Well, we got our changes, but maybe not in the form we expected, Luke Prosser replaced an unwell Chris Barker at centre-back, Blues boss Paul Sturrock obviously not trusting Bilel Mohsni.
In midfield Kane Ferdinand, not Anthony Grant, comes in for Ryan Leonard, meaning Michael Timlin has to go back out on the left.
However, Luggy was proved right once again, a mate and I were saying how Ferdy should come off at half-time, and to be honest he didn't have the best of first halves, but the talented teenager showed us how wrong we were by smacking in a cracking brace after the break!
The first 45 was all about the two sides testing each other out, with Torquay obviously coming with their away from Devon plan 'A' of playing with a defensive line-up unleashing the talented winger Danny Stevens on the break.
As the game went on though the feeling was that if the Shrimpers could score there may not be a plan 'B', and so it proved.
Replacement skipper Neil Harris on 16 minutes, after an unsteady start his best game yet for the Blues, was in a great position to head a Ryan Hall free-kick straight at impressive Gulls keeper Robert Olejnik from 12 yards out, before Harris himself sent over a strong cross from the right which Ferdinand headed wide of the left post when maybe he should have done better.
25 minutes had gone and a Hall free-kick finds Harris, who you felt was determined to get on the score sheet this afternoon but it was not to be, he turned provider instead, and by taking the direct route to goal he unleashed a left foot strike that stung the hands of Olejnik.
A Hall header then went wide after good work by Peter Gilbert as it continued to be the home side tryimng to get on the score sheet, other than the odd piece of Stevens magic, with former Shrimpers trialist Rene Howe proving that the decision to let him go was the right one, the description passed on to me of the striker as a kebab shop owner who had eaten too much of his own stock looked a fair one!
So it seemed the half would end goalless, which it did, but the home faithful will wonder how!
Harris got himself, again, in the perfect position to meet 'crossing machine' Hall's terrific delivery from the right, met it perfectly on his head, 1-0, no, Olejnik getting down brilliantly low to his right, getting his fingertips to the ball and clear.
Tails up, Southend attcked again, the ball spun across the area to find Ferdinand unmarked, he steadied himself, maybe a second too long, his shot beating Olejnik at last, but Torquay defender Mark Ellishad got back to clear off the goal-line. Unbelievable!
It had to happen, and it did, sooner than we thought, 20 seconds into the second half no less, Kane Ferdinand reacting well to a deflected cross by the hard working Timlin, striking a hard, low shot in to the bottom left hand corner from eight yards.
This time it was 1-0, and we would soon know if there was a plan 'B', there wasn't!
The boys in Blue were the only winners now, Harris stretching himself to reach a corner from Hall, but his close range header went over the bar, before Hall tried his luck from 20 yards out and the ball flashed wide left, close.
A second had to come, and it did on 54 minutes with one of the best goals this correspondant has seen at Roots Hall in 44 years of turning up.
It was the Blues breaking from defence now and a brilliant right-wing cross from Harris was met by Ferdinand who unleashed a left footed volley from eight yards that gave Olejnik no chance. Stunning stuff.
After Kalal had been wrongly booked earlier by the laughable match official 'Deadly' Darren Deadman Luggy wisely took him off on just after the hour to be replaced by Leonard.
A word on JP, if he hadn't had come off an S24 M-O-M award would be whizzing his way, as it was he joined Phillips, Harris & Timlin, S24 man-of-the-match, just, there was a lot of competition, as oustanding on the day, tough in defence, some magic passing, (I appreciate he gives the ball away at times, usually when he has too much time to think about it), the signing of the summer for me, what did Yeovil miss in him.
12 minutes after the second, another break, Timlin fed Liam Dickinson, and like the Goat in the past there was only one outcome, the tall hitman went forward, not a thought of finding a teammate, and drilled a 16 yard strike with the force of one of his penalties to nearly break the back of the net where the ball finally nestled. Clear top scorer on six for the season.
Oh dear, Torquay were crumbling before our very eyes, you almost wanted the whistle to go to put them out of their misery, not that Southend were worried about that, and on 70 minutes it was 4-0, a Hall corner from the left, (how many assists this season then?), and Mark Phillips heading home from six yards for his fifth of the season, not bad for a former 'sicknote' centre-half after another great game, though he was seen clutching his groin towards the end.
Shrimpers No.1 Glenn Morris had been failing to take his goal-kicks since the teams returned after the break and eventually limped off to give the young shot stopper Daniel Bentley his first team debut, horrah, but maybe some cover needed for Barnet.
And he was soon called into action to push out a long range shot from Gulls sub Taiwo Atieno before the Shrimpers lifted their foot off the gas and after failing to clear a corner allowed the Gulls to grab an undeserved consolation when Mark Ellis got a lucky deflection to a low 20 yard shot from Lee Mansell that gave Bentley no hope. The goal being given to the Torquay top scorer though.
So it was to finish 4-1, but Southend didn't return to the top with Crawley beating AFC Wimbledon 5-2, damn those creepies.
The promotion push moves on to Barnet on Tuesday night, with a loanee in goal and Bilel back for a groin clutching Phillips possibily, and the unbeaten run now eight games including seven wins; still looking good lads.
Southend player markings: Morris - 6 (Bentley 71 - 5), Clohessy - 6, Prosser - 5, Phillips - 8, Gilbert - 6, Kalala - 8 (Leonard 62 - 6), Fedinand - 7, Timlin - 8, Hall - 7, Harris - 8, Dickinson - 7 (Sturrock - 85).
Referee - Mr. D. Deadman - 5.
Top Seven
| 1 | Crawley Town | 14 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 29 | 20 | 31 | +9 | ||||
| 2 | Southend United | 14 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 14 | 29 | +12 | ||||
| 3 | Cheltenham Town | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 15 | 26 | +6 | ||||
| 4 | Morecambe | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 12 | 25 | +16 | ||||
| 5 | Gillingham | 14 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 26 | 17 | 24 | +9 | ||||
| 6 | Shrewsbury Town | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 17 | 24 | +3 | ||||
| 7 | Oxford United | 14 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 12 | 23 | +6 | ||||