Southend United 3-0 Leyton Orient

Southend broke their Orient jinx and exacted revenge for their Johnstone's Paint trophy defeat to their rivals earlier in the month, with a comprehensive victory at Roots Hall tonight.

The Blues went ahead after just 47 seconds when Lee Barnard scored his third goal of the season following a good move. Southend seized the initiative and strung together five good passes before Dougie Freedman released Kevin Betsy down the right. Betsy's inch perfect low cross found Barnard at the far post and he had the easy task of finishing from 6 yards.

The home side were sharp, lively and hungrier than their opponents and were in complete control from start to finish. On 12 Lee Sawyer, who celebrated the birth of his first child earlier this week, doubled Southend's lead. Hal Robson-Kanu beat two men on the left before feeding Dan Harding. The Ipswich loanee's ball was floated into the box and was met by Freedman's head and Sawyer half-volleyed past Glenn Morris. It was a well worked goal. Sawyer has now scored three for his on-loan club and Steve Tilson will do extremely well to hold onto the youngster when January comes around.

The Shrimpers were playing with confidence and the midfield seemed to be gelling where it failed to in the recent past. Gone are the weak passes and stray balls. Jean Francois Christophe looks a solid player in the centre while Betsy and Robson-Kanu always look capable of beating a man and delivering a telling ball.

Freedman was - again - outstanding tonight. His awareness and deft touch sets him above anyone else on the pitch. He's a class act and a very shrewd signing by Tilson. The Blues now look a solid force going forward with Barnard and Freedman striking up a very useful partnership. Dougie plays slightly off his partner allowing himself time and space to create something for the likes of Robson-Kanu and Sawyer. This in turn allows Barnard to make intelligent diagonal runs which outfoxed the visitors on a number of occasions tonight. Barnie's constant running and presence in the final third troubles both keepers and defenders alike. His partnership with Freedman also shows that a big, tall, physical striker is not always needed in this league.

Yesterday the Blues moved to sign Australian international goalkeeper Adam Fedirici on loan from Reading and - once again - this looks a good move. The Reading player starred in the Beijing Olympics this year and looked commanding in his penalty area. He claimed everything he went for and appeared positionally superb. It gave his defenders a lot of confidence, despite only training in one session with the Blues, prior to tonight's game. Fedirici was hardly troubled all night - in fact he didn't make a save in the first period.

Before the half was out, Francois-Christophe headed a corner wide while Sawyer shot straight at Morris. Barnard then should have remained more composed as he capitalised on a mistake by Orient defender Alton Thirwell. However with the angle narrowing, but only the keeper to beat, the Southend forward blazed horribly wide from 16 yards out. And then Freedman was denied by Morris after he appeared to have all the time in the world to pick his spot and arrow a shot goalwards.

Orient were shellshocked and lucky not to go in at the break 4 or 5 down. They did regroup for the second half and came out looking to attack Southend's backline. Dean Morgan, formerly of this parish, cut the ball back to Ryan Jarvis but he skewed a shot wide, while Morgan himself had a shot on 65 that was straight down the throat of Fedirici.

The Roots Hall outfit were never really troubled although if there was one criticism it had to lie with three of the four defenders' passing. I firmly believe that if Peter Clarke could deliver a decent ball out of midfield he would still be with Everton (where he was released as a teenager) and playing regularly at Premier League level. His positioning is superb and eagerness second to none, but his distribution is appalling. Adam Barrett, and to a lesser extent Simon Francis, also displayed careless passing out of the final third tonight and this is something that can be improved. Orient hardly hassled and harried, and the defenders had a lot of time to pick out their men, but - for whatever reason - failed to do so on so many occasions.

However it was a minor irritation. Southend always looked dangerous when they went forward and it was no surprise when they put the game out of reach on 70. Robson-Kanu again profited from good wing play on the left and delivered a ball which reached Sawyer. The on-loan Chelsea midfielder couldn't control the ball but what he did get on it mattered as it reached Freedman who turned superbly before firing past Morris for a deserved goal. That's now 4 in 4 games for the 34-year-old. He is Longpier's Man of the Match, even if the official award went to Sawyer.

The Blues made a triple substitution three minutes later. These changes saw the welcome introduction of Alan McCormack - back after a pre-season injury. The Irishman slotted straight back into the centre of the park and helped to see off any further Orient pressure.

Barnard nearly got his second of the night when he closed down Morris and robbed him of the ball on the dead-ball line, but the 'keeper managed to narrow the angle and force the striker wide.

All told this was a superb victory against a team Southend failed to beat in FIVE years. The hoodoo has been broken and the Blues moved up to 8th in League One - although most teams play tomorrow.


LONGPIER WITNESSED:

- A useless halftime display by the BlueBells. Once again a pathetic and lacklustre effort by this troupe who cannot follow simple beats or rhythms. The joke is over, girls. Seriously it's time to move on. Cheerleading to one song, that's probably been rehearsed time and time again, should be polished and intricate. Tonight's performance was shocking, and displayed the creativity and energy of a snail. Enough is enough.

- The 'clapping man' back again this week. Clapped at everything he saw...everything. Even clapped when there were no players on the pitch after every player had left the field. Hilarious moment when his wife gave up and left the stadium without him.

- Kevin Betsy called me on my mobile in midweek asking for my support tonight. So naturally I obliged. I cheered, hollared, clapped ... all for you Kevin. Although not as much as the 'clapping man' obviously.

LONGPIER RATINGS

Fedirici 7 - Very impressive debut. Claimed everything, did what he needed to do.
Francis 6 - Kept wingers in check but his distribution needs work
Clarke 6 - Positional awareness his strength, passing is not
Barrett 6.5 - Solid again from the captain, strong but passing was sometimes astray
Harding 7 - Is fast becoming a dependable, brilliant defender
Betsy 7 - Without doubt his best game since arriving in the summer
Sawyer 7.5 - Lively, well taken goal and a talented youngster with a baby
Christophe 8 - Strong, intelligent midfielder. Good in the tackle, sharp brain
Robson-Kanu 8 - Likewise from the Reading loanee. Be good if he stays
Barnard 8 - Always lively, relished taking on poor/hesitant defenders
Freedman *9* - LONGPIER MOM - instrumental in all three goals, was a constant thorn in their side, splendid display from the veteran striker. If he stays fit Southend could do very well

SUBS:
McCormack 6 - Good to see him back after a long lay off
Grant 6.5 - Showed some nice touches
Revell 6 - You feel he so wants to impress, 17 mins is not enough to do that

REF:
6 - adequate performance, lack of cards being brandished and could have sent off two players towards the end, but refrained from even booking them. Strange decisions, but went in our favour.

ATTENDANCE:
9,261