‘I don’t think the scoreline reflected the play or how the game went, and that’s football for you’

SHELDAN KEAY

ACCRINGTON Stanley suffered their fourth straight league defeat after they were beaten away from home against Southend United.

Goals from Sam Mantom, Simon Cox and Theo Robinson earned the home side the win and condemned Stanley to defeat at Roots Hall.

The loss has seen Accrington drop to 14th place in the League One table, now 10 points from the play-offs and eight points above the relegation zone, but Reds boss John Coleman feels his team didn’t get what they deserved in the game with Southend.

“I don’t think the scoreline reflected the play or how the game went, and that’s football for you.

“Sometimes you don’t always get what you deserve,” he said.

“A few stewards said to me at half-time that they didn’t know how we weren’t winning when we were 2-0 down.

“We’re in this mode at the moment where the ball won’t go in the opposition net, but quite easily goes in our net.

“Their first two attacks go in our goal.

“Connor Ripley made two good saves and the ball then fell to their lad when it could have easily fell to ours.

“We could have been 4-0 up by then. That’s the harsh reality of it.

“If you don’t put your chances away you get punished, but we can’t keep bleating about it or complaining.

“We’ve just got to get better at finishing.

“I think the most hardened of Southend fan would realise that the only area they were better than us was finishing. It certainly wasn’t defending making that many chances, but then you give a soft goal like we did. The lad finished it great, but we have to take responsibility for that.”

Accrington were quick out of the blocks in the game, with Billy Kee, Sam Finley and Offrande Zanzala all having good opportunities to take the lead.

None of them could make the chances count though, and Southend made them pay when they got the opener on 19 minutes. Cox’s initial shot was only palmed away by Stanley goalkeeper Con- nor Ripley, with Mantom on hand to fire home the rebound and make it 1-0.

It went from bad to worse for Accrington, as Southend then doubled their lead just four minutes later. Stephen Hen-