SEVEN days after slipping to defeat against Morecambe, Southend United suffered a further setback against another of their bogey teams, losing 2-0 at Luton Town.

The Shrimpers have now failed to win any of their last 13 visits to the Hatters, stretching back 50 years.

And their Kenilworth Road curse continued with something of a whimper at the weekend.

Blues were well below par in the first half and produced their worst 45 minutes of the season so far.

Southend struggled to maintain possession, build up pressure and hold the ball up in the final third, while also struggling at the back.

Scott Griffiths and Alex Lawless were allowed far too much time and space down the left hand side for Luton’s opening goal, while the second came following a bad mistake from Cian Bolger.

The centre-back carelessly gave the ball away on the edge of his own penalty area, which enabled Andy Drury to tee up Mark Cullen who fired home to seal his side’s victory.

The goal also made for another miserable afternoon for Bolger who also suffered a nasty head wound and concussion which forced him to be substituted just before the break.

Those mishaps also continued the Irishman’s indifferent start to his Shrimpers career.

The defender became Blues’ most expensive signing in six years when he signed from Bolton Wanderers, for £25,000, on the eve of the season.

However, after a steady couple of games, he was shown an early red card at Plymouth Argyle before a thigh problem extended his spell on the sidelines.

He then found it hard to force his way back in to the side before being given an opportunity to impress against the Hatters, only for it to go horribly wrong.

Bolger could now be forced out again with the concussion and Blues suddenly have big problems at the back.

With Luke Prosser suffering a calf injury and Mads Ibenfeldt fracturing a bone in his foot, Adam Thompson is now the only fully fit, recognised centre-back in Southend’s squad and even he is now just a booking away from a one match ban.

Depending on the severity of the injuries and how long, particularly Prosser, will be absent for, boss Phil Brown may well have to delve back in to the transfer market to sign a centre-back on loan.

It is also simply vital that the Shrimpers get back to being defensively solid as they look unable to score too many goals at the other end of the pitch.

Blues have hit the back of the net just 12 times in their 12 league games so far this season, the second lowest total in the top half of the table.

It goes without saying that Southend have to start scoring on a more consistent basis and Saturday’s second half showed glimpses of how that could possibly happen.

For a start, Jack Payne needs to definitely be in the team as he remains Blues’ biggest and most dangerous creative force by quite some distance.

Barry Corr also poses more of a threat than the other strikers at the club and has the experience, positional awareness and physical attributes to trouble defences at this level, given the right kind of service.

Summer signing David Worrall – who missed out on the action against the Hatters - perhaps now also deserves an opportunity to show what he can do as Blues bid to turn things around after two successive defeats.

However, despite those setbacks, Phil Brown’s side remain fifth in the League Two table and are up there with the early pace setters.

But if that is to remain the case, first half performances like the one at Luton cannot be tolerated.

And massive improvements need to be made in both penalty areas, with perhaps some new signings in those areas too.