SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown heaped praise on his side, despite them suffering a 1-0 defeat against AFC Wimbledon at Roots Hall on Tuesday night.

George Francomb bagged the only goal of the game on the hour mark at Roots Hall.

But Brown refused to criticise his team’s display.

“I thought we were excellent and the players were fantastic with their application and how they tried to play,” said the Shrimpers chief.

“We played some good stuff and must have created at least 10 chances. Four of them were clear cut in the first half alone and how we can back in 0-0 at the break I have no idea.

“We threw the kitchen sink at them but their goalkeeper had one of those nights.

“Being honest, I also thought our finishing wasn’t clever enough and we’ve paid the price for that.”

The defeat was Blues’ first in League Two this season and Brown is now desperate to ensure his side get back to winning ways when they make the long trip to Carlisle United on Saturday.

“I’m sure our fans will have walked away from the game against AFC Wimbledon wondering how we’ve lost and it’s my job to work that out,” said Brown.

“We then need to take that in to the game at Carlisle on Saturday and make sure we get a better result there.”