SAM Dalby felt Southend United were fortunate to be awarded his match winning penalty against King’s Lynn Town tonight.

Dalby scored from the spot three minutes into stoppage time to secure the Shrimpers a 2-1 victory at Roots Hall.

But the Blues forward was honest enough to admit he thought King’s Lynn defender Ross Barrows had won the ball when challenging him in the box.

“I’ve got to admit it wasn’t a great decision from the ref,” said Dalby.

“I thought he got the ball but whether he’s come through me I’m not sure, I’d have to see it again.

“But to get the win was unbelievable and all the boys are buzzing.

“We’ve got three wins on the bounce now in the league and we’re looking forward to the next game.”

Blues will head to Aldershot on Tuesday on a high, thanks to Dalby’s late penalty.

But the striker faced an agonising wait before being able to take the spot-kick as referee Lloyd Wood ran over to the touchline to show visiting manager Tommy Widdrington a red card.

And Dalby admitted the delay added to his nerves having failed to score his previous penalty against Chesterfield back in November.

“The referee came over to me just as I was about to put the ball down and said he had to go over to the sidelines,” said Dalby.

“I thought for god sake, especially after my miss against Chesterfield.

“I was quite nervous but I was convincing myself this one was going to go in and once it went in it was relief really.

“I’ve got two winners against them now so I don’t think they’ll like me too much.”

The victory pushed Blues up to 18th in the National League standings, 10 points above the drop zone.

And Dalby always felt the Shrimpers could win the game, despite being a goal down at half-time.

“I thought we played quite well, especially in the first half so we were all quite calm at half-time,” said Dalby.

“We felt like we could come back and win it.”

Blues did exactly that with Matt Dennis firing home an equaliser before Dalby scored his seventh goal of the season late on in a game which saw him again linking up with new signing Harry Cardwell.

“I played with him a bit at Stockport last season and he’s a very good player,” said Dalby.

“I wanted that penalty though.

“We didn’t really have a designated taker but as soon as I got brought down I was like, I want to have this one and it was great to see it go in.”

The spot-kick was celebrated wildly by a crowd of more than 6,000 at Roots Hall.

And Dalby was delighted to send the supporters home happy.

“The fans were unbelievable today,” said the striker.

“Hearing them throughout helped calm us down when we were 1-0 down and we kept on fighting for the fans.”