FOR the second Saturday in succession, Southend United claimed an excellent and entertaining victory away from home, coming from behind to beat Portsmouth 2-1.

Last time out the Shrimpers had fought back from being a goal and man down to triumph 3-2 at Oxford United.

And there was certainly no shortage of drama at Fratton Park either.

But a game containing three goals, two red cards and plenty of other incidents, eventually swung the way of Southend, with Joe Pigott bagging the decisive goal to continue his excellent start with the club.

Pigott has now bagged two goals in three games since signing on loan from Charlton Athletic.

And his presence in attack has certainly handed Blues a timely boost and a far more prolific edge to their play.

For prior to Pigott's arrival, the Shrimpers' fine build up play would often go unrewarded and spells of sustained pressure were not being translated in to points.

As a result, two goals were scored in just five games but that statistic has now been turned on its head with five goals coming from the last two outings.

Switching to a 4-4-2 formation also seems to have given Blues far more of a threat and far more balance in the final third of the pitch.

Combine that with fine defensive organisation, the impressive fitness levels, an excellent goalkeeper and a real fighting spirit and you can see just why the Shrimpers could well be in with a real chance of winning promotion this season.

Right now, in fact, a worrying lack of discipline seems to be the only real negative and Barry Corr was the latest player to be shown a needless red card at the weekend.

The Shrimpers have now had four red cards in their last five games and have the worst disciplinary record in the whole of League Two.

Somehow or other this simply has to improve because, despite their impressive attributes, Blues cannot afford to keep on being reduced to 10 men.

Players have now been forced to miss a combined total of 15 games due to suspensions and the Shrimpers will need their main men available on a regular basis if they are to challenge for a top three finish.

That now seems more likely than at any stage this season, with a number of players again putting in big performances to keep Portsmouth at bay.

Daniel Bentley excelled between the sticks late on to secure the three points while just ahead of him the blossoming centre-back partnership of Adam Thompson and Jerome Binnom-Williams completely nullified the threat of the home-side's strikers.

Further forward, David Worrall chipped in with two more assists and Michael Timlin showed exactly why he should always be in the starting line-up with a hugely influential display.

His presence also enabled Ryan Leonard to attack with far more freedom which led to him bagging Blues' equalising goal.

The Shrimpers now have increased competition for places and also boast the best away record in the division having already won eight times on the road this term.

But whether or not they can maintain the new found attacking prowess when playing at Roots Hall remains to be seen.

After all, Blues' last three home games have all ended without a goal and Phil Brown's side have hit the back of the net just 11 times in 13 league outings at their own ground.

That makes this Saturday's home clash with York City a hugely significant encounter.

Another victory would keep the new found feel-good factor going and would certainly bode well for the remainder of the season.

Continuing the new found goalscoring form would also increase the chances of success and so too would learning how to keep all 11 men on the pitch!