GK Darryl Flahavan | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals Conceded: 0 | Rating: 6

Despite Bradford’s free flowing football that was played in the first half not once was Flahavan really tested and brought into making a great save. He did come and claim the ball on more than a few occasions, which is always a positive thing for Southend fans to see. There was one save that caught the eye; A powerful effort from Dean Windass saw Darryl fly to his right to grasp the ball. This save and a previous confrontation with Flahavan obviously infuriated Windass who, after the final whistle looked for further problems with Flahavan. After Windass was being guided away Darryl comically showed his muscular prowess with some Hulk Hogan style posing!

RB Duncan Jupp | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7.5

A great performance from Juppy showing he has the capability to cope with anything this season throws at him. The were plenty of good interceptions as well as some fantastic no nonsense defending. Aerially Jupp was virtually faultless and he even had to take a battering from Andy Cooke who decided to throw Jupp on the floor in the first half. However Jupp rose above this and defended well even dealing with former Celtic winger Bobby Petta.

CB Andy Edwards | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 8.5

Far and away the best defender on the pitch as his fearless defending helped the Shrimpers no end in winning the game. His powerful clearances and his aerial presence went very close to winning him the Man of the Match award. However it was the cleverness and great reading of the running off the ball that really caught the eye as Bradford’s brilliant movement was dealt with. This was Eagle’s first real chance to prove himself since being dropped almost a year ago and he snapped it up brilliantly.

CB Adam Barrett | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 1 | Rating: 6.5

Back to the Barrett we all know and love? Not quite, but it was much better than preseason and the game against Port Vale. Barrett also proved that his aerial threat going forward was not a one season wonder, flicking the ball towards goal to assist David Wetherall putting the ball in the back of his own net. Aerial battles were not so easy defensively as Barrett struggled at times to contain Dean Windass from winning the high balls.

LB Che Wilson | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6

Another good performance from Wilson. Nice and solid with as few mistakes as possible. Wilson also contained Bobby Petta when the winger switched sides in the second half. One worry was that Wilson failed to link up with the attacking play as much as I would have liked to have seen.

RM Luke Guttridge | Minutes on pitch: 65 | Gls: 1 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6.5

By no means a good game from Guttridge but he scored a great goal. His volley that found the net was technically spot on and showed all the ability that Guttridge has. However the first half showed him lose possession way too often as well as lose his position on too many occasions. I grant him that any right sided player needs to move inside to allow Jupp to make his overlapping runs but often Guttridge drifted into central positions which simply didn’t help the team. However the goal shows Gutts’ ability and he is certainly a talent to look forward to.

CM Kevin Maher | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7.5

Maher turned in another great performance after gaining the TLG man of the match for the first game of the season against Port Vale. Although he didn’t stand out as much to me there were more than enough other fans to commend his performance. Maher sat in the hole behind Bentley, whilst spraying passes to all parts of the ground. His tackling was spot on and he intercepted a number of balls that could have created dangerous Bradford attacks.

CM Mark Bentley | Minutes on pitch: 82 | Goals: 0 |Assists: 0 | Rating: 6

An average performance from Bentley where he didn’t quite grab hold of the game like he normally does. Whilst his passing and first touch was a little off Bentley tried his utmost to go in with a few good challenges. Bentley worryingly went off injured after an awful challenge by Tom Kearney.

LM Mitchell Cole | Minutes on pitch: 70 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 5.5

Unfortunately another less than impressive performance from Cole. I still think that the former Grays winger has a lot to offer but he just seems to be a little off the pace at the moment. Whilst he gets into good positions he also puts in some poor crosses and whilst his dribbling skills are excellent his seems to completely disregard his defensive duties. His dribbling skills were shown to be frustrating to defend against as after being beaten on a couple of occasions Darren Holloway decided to lung into to a two footed challenge that correctly saw him dismissed by referee Trevor Kettle. Although Cole continued the game his poor control and his willingness to give up on balls that had not reached the touchline was very worrying. Hopefully he picks up the pace in weeks to come.

CF Freddy Eastwood | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Gls: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6.5

Another frustrating evening for Freddy who needs a goal to get his confidence going. He shot wide late in the evening but his evening was largely kept to a few neat touches and nice turns. Eastwood is obviously a marked man at the moment and this is not allowing him a lot of space. Freddy did send a great reverse through ball to Wayne Gray for Gray to assist the second goal although that was one of the few times he found space. Eastwood will undoubtedly overcome this in the future although for the time being he could do with a goal.

CF Wayne Gray | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 1 | Rating: 8.5

RM Carl Pettefer | Minutes on pitch: 25 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6

Only twenty five minutes for Petts which is some what of a surprise as he appeared in every game last season. Pettefer done very little to try and get his place back other than play his normal game which in fairness protected the two goal lead very well.

LM Mark Gower | Minutes on pitch: 20 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6

Gower failed to make the impact he did on Saturday but with only 20 minutes left and the game virtually won it was very difficult for such an attacking influence to make a real impression on the game.

CM Lewis Hunt | Minutes on pitch: 4 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6

Four minutes for Hunt as he replaced the injured Bentley. Hunt is a quality player and the unluckiest player to be on the substitutes bench.