Bees warded off by ten-man Southend

Matt Paterson sent out a message to Paul Sturrock as he bagged a brace to help Southend into the next round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
Paterson has been told he can go out on loan, but he and Harry Crawford linked up superbly for 55 minutes before Bilel Mohsni’s sending off meant Crawford had to be withdrawn for tactical reasons.
Paterson had already scored the opener on 21 minutes, Crawford teeing him up with a square pass, but the ten men of Southend were 2-0 up despite their numerical disadvantage when Paterson nipped in between defender and goalkeeper to lob the ball home.
Mark Marshall pulled one back with 10 minutes remaining and it looked as though the Bees might snatched an undeserved draw.
However, Louie Soares burst clear in the dying minutes to scoop a shot into the net to put the result beyond doubt.
The blemish was Mohsni’s foolish sending off for fighting. He will now miss the next three games and no doubt get a telling off for his lack of professionalism.
Overall though, it was a fine display by the visitors, who dominated the first half and kept their hosts at bay after the red card.

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