Southend United goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan admitted he was sickened by the blunder which gifted Leyton Orient a last minute 1-0 Boxing Day win at Roots Hall.

Orient striker Carl Griffiths bundled the ball home from close range in second-half stoppage time after Flahavan and Blues left-back Damon Searle clattered each other trying to deal with a cross from former Shrimpers winger Scott Houghton.

The Londoners' victory kept them eight points ahead of seventh placed Southend in the Third Division promotion race and sent the majority of Roots Hall's 9,595 crowd - the Seasiders' best league attendance for six years - home bitterly disappointed.

"I'm totally gutted because one mistake has cost us a very important game," said Flahavan.

"I saw the cross come over from Houghton and I thought Griffiths was going to get there first and head it into the goal. You only get a split second to think about these things and I decided I had to try and take the ball.

"I got one hand to it, but as I crashed into Damon the ball fell free and gave Griffiths an easy goal. He only had to tap the ball over the line.

"A few of the lads had a pop at me afterwards and asked me if I had called for the ball. But all I remember is going for it.

"I'm very disappointed on a personal note because I felt I was having a good game and had made some good saves. However, goalkeepers only get remembered for their mistakes and people won't forget this one - but I'll bounce back."

Orient's victory, which keeps them in third place and an automatic promotion spot, ended a sequence of four consecutive league and cup wins for Southend.

And disappointed Shrimpers manager David Webb tried to remain philosophical in defeat. "Nobody likes to lose to a last minute goal, but we certainly never did enough to beat Orient," he said.

"Their goal came from a mistake at the back when Damon and Darryl got in each others' way, but we got caught short a few times before then when Orient hit us on the counter attack.

"As the match was coming to an end the players should have realised where the game was going and made themselves hard to beat so we took a point out of a 0-0 draw.

"But we showed them too much respect and never really created much. We wanted too many touches and failed to get the ball into the box first time. We've still got a few problems to sort out here.

"However, football has a habit of panning itself out. We went up to Shrewsbury Town on Friday night and didn't play well, but got a 1-0 win. And against Orient we got beat - that's the way it goes and we've got to put it right when Torquay come to Roots Hall on Saturday."

(Right) Darryl Flahavan - sickened by his Boxing Day blunder

(Left) Midfield battler - Scott Forbes in action for Blues in the 1-0 defeat by Leyton Orient at Roots Hall

Picture: STEPHEN LLOYD

By Bernie Friend

Reporter's e-mail: bernie.friend@notes.newsquest.co.uk

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