SOUTHEND United midfielder Anthony Wordsworth admitted he felt like crying tears of joy after firing the Shrimpers to a 2-1 win against Oxford United.

Wordsworth was making his first start since March after recovering from a hamstring injury.

And he was delighted to mark his return with a match winning penalty at Roots Hall.

“There’s no better buzz than scoring a goal and I felt like crying when it went in after so long out,” said Wordsworth.

“I’m really pleased to be back playing and I was so glad to get the goal.

“I was going to chip the penalty down the middle but as I ran up to take one of their players shouted down the middle so I changed my mind at the last minute and sent the keeper the wrong way.”

Wordsworth’s goal came 14 minutes from time.

But the 27-year-old admitted he was fortunate to still be on the field after avoiding a second yellow card for a mistimed challenge on Chris Maguire.

“I was a bit lucky to get away with it,” said Wordsworth who was booked for diving in the first half.

“I caught him with my arm but it was unintentional.

“But for the first booking I didn’t actually appeal for a foul.

“I went down but put my hand up straight away to say it wasn’t a foul but the referee still decided to book me.”

Wordsworth made the most of the let off by scoring the game’s decisive goal.

And the midfielder was thrilled to help Blues bounce back from Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at Northampton Town.

“It was a big response after Saturday,” said Wordsworth.

“We went down to 10 men but it was still disappointing to let in four goals.

“Tonight shows the character we’ve got in the team.

“It’s a big performance and hopefully we can kick on from here.”

But Wordsworth, who admitted to being shocked to start, was also keen to highlight Mark Oxley’s part in the victory.

The shot-stopper was at fault for Northampton’s first goal at the weekend but responded in fine fashion against the O’s, making an impressive late save to stop Wes Thomas scoring.

“Mark Oxley made a brilliant save,” said Wordsworth.

“He’s been brilliant after he knew he made a mistake on Saturday.

“He deserves a special mention and it was a big response from him.

“He was under pressure and he showed a lot of guts.”

Despite his improved performance, Oxley could not keep out Kane Hemmings’ equaliser just before the break.

But Wordsworth felt the Shrimpers paid the price for protesting too long for what appeared to be a clear foul on Ben Coker.

“It was definitely a foul because their lad has pushed Ben Coker but we switched off,” said Wordsworth.

“Instead of arguing with the referee we should have switched on.

“It was a sloppy goal to give away but we showed good character to bounce back and get the three points.”