Brown impressed with Southend

Phil Brown praised his Southend team after they took the bragging rights over rivals Dagenham by easing to a 3-1 win at Victoria Road.

Ryan Leonard restored the visitors' lead after Ayo Obileye cancelled out Joe Pigott's opener, and Barry Corr's penalty wrapped up the points. "It was a well-earned victory and a well-deserved victory to tell you the truth," said Brown. "I thought we got what we deserved. We played good football, good attractive football, and the timing of the second goal was the key to our victory. "The nature of their goal was a little bit sloppy from our perspective; there was a little bit of detail in our box that I should have sorted out, not the players. "But we managed to get Ryan Leonard on the scoresheet and it was a long overdue goal from him. "It was a great goal and I don't know what Wayne was complaining about, I think he said maybe there was a foul before it but I couldn't see it myself on the DVD. "I am not sure if I went back far enough or not on the DVD, but it was some goal and we have been working with Lenny on hitting the target, but he didn't work the goalkeeper - he hit the back of the net." Blues took the lead after 16 minutes when Pigott traded passes with Ben Coker, went past Scott Doe and fired beyond goalkeeper Liam O'Brien. It did not take Daggers long to respond, though, as six minutes later Obileye scored his second goal for the club. Billy Bingham's free-kick to the back post was met by the central defender and he headed past the returning Daniel Bentley to equalise. With half-time approaching Phil Brown's team went back in front when Leonard volleyed past O'Brien from 35 yards out. The second period got off to a bad start for Daggers too as Damian Batt blocked Luke Prosser's header with his hands and a penalty was given. Corr stepped up and converted to put Southend two goals to the good, and it might have been more had the visitors not wasted some late opportunities. Daggers boss Wayne Burnett was frustrated with the timing of Leonard's goal and admitted it changed the tide of the game. "I felt we slightly edged the first half and they have got a goal deep in stoppage time in the first half," said Burnett. "It was a very, very good goal, but disappointing from our point of view because I thought it was a foul on Shamir Fenelon. The referee has given it the other way and you have to deal with that. "Overall I felt first half we were okay and in the game, but then they have scored and it changed the complexion of the game a little bit. "It was a stupid decision by Damian Batt to put his hands up, but Luke Prosser is there on the back on his own and it is very disappointing. "I felt Southend probably deservedly won the game in the end because they were better than us in the second half. We struggled to get out of our own half and they were the better team."