SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown was full of praise for the Shrimpers’ 2-1 win against Rochdale - but still found it torturous to watch!

Simon Cox’s late strike secured all three points for Blues at Roots Hall.

But the free-flowing nature of the game made it tough viewing for Brown.

“It was a game that had everything but as a manager it was torture to watch,” said Brown.

“There was imagination, flair and quality on show out there but it was our character which won it in the end.

“We have a good solid spine who stand up to things being thrown at them on and off the field of play and that’s got us the win.

“This is the first time Rochdale have lost in a long, long time.

“They had won their last six games so it’s a great achievement and it was a great finish from Coxy to win us the game.”

Cox’s strike, three minutes into injury time, saw Blues record a valuable victory in a game which saw both teams shown red cards in the first half.

Dale centre-back Keith Keane was dismissed for a professional foul on Marc-Antoine Fortune before Jermaine McGlashan was shown a second yellow card for the Shrimpers.

However, Brown did not agree with the winger’s first booking and also felt former Southend loanee Matt Lund should have been sent off for the visitors at the start of the second half.

“Jermaine McGlashan has clearly won the ball for his first yellow card,” said Brown.

“Whether or not the referee has seen the challenge as over-zealous I’m not sure but it was a good tackle from where I was standing.

“Matty Lund, who we know is not a dirty player, then rode his luck three or four times and by taking him off it showed what they thought.

“But we came through that adversity and it sets us up nicely for the Bolton game now.”