SOUTHEND Saxons dug deep to triumph 26-8 in difficult conditions at Chingford.

The victory saw Southend bounce back from a 32-10 defeat against table-topping North Walsham and kept them third in the London One North standings, much to the delight of fly-half Ben Lloyd.

“It was a good win for us and it was pleasing the way we managed to control the game in conditions that made it messy from the word go,” said Lloyd.

“The pitch was pretty terrible and that provided its own challenges, but we were able to navigate that really well.

“I thought Branchy (Harry Branch) had a great game in a tough environment for a scrum-half and everything we did was off the back of a dominant forward display.

“To score four tries and get the bonus point was a great result and we left there happy.”

Chris Vaughan, recent signing Mitch Bennett, Tom Ramsey and Tom Day all scored tries for Southend.

And Lloyd remains pleased with how things are shaping up for Saxons.

“There’s definitely room for improvement but I think our progress from the start of the year up to now is pretty evident,” said Lloyd.

“To back that up with another good performance at the weekend was great for us.

“As you’ve seen, results in this league can be erratic.

“Teams at the top have lost to sides you would never expect them to lose to on paper, so if we can continue to be consistent and deliver good performances every week, I’ve every confidence we’ll be in the mix come the end of the season.

“We have to take each week as it comes and make sure we’re delivering every time we get the chance to get out there.”

Southend’s next chance to impress comes at home to fourth-placed Brentwood this weekend and Lloyd is fully focused on the task in hand.

“The next game is always the most important one and Brentwood at home this Saturday is the next challenge,” said Lloyd.

“This is the last game of this block and we want to finish the year strongly.

“It’s all about consistency of the performance for us.”

Southend Saxons: Ramsey, Banks, Bennett, Vaughan, Day, Lloyd, Branch, Reeman, Forster-Knight, Armitage, Cooper, O’Kill, Morrison, Law, Wagstaff

Replacements: Smith, Newton & Richards