SOUTHEND United continued their remarkable November record by returning to winning ways at Mansfield Town on Saturday.

Goals from Ryan Leonard and David Worrall saw the Shrimpers end their five match winless streak with a 2-1 triumph at Field Mill.

And Blues have now gone 24 matches and five years since being beaten in the month before Christmas, much to the delight of manager Phil Brown.

“I’m delighted for the players and I’m delighted with the hard work and the hard graft they put in to win here,” said the Shrimpers chief.

“Mansfield asked us a few questions and we answered them for 77 minutes. “The one time we didn’t they scored which made for an exciting finish but we should’ve been out of sight by then.”

The returning Jakub Sokolik was punished for a poor mistake in the closing stages as Ollie Palmer fired home to deny Blues a clean sheet.

And Brown was frustrated not to have been able to shut out the Stags.

“If we had got the clean sheet it would have been the perfect day and we need to get that kind of mentality back,” said the Blues boss.

“Last season we had 20 or 21 clean sheets and we need that back in our play if we are to do well again this season.”

Blues’ win, which was their first at Field Mill since 1990, also moved them back up to seventh in the League Two standings.

The first half performance was particularly impressive and earned high praise from Brown.

“The opening 45 minutes was close to the best I have seen us play since I’ve been here,” said the 55-year-old.

“That set us up nicely and helped us to get the win which we now want to build on.”

The Echo was denied permission to talk to goalscorers Ryan Leonard and David Worrall at the end of the game.