IN a week which saw Southend United having to defend their ticket prices, the Shrimpers handed their supporters value for money with an impressive 3-0 win against Bradford City at Roots Hall on Saturday.

The victory handed Blues back to back triumphs for the first time since February and also made it six League One matches without defeat.

Adding to that, the Shrimpers are now unbeaten in eight home matches and have risen up to ninth in the table, just a point outside the play-off positions.

But Saturday’s latest success came courtesy of key players whose work for the team often goes unnoticed.

Most notable of all was midfielder Will Atkinson who took centre stage by bagging a brace against his former side.

Atkinson’s energy levels and work-rate are among the best in the lower leagues but his most effective work is usually more appreciated inside rather than outside the dressing room.

However, right now, the midfielder is actually playing a key part in the Shrimpers’ style of play, combining two roles across the centre of the park.

The 28-year-old is often required to tuck more in to the middle to prevent Blues being outnumbered in a key area of the pitch but he is then also needed to deal with opposing wingers, team up with Jason Demetriou and also get forward whenever possible.

That workload, which also needs a real tactical brain, can often enable more creative players to push forward in to more notable attacking areas.

But on Saturday it was Atkinson emerging as Southend’s unlikely goalscoring hero.

The midfielder had not netted in nine months and 31 games before facing the Bantams and had not scored twice in the same game since lining up for Rochdale against Morecambe in December 2009.

However, Atkinson was a man inspired on Saturday and showed great coolness and quality to fire home both of the goals.

And only a goal-line clearance from his ex-Bradford team-mate James Meredith stopped him scoring the most unexpected of hat-tricks.

Atkinson’s efforts made him the obvious choice for man of the match and the 28-year-old – who will be making his 150th appearance for the club when Blues face Swindon Town tomorrow night – fully deserves his moment in the limelight.

But it was not just Atkinson impressing against the Bantams as the Shrimpers were forced to withstand spells of pressure against a Bradford side who started the day in the automatic promotion places.

Adam Thompson – another unheralded player – played a crucial part at the heart of the back four, keeping Bradford’s dangerous strike-force quiet before also popping up with a skilful assist for Atkinson’s second goal of the game.

To his right hand side, Demetriou also shone on his return from international action with Cyprus and again displayed incredible fitness levels to charge up and down the flank to nullify the potential threat posed by the Bantams’ highly-rated left-back James Meredith.

But, when Bradford did breach Blues’ back four, there were unable to find a way past goalkeeper Mark Oxley who continued his own recent improvements with another commanding and confident display.

Similar to the Shrimpers as a whole, Oxley made a shaky start to the season but is now beginning to shine on a more consistent basis.

His latest clean sheet made Saturday’s victory even more pleasing and the rare back to back wins have provided Blues a solid base to build on.

As a result, Phil Brown’s side are completely unrecognisable to the disorganised, unsettled unit which took to the pitch only a few weeks ago and, with more players now starting to shine, Southend could well continue to cause a few surprises this season.