SOUTHEND United’s narrow win against Fleetwood Town was certainly not the prettiest of victories – but it could yet be remembered as one of the most precious.

The Shrimpers headed into Saturday’s contest at Roots Hall on the back of three successive League One setbacks, the last of which saw Chris Powell’s side produce an incredibly disappointing display at Shrewsbury Town.

And, with that sub-standard showing still fresh in the memory, Blues took to the field against Fleetwood desperately requiring a result to kickstart their season.

What followed, in truth, was quite an uneventful encounter, perhaps best underlined by the Sky Sports highlights package which saw the adverts last longer than the action!

But that mattered very little for Blues, who always looked the more threatening of the two teams and, despite failing to create a real clear-cut chance, the hosts certainly shaded the majority of the first half.

However, the start of the second period ultimately decided the outcome of the contest as Fleetwood’s Paddy Madden – a striker who has caused the Shrimpers all kinds of problems in the past – headed against the right post.

And, just five minutes later, Blues responded by bagging the only goal of the game with Simon Cox netting from close range after Theo Robinson had latched onto a mistake from former Southend defender Cian Bolger.

The goal – which was Cox’s second of the season – quietened the criticism coming the striker’s way in the opening weeks of the campaign.

The experienced front-runner, whose intelligent play can often go unnoticed, has been subjected to some harsh words from supporters on social media.

But, despite his work-rate and direct involvement in a number of goals, Cox will ultimately be judged on how many he scores himself. And, with that in mind, it was therefore pleasing to see him fire home against Fleetwood.

However, the visitors should not have really been too surprised by the manner of Blues’ goal.

For all 13 of the Shrimpers’ strikes at Roots Hall so far this season have come at the South Stand end while 13 of the 15 goals Blues have netted have also come following moves down the left hand side. That was again the case at the weekend in a clash which saw Southend change their system, as was suggested on these pages last week!

With Stephen McLaughlin suffering a slight dip in form and Michael Kightly suspended, the Shrimpers had been short of wingers and it therefore made perfect sense to line-up with Ben Coker and Jason Demetriou as wing-backs.

The recalled Michael Turner looked assured on his return to the team as one of three centre-backs but it was Taylor Moore who was the pick of the defence as the on loan Bristol City man continued his bright start at Southend.

The youngster was perhaps the only positive at Shrewsbury Town and was even more impressive at the weekend as he displayed his defensive qualities as well as his ability to pick a pass when on the ball.

That resulted in Blues’ first clean sheet and victory since winning at Bristol Rovers at the end of August and ensured goalkeeper David Stockdale ended his short loan spell with a win.

The experienced Stockdale was brought in to replace the suspended Mark Oxley but had very little to do at the weekend against a surprisingly poor Fleetwood team who failed to register a single shot on target. Joey Barton’s side’s plans were not helped by their flight to Southend being cancelled while several players were also hit by food poisoning on the eve on the clash.

However, Southend took full advantage of any possible problems for their opponents as they saw off a team in the top half of the table for the first time this season.

Midfielder Timothee Dieng was incredibly influential in the victory as he produced a dominant display in the centre of the park.

But the challenge now facing Blues is to make this victory a turning point in their season.

The Shrimpers – who now have Oxley and Kightly back from suspension – will soon also be boosted by the return of midfielder Dru Yearwood ahead of four consecutive fixtures against teams in the bottom 10.

That suggests Blues should soon be picking up more points and Saturday’s gritty win will certainly have boosted their spirits. However, as has already been seen on several occasions this season, nothing can ever be taken for granted!