CELEBRATIONS hit the headlines following Southend United’s 4-2 win at Fleetwood Town.

But, having gone nine games without a victory, there was certainly plenty for the Shrimpers to be joyous about.

Phil Brown’s side had taken just four points from their previous seven outings and had often been left with a familiar feeling of frustration during that disappointing period.

However, that was not the case on Saturday as Southend surged to their first away win of the season and their first ever triumph at Fleetwood’s Highbury Stadium.

Blues’ previous four visits had all ended in stalemates but it was a completely story at the weekend.

Of course, the Shrimpers were significantly boosted by a red card shown to Fleetwood midfielder Aiden O’Neill after just 31 minutes.

But having an extra man does not always guarantee success as Southend showed when failing to break down a stubborn Rochdale side at Roots Hall earlier this month.

Yet on Saturday there was a different feel to the Shrimpers.

The team looked stronger, more confident with better balance and were also full of fight and spirit.

Those characteristics enabled Blues to bounce back from conceding a soft equaliser immediately after taking an early lead to secure a morale boosting win with goals coming in an unexpected manner.

Simon Cox had never scored a header in a competitive fixture for the Shrimpers before nodding home at the weekend while Stephen McLaughlin does not get too many with his right foot.

Nile Ranger had also not netted a penalty for several seasons and Jermaine McGlashan had not scored at all since January.

However, things fell the Shrimpers’ way on Saturday and there was plenty else to be positive about.

Josh Wright enjoyed an excellent debut on the right hand side of midfield, displaying great calmness, composure and quality when on the ball plus a great work ethic when he wasn’t.

In the centre of the park, Anthony Wordsworth continued his return from injury with another influential display which again saw him show off his qualities while alongside him Ryan Leonard played a huge part in the victory.

Leonard had a hand in two of Blues’ goal and his pressing also resulted in O’Neill being red carded which ultimately proved to be the main turning point of the match.

McLaughlin’s well-taken goal restored the Shrimpers’ advantage and the Irishman has now re-established himself as an important member of the team.

The winger found himself on the bench for Blues’ first five games but now has three assists in his last four games to equal his entire tally from last season.

McLaughlin’s goal was his second in five outings before he was followed onto the score-sheet by Ranger.

The striker fired home a penalty he also won after being brought down by Fleetwood sipper Nathan Pond and ignored the wishes of team-mates by taking it himself.

What followed after the successful conversion was a celebration which became the main talking point of the match and arguably the entire footballing weekend as Ranger removed his right boot before pretending to use it as a gun.

In truth, the celebration was slightly bizarre and perhaps a little bit ill-advised but the level of criticism which followed seemed slightly over the top.

However, Ranger’s previous misdemeanours mean his every move is closely monitored and that resulted in a social media storm and attention from a number of national newspapers at the weekend.

But Blues will instead be focusing on the football and building on Saturday’s welcome win.

For that to happen their defending will still need to improve as two more sloppy goals were conceded at Fleetwood.

That did not prove costly on this occasion as the Shrimpers secured their first victory since the opening day of the season and one they will desperately be hoping can kick start their entire campaign.