Shrimpers surge to second over poor Port Vale

 

Southend got their promotion push back on track with a comfortable 3-0 win over 10-man Port Vale in npower League Two.

Mark Phillips headed the Shrimpers in front in the eighth minute with their first effort on goal. The centre-back jumped unmarked at the back post to head Ryan Hall's corner into the top of the Vale goal.

Hall remained a threat, taking a couple of shots that went narrowly wide, before the right winger's diagonal cross was headed into the right-hand side of the goal by an unmarked Liam Dickinson in the 29th minute.

The Valiants could only produce tame efforts from skipper Marc Richards and Sean Rigg, which were easily held by Glenn Morris.

Vale shipped a third goal in the 55th minute when Peter Gilbert's cross from the byline was inexplicably turned into his own net by centre-back Gareth Owen, who had earlier done well to clear off the line after Chris Martin had parried a Hall shot.

And the visitors' day got worse in the 64th minute when Clayton McDonald was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.