SATURDAY’S clash saw two seaside resorts going head to head but, by the final whistle, it was very much Southend United being rocked by Blackpool.

Armand Gnanduillet’s header deservedly handed the visitors a 2-1 victory and continued the Shrimpers’ recent struggles.

Chris Powell’s side have now suffered three League defeats in a row and have also been beaten in four of their last five League games.

The latest of those disappointments saw Blues produce a below par performance in suffering their fifth home defeat of the League campaign, a total which exceeds the four Southend suffered in the whole of the previous campaign.

Aside from a fine early effort from Michael Kightly which struck the inside of the left post, the Shrimpers rarely threatened and found it tough going against a physical Blackpool side featuring a few of their own towers!

The visitors fully deserved their 1-0 lead at the break and could have been further out of sight before Blues dug deep to work their way back into the game with Jason Demetriou heading home from close range.

Demetriou was only featuring for the Shrimpers due to his international suspension with Cyprus and his presence seemed to have secured Blues what would have been an undeserved share of the spoils.

But, as continues to be the case time and time again this season, Southend were again undone in the closing stages as poor defending enabled Gnanduillet the time and space he needed to head home an 83rd minute winner.

As a result, Blues have now conceded a staggering 10 goals in the final seven minutes of their matches this season – a statistic which suggests it is more than just a coincidence.

A lack of concentration – as suggested by Demetriou in his after match interview – is one possibly reason why Blues keep being breached late on and a lack of fitness may also to be blame.

Tactics could possibly have played a part at times along with the psyche of the players who will be fully aware of their wretched record in the closing stages.

The Shrimpers have now shipped five points due to those late goals and, in stark contrast, they have managed to score just twice themselves late on.

One of those goals – scored by Theo Robinson against Doncaster Rovers – came in the first game of the season and the final few minutes of matches is something which needs to be managed and monitored in order to avoid further disappointment in the months ahead.

But there was more than just the result to frustrate Southend on Saturday as Dru Yearwood – arguably the club’s best and most influential player – added to the already lengthy list of injuries after hobbling off with a hip problem.

Boss Powell seemed to suggest it was not a serious setback but it was a still something an already depleted Blues could have done without, along with the red card shown to defender Michael Turner.

The centre-back was dismissed for what, after looking at television replays, was the smallest of stamping motions.

However, by the letter of the law, the dismissal was deserved and such an experienced player should certainly have known better.

Turner will now serve a three match suspension to further hinder the Shrimpers who were also missing an unwell John White at the weekend.

The long list of unavailable players is clearly hitting Blues hard but the players still at their disposal are capable of performing far better than on Saturday.

But in a bid to bounce back and to kick start their season the Shrimpers need to discover an identity as right now the side seems to be lacking in consistency and continuity.

Injuries have cause some of that disruption but question marks still surround certain parts of the team including the best centre park pairing, whether or not three central midfielders can be squeezed into the side, who can partner Simon Cox in attack and what formation

However, those kinds of decisions along with what formation to play should not still be being discussed in mid-November.

And Blues must quickly discover what suits them best in all areas if they are to avoid looking over their shoulder for the rest of the season.

>SOUTHEND United’s youth team suffered a 2-1 defeat at Peterborough United on Saturday.

Sam Knock bagged the Shrimpers’ goal but it was not enough to stop their seven match winning run coming to an end. Full report in Echosport later this week.