Bond frustrated as Southend continue to flounder

Lincoln City 4-0 Southend United

KEVIN BOND was left frustrated and disappointed after witnessing his Southend United side slump to their third successive Sky Bet League One defeat as lively Lincoln City recorded a comfortable four-goal success at a packed Sincil Bank.

Blues started the match brightly. However, Jason Shackell nodded the Imps ahead shortly after the half-hour mark and the hosts didn’t look back.

Harry Toffolo doubled Lincoln’s advantage, reacting swiftly to beat keeper Nathan Bishop just before the interval, and Bishop was again fishing the ball from the rigging three minutes after the restart. This time Tyler Walker converting from the penalty spot after Joe Shaughnessy had felled the midfielder.

Southend’s miserable afternoon was compounded when substitute Bruno Andrade added a late fourth. The Blues remain pointless, with only financially troubled Bolton and Bury – who received points deductions – below them.

Speaking to www.southendunited.co.uk after the match, boss Bond bemoaned: “As you can imagine, I’m bitterly disappointed. The goals, as they do, absolutely killed us. I thought we were bright enough but we didn’t pass the ball as well or was patient enough with the ball as I would have liked us to have been. I thought we were as much in the game as Lincoln.

“We didn’t hold the ball up as much as I would have liked to have done with two frontmen. I would have liked us to have played off of them, but the ball didn’t stick with them quite as much as I would have liked, but nonetheless, I felt no reason why we would have cause for concern.

“We just needed to be a bit more patient in possession I felt and use the ball and then we concede a silly free-kick which we’d spoken and emphasised to the guys before the game about how important restarts are for Lincoln. They score an unmarked header from that, another free-kick two minutes after that and you’re dead, it’s killed us.”

Bond added: “What you see is, we know that the next goal coming after half-time is going to be massively important, we make a mistake, 3-0 two minutes in and it just kills your confidence and what you see after that is a result of conceding bad goals.”

Lincoln City: Vickers, Toffolo, Shackell, Bolger, Payne, Bostwick (O’Connor 63’), Walker (Akinde 68’), Grant, Morrell, Eardley, Anderson (Andrade 74’). Subs not used: Smith, Chapman, Bradley, Lewis

Southend United: Bishop, Bwomono, Ralph, Milligan (C), Cox, McLaughlin (Ndukwu 66’), Mantom (Hamilton 46’), Shaughnessy, Kelman (Humphrys 46’), Hutchinson, White. Subs not used: Oxley, Goodship, Taylor, Blackman

Referee: Andy Haines

Assistants: Simon Clayton and Richard Wigglesworth

Fourth Official: Robert Atkin

Attendance: 9,016