SOUTHEND United boss Kevin Maher was disappointed with the result but not the performance at Chesterfield on Saturday.

The Shrimpers were beaten 3-0 by the table-topping Spireites at the SMH Group Stadium.

But Maher felt his side were more than a match for the National League leaders for long spells.

“I’m not disappointed with the performance but I am with the result,” said Maher.

“It didn’t feel like a 3-0 but credit to them.”

The defeat came on Blues’ return to action after a fortnight without a fixture.

And Maher was keen to see his side go on the front foot.

“We wanted to go toe to toe with the and we wanted to do that to see where we’re at,” said Maher.

“For a long period of the game we were taking it to them but we didn’t do enough in their box in terms of more clear cut chances.

“We had one or two.

“We had one cleared off the line and Marcus (Dackers) has had one he couldn’t get enough power on the shot.”

However, other potential opportunities were scuppered by the quality of the final ball into the box.

“We had so many opportunities in and around the final third but we didn’t get the final ball quite right,” said Maher.

“For long periods we felt on top of the game but we’ve ended up losing because of the quality they’ve got in the final third and the quality they’ve brought off the bench too.”

The defeat saw the Shrimpers slip to 15th in the standings.

But Maher knows it was a game that was never going to define his side’s season.

“It was never going to be the one that made the difference,” said Maher.

“There are a lot of games still to go and we need to go and attack all of them the same way we have today and see where it goes.

“But you have to say Chesterfield have been incredible this season.”

The match was also played in front of a crowd of close to 9,000.

And Maher praised the supporters of both sides.

“It’s been a good, positive week for the fans and it’s disappointing we couldn’t give them anything today,” said Maher.

“The atmosphere they made as well good and credit for the crowd Chesterfield had in as well.

“I thought it was a good game with two really good teams going toe to toe on a difficult pitch.

“But unfortunately for us we didn’t come out on the right side of it.”