sam Winnall header was cleared from under the crossbar after Dan Crowley worked his way into the box before crossing on 85 minutes.
It was a frustrating afternoon for the Reds, summed up by both Dan Crowley and Kadeem Harris losing control of the ball whilst on what could have been promising attacks.
Teams
Southend Utd: Bentley, White (c), Bolger, Prosser, Coker, Wordsworth (Rea 75), Timlin, Leonard, Mooney (Atkinson 79), Pigott, Weston (McLaughlin 87).
Subs: T. Smith, Payne, Hurst, Williams.
Reds: Davies, Wabara (Harris 73), Smith, Roberts, Nyatanga, Mawson, Pearson, Scowen, Crowley, Watkins (Winnall 49), M. Smith (Jackson 65).
Subs: Townsend, Digby, Bree, White.
Referee: Charles Breakspear
Attendance: 6,572 (487 Reds).
