SOUTHEND 0 HARRIERS 2

SUDDENLY a much-needed and well-deserved success on Tuesday night has put Kidderminster Harriers' season into a completely different perspective.

It can be easy to forget that Ian Britton's team have now gone six games unbeaten in Division Three, owing to the fact they have become known as the draw specialists.

But what a difference a win makes as Harriers claimed the first on their travels and at Roots Hall, the home of Southend United, with goals from Sean Flynn and loan man John Melligan.

Their excellent away form so far has been a tribute to the hard-working ethic of the players, while Britton's tactics have proved to be spot on.

It is a further message to fans that the former youth team manager may well have been the right choice as boss, especially as Hull City continue to slip up under Jan Molby.

Harriers eased to a comfortable success at Southend, making the home outfit look very average despite them boasting a run of four wins in five league games.

The visitors always showed more appetite, hunger and endeavour to leave angry fans from Essex booing their team off the pitch after their embarrassing night often threatened to get worse.

Britton's men were a constant threat on the break and could have returned with more goals for their labours with a little more composure in front of Darryl Flahavan's net.

The two loan players, Melligan and centre-back Clyde, must have impressed their watching Wolves manager Dave Jones as they continued their excellent start to life in a Harriers shirt.

Melligan's combination of pace and close control had Southend chasing shadows before he capped a busy night with a points-clinching goal.

He was joined in midfield by skipper Flynn whose immaculate 90 minutes work was rewarded with a headed first goal for the club.

Southend got off to a bright start but Harriers gradually seized the initiative with Melligan driving inches wide of the post on 24 minutes.

Dangerous forward Broughton brought a great save from keeper Flahavan with a fiercely struck shot on the turn after half-an-hour.

They were in no mood to be denied though and took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Ian Foster's pinpoint right-wing cross was nodded home by Flynn.

Any hope of a Southend comeback was gone within four minutes of the restart when Bo Henriksen and Flynn linked up to send Melligan clear.

He made no mistake by sending a crisp, low drive into the corner of the net from the edge of the area.

Desperate Southend rarely troubled keeper Stuart Brock, while both Foster and Henriksen could have added to the tally with cooler finishes.

Harriers can now look forward to really testing their credentials when they entertain second-placed Rochdale on Saturday.

Still unbeaten at Aggborough, the confidence should be flowing through the squad after a superb night's work on Tuesday.

SOUTHEND: Flahavan; Beard, Cort, Broad, Searle; Clark (Belgrave 51), Smith, Maher, Jenkins (Maye 68); Jones, Rawle. Subs: Gay, Whelan, Thurgood.

HARRIERS: Brock 7; Hinton 8, Clyde 8, Ayres 8; Foster 8, Williams 7, FLYNN 9, Melligan 8, Shilton 8; Broughton 8, Henriksen 7 (Joy 81). Subs: Danby, Bennett, Doyle, Lower.

ATTENDANCE: 2,959.

SHOTS ON: Southend 2, Harriers 5.

SHOTS OFF: Southend 9, Harriers 7.

CORNERS: Southend 7, Harriers 3.

GOALS: Flynn 45, Melligan 49.

YELLOW CARDS: Southend 0, Harriers 2 (Broughton, Henriksen).

SHUTTLE STAR MAN: Sean Flynn. Totally controlled the middle of the park, winning and using the ball to great effect as well as scoring his first goal for the club with a first-half header.