SOUTHEND United conceded four goals in just 11 minutes to suffer a depressing and disappointing 4-1 defeat at Doncaster Rovers this afternoon.

Blues – who appeared to have skipper Anton Ferdinand sent off after the final whistle – went in front in the first half with Anthony Wordsworth heading home.

But Rovers hit back to secure their first home win of the season with midfielder Ben Whitehead bagging a hat-trick.

The Shrimpers – who have not won away at Doncaster since 1989 – started brightly with Josh Wright sending an early effort straight at Rovers goalkeeper Ian Lawlor before the visitors wasted a clearer chance to score when Simon Cox raced clean through on goal, only to send his left-footed shot over the crossbar.

But moments later came a moment of controversy as Wordsworth angered the home players and supporters with a strong challenge on Rovers midfielder Jordan Houghton.

However, after a long delay which saw referee Darren Handley speak to his assistant and the fourth official, Wordsworth was shown just a yellow card, much to the frustration of Doncaster boss Darren Ferguson.

Shortly after play resumed and, with 27 minutes on the clock, Blues were forced into making their first change of the afternoon as Harry Kyprianou limped off injured and was replaced at the heart of the back four by John White.

After the alteration, Doncaster began to improve and only a fine double save from Shrimpers goalkeeper Mark Oxley stopped them opening the scoring in the 34th minute.

The Blues custodian did well to tip John Marquis’ header onto the crossbar before also denying Tommy Rowe’s close range effort from the rebound.

But, four minutes later, it was Blues who broke the deadlock, with Wordsworth bagging his third goal in four games.

His latest effort came when a right wing cross from Elvis Bwomono caused confusion in the Shrimpers’ defence and led to Nile Ranger having a header cleared off the line by Niall Mason.

However, Wordsworth reacted quickly to the subsequent rebound and sent a well-placed header into the roof of the net from close range.

Doncaster came close to netting an immediate equaliser when James Coppinger’s 25 yard free-kick was tipped wide of the left post by Oxley but they levelled on the stroke of half-time with Marquis bagging his fifth goal of the season.

The equalising effort came when Wright’s pass was intercepted on the left flank and led to Marquis stabbing the ball home after a low cross from Rowe who Blues complained was in an offside position.

The goal provided a Doncaster with a platform to build on at the start of the second half and Darren Ferguson’s side took the lead in the 47th minute when Coppinger crashed a 25 yard-free-kick against the crossbar before Whiteman fired home the rebound.

Three minutes later, Rovers extended their lead another set piece was partially cleared into the path of Whiteman who thundered home a well-struck 25 yard shot via the underside of the crossbar.

Blues boss Phil Brown responded by bringing Jermaine McGlashan on in place of Wright but the hosts extended their lead in the 57th minute with Whiteman completing his hat-trick from the penalty spot.

The spot-kick was given after Blues skipper Anton Ferdinand had fouled Alfie May, enabling Whiteman to stroke his third goal of the afternoon into the left hand side of the net.

The effort saw Whiteman become the third player to bag a hat-trick against the Shrimpers this season and heaped further misery onto a below par Blues.

The shell-shocked visitors introduced Theo Robinson in place of Cox against his former side in the 65th minute and the striker missed a golden chance to score late on, firing straight at Lawlor from three yards.

And a frustrating afternoon for the Shrimpers was summed up after the final whistle when Ferdinand appeared to be red carded after complaining to the referee.