Latics lose at home again

CONNOR RIPLEY . . . On the losing side

ATHLETIC 0, SOUTHEND 2

ATHLETIC drew yet another blank on home soil as Nile Ranger's first-half goal and a late effort from Jermaine McGlashan condemned Stephen Robinson's side to a loss that puts the club to the foot of the Sky Bet League One table.

A soft corner was conceded in the 18th minute and a short delivery came in from Jason Demetriou, with Ranger controlling, holding off his marker and outstretching a right leg to smartly convert beyond Connor Ripley.

Peter Clarke headed straight at Mark Oxley after the break as the hosts improved, with Ryan Flynn firing two feet wide from just outside the area.

Southend went close to extending the lead on the break through Will Atkinson and Ryan Leonard hit a shot that Ripley had to palm behind.

McGlashan made it 2-0 when capitalising on an Ollie Banks error. His first effort was well-saved by Ripley but the forward was alert enough to poke in the rebound.

Ollie Banks had a header cleared off the line and Cameron Burgess out the rebound against the crossbar seconds before the final whistle arrived.