Oh well, the unwanted hat-trick happened, out of two cup competitions and a league defeat for three months, all in a week, not bad going, but it's now all about Friday evening and Bradford City in a fourth tier clash which Blues boss Paul Sturrock will have to show all his management skills built up over the years to get his side back up for that one.
Of course it didn't help that they played over 50 minutes of the match with a man less, thanks very much the tempremental French Tunisian Bilel Mohsni!
The cup tie started with Luggy true to his word, changes he certainly made, four of them in fact, with both Anthony Grant and Ryan Leonard back in midfield as predicted along with Harris up front, joined by son of Luggy Blair, which is a surprise, as Ferdy, Dickinson and Hall are all given a rest, while JP Kalala is suspended.
After being old that former loanee centre-back Jean-Yves M'voto was fit, he wasn't!
Leonard has started on the right wing and Bilel Mohsni the left as the game opens quietly in a vicious wind makes it feel far colder than it actually probably is, no, forget that, it is freezing!
Then a flurry of Blues action, Moshni has a 30 yarder well tipped over the bar by Latics keeper Alex Cisak, followed by a Neil Harris effort from a similar range well pushed wide by the Oldham shot stopper.
With Hall on the bench, left back Peter Gilbert is stepping up for the set pieces and on 18 minutes his corner is headed over by Mark Phillips, a long time since he scored now.
Four minutes later a first yellow card is shown and it's Bilel, his ninth, a chat with the FA beckons and a two-match ban when he picks up his next. Grant joins him in the referee's note book only four minutes later.
Inbetween Chris Taylor for the home side heads a Alexandra Diamond free-kick close to the Luke Daniels right post, but not close enough.
With Leonard back the long-throw weapon is back and just after the half-hour Bomber rises well but Cisak is equal to his pin-point header.
Then disaster, Mohsni is going to have his chat earlier than expected, he's off with only seven minutes to go to the break.
A needless foul on Dean Furman, only a quarter of an hour after a equally daft challenge on Kieran Lee, and a second yellow.
All the old 'liability' questions are going to be raised again, and for all his talent and the excitement he can bring to the side, you have to wonder how long Luggy will put up with this.
Harris now goes wide and Blair is on his own up front, a tough task has now entered mission impossible territory.
Only two minutes in and Kieran Lee believes his set his side on the way to Anfield but his strike from close range doesn't count for offside, however the Essex boys relief doesn't last long, on 58 minutes they get one that counts, Taylor smashing home from 10 yards after a decent James Wesolowski lay-off.
That looks it now and 249 brave Shrimpers in the 4,207 crowd look to go home disappointed, and with 19 minutes left Luggy decides to give Hall a run-out replacing Leonard, followed by Kane Ferdinand on for Harris, Grant taking the skippers armband.
Oh happy days, skipper Chris Barker limps off, a calf problem diagnosed after the game, his 100% record in jeopardy.
The Latics then did enough to play the game out, time though for Diamond to hit a post, and will go to Liverpool in the new year.
However, up to Bilel seeing red the Essex boys had the game well under control with Luke doing his best to keep warm with all the action, little that there was, going on at the other end.
So for the Shrimpers it's promotion from League Two that now becomes the only game in town, and in only three days time the Roots Hall faithful will get an idea of how they are going to cope with it.
Southend player markings: Daniels - 6, Clohessy - 5, Barker - 6 (Prosser - 5), Phillips - 6, Gilbert - 6, Leonard - 5 (Hall 69 - 5), Grant - 6, Timlin - 6, Mohsni - 3, Harris - 6 (Ferdinand 72 - 5), Sturrock - 6.
Referee - Mr. G. Sutton - 7.