Kevin Maher believes the full time fracas is not on them after their 2-1 loss to fellow promotion chasers Forest Green Rovers at the New Lawn.
Rover’s head coach Robbie Savage cut in front of the Southend boss as he went to clap the away fans, before celebrating in front of the travelling fans himself.
The scene’s led to a scuffle between players after the game and Savage being led away by the referee and a steward.
Despite the scenes after the match he believes his team “deserved a point and possibly more” after going 1-0 up before goals from Harry Whitwell and Kyle McAllister cancelled out Slavi Spasov’s opener.
🇧🇬 SLAV'S THE MAN!
— Southend United FC (@SUFCRootsHall) November 29, 2025
Scott-Morriss shoots on the turn and the Bulgarian slides in at the back post to bundle the ball home.
68’ // 🌳 0-1 🟡 https://t.co/a9Z0lr05fd
“We changed shape in the second half to get a bit of our press back and have better shape on the ball because we knew on our turnovers, we would be a bit of a threat, and we were.
“So to get the lead and then not win is disappointing.”
Despite the loss, the shrimpers boss still believes there are positives to take from the match that leaves his side seventh in the National League.
“I thought in the first half we started the game ever so well and we just had to be a little more patient in the final third.
“Then once we got 10-15 minutes into it, we gave them some momentum back and they flooded men forward and we knew they would shoot from everywhere and that was alright as I don’t think they had many clear-cut opportunities,” said Maher.
“We had to weather some storms and a bit of pressure and we did that, then the second half we changed it and it worked ever so well I thought.
“We had a couple of chances and obviously got Slavi (Spasov) got his goal which was a great move.”
Rovers came alive after Whitwell’s equaliser in the second half, a response that Maher was expecting, despite the unconventional nature of the goal.
“It’s only natural when you play a team at home and the opposition scores they are going to throw things forward and we’ve got to take advantage of that.
“From what I remember it was a miss hit cross that bounces off someone’s head, and they’ve got a spare man at the back post,” added the Shrimpers boss.
“They flooded players forward and built momentum and then they leave 2v2 at the back and I don’t think we were good enough when we won the ball back on the turnover.”
The Essex based side had a troubling end to the week before the weekend’s fixture, with multiple key players dropping out last minute.
“Leon (Chambers Parillon) was off ill, Keenan (Appiah Forson) hurt his foot on Thursday which meant he couldn’t train, Josh Walker’s been ill and we only stuck him on the bus because he started to feel a little bit better.
“To come here against a team that’s going well at home and we very nearly done it.”
🔁 Walker joins the fray.
— Southend United FC (@SUFCRootsHall) November 29, 2025
90+2’ // 🌳 2-1 🟡 pic.twitter.com/vfgIl7O7n5
