So, after the great virus scare it's not that bad a line-up, and in the Cherry Voltage strip as well, in front of 183 of the travelling faithful in an crowd of 4,615.
Shame about JP Kalala, looking a good signing in front of the back four where another new boy in Ryan Leonard will now take his place.
However, the shock news in that centre-back Mark Phillips is actually fit so veteran Graham Coughlan can have a rest, if standing next to Luggy is going to be peaceful!
Good to see Luke Prosser at left-back, didn't think I'll ever write that, and, yes, your eyes do not deceive you Lee Sawyer is starting with Ryan Hall only deemed strong enough to sit on the bench.
To the game then, and the Shrimpers strike early!
No Hall to take a 4th minute corner, so it falls to Sawyer who shows his manager he can do something, by landing it on the head of the returning Mark Phillips, who gets his second of the season after Orient and is now the club's top scorer!
Seeing as he couldn't find the net in all his previous time on the south-east coast, that's not bad!
Frigging hell, it's two-nil! Only 3 minutes later and Liam Dickinson proves Luggy correct that his strikers were about to click, by smashing home a wonderful 16-yarder into the bottom left-hand corner. (Make that joint top striker now for Mr. Phillips, it didn't last long!)
Valiant boss Micky Adams was right, he had to be watched closely, though he's gone down to receive treatment, carries on, but not sure he will last the game.
The home side have to get in the game eventually and S24 player-to-watch Sean Rigg, please let's not have anothet choice score against us, goes close on nineteen minutes.
However, only 60 seconds later Kane Ferdinand has a superb chance to bury the game but after a fine Dickinson cross heads straight at Vale keeper Stuart Tomlinson!
And will it come back to haunt the Shrimpers, as on 25 minutes a Gary Roberts assist sees keeper Glen Morris possibily make an error of judgement by leaving his line and allowing the ball to fall to Doug Loft to find the net with a clean strike from the edge of the box.
Doesn't seem it will, the two goal cushion is back almost immediatly! We know from pre-season that Ryan Leonard like to hit a ball hard from long distance, and just before the half-hour there he is again, and somehow the ball finds its way underneath Tomlinson, poor attempt!
Sawyer follows up with another corner but cleared by striker Tom Pope back in his own area, not where the Vale support want him!
Blimey, this is end-to-end stuff now, as a corner by Roberts is defended well down the pitch by Chris Barker.
I'm sure of one thing, as the players go off for half-time, and not sure we had 77% possession, thank you BBC, but there will be more goals!
Cue a boring goalless second half, which would be quite acceptable in the circumstances!
Adams has made two changes for Vale, Ben Williamson replaces Clayton McDonald, while no S24 player to worry about haunts Shrimpers headlines, Sean Rigg is the other, Lewis Haldane on.
The next 45, and only three minutes in to it, Grant goes in the book for fouling Pope, but not before the Burselm boy saw his shot go wide right, it's going to be tough, and to prove how hard; penalty, to the Valiants!
Soft one as well, Dickinson from hero to villain with a poor challenge on Doug Loft, who steps up and places the ball beyond Morris for 3-2 on 52 minutes, a long time left yet.
Not helped by Grant lunging in and just escaping a second yellow by the generousity of replacement ref Jon Moss! (Though Pope does follow Granty in soon enough!) But, to be honest, it's now all Port Vale as the game enters the final 20 minutes, with the final throw of the dice for them as Louie Dodds replaces Gary Roberts.
A corner for the Staffordshire side, nothing from it, but you can feel the tension in the delightfully named Phones4U stand, as Bilel Mohsni appears for the injured Dickinson who limps off, at least the French Tunisian is at the right end, he can do the right type of damage!
The flu victim Hall is on now, for Ryan Leonard, a touch early? Still 11 minutes left, and it's Anthony Griffith the next in the referee's notebook, swiftly followed by Hall, after only being on the field of play for five minutes, not bad!
Nearly there, but Bilel is booked, tough one, 87 minutes!
Corner to Vale, Loft sends it over, Morris holds, well done son, we like our easy catches from set pieces, but hey, the beeb has at 64% possession.
Five minutes of stoppage time, thanks ref, and to kill some of it Luggy sends on Blair for a quiet, again, Neil Harris. No celebration in the Bomber household just yet.
A corner to the Shrimpers, not long now, Ryan takes it long though, but no problems and the whistle goes!
A hard fought for three points for the Essex boys, literally at the end with Bilel, the boy is a walking volcano, and after the criticism of the last couple of weeks, some deserved, there will be a slight spring in the step of the Southend support when they set off to Roots Hall for, first, Tuesday's JPT tie against Crawley, but more importantly, next weekend's game against the Cobblers of Northampton Town, where we'll be back in the play-off zone at seventh.
Southend United player markings (to be posted): Morris - 6, Clohessy - 6, Barker - 7, Phillips - 7, Prosser - 7, Leonard - 7, (Hall 80), Grant - 7, Ferdinand - 7, Sawyer - 8, Dickinson - 7, (Mohsni 72 - 6), Harris - 6, (Sturrock 90.)
Referee - Mr. J. Moss - 6.