Southend chief Steve Tilson was left scratching his head after seeing his team go down 2-1 to Athletic at Roots Hall on Saturday.

United had the better of the opening period and took the lead through James Walker just after half-time.

But two goals in the space of four minutes from Chris Taylor and Lee Hughes earned the visitors the points, leaving Tilson a frustrated man.

He said: "In the first half [James] Walker should have scored, we had a goal disallowed and have also hit the post.

"We dominated at the start of the second half and a good move has led to our goal.

"When we scored, I thought we were going to go on from there, but we have allowed their player to score from a free header.

"That kind of thing is especially frustrating. We played well and should have gone on and won.

"I'm pleased with the performance, but obviously not the result."