Jack Payne (left) celebrates his second goal of the season with two-goal Tyrone Barnett
Tyrone Barnett scored twice as Southend comfortably beat Coventry City, despite playing almost 40 minutes with 10 men.
Coventry's Jim O'Brien had an effort tipped onto the bar before Jack Payne's low effort put the hosts ahead.
Barnett ran onto a Stephen Hendrie through ball to slot home a second.
Gary Deegan was then dismissed for a second yellow on 51 minutes, but Barnett ensured victory from the penalty spot, after City keeper Reice Charles-Cook had fouled Will Atkinson.
Coventry slip to fifth, six points off top spot in League One, after three games without a win, while Phil Brown's Southend climb to ninth, within two points of a play-off place.
Sky Blues boss Tony Mowbray told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire:
"Obviously we're disappointed. We struggled from the start really.
"We haven't got any excuses. We were beaten by a team who were very resilient. They dug in and didn't give us a minute on the ball.
"We came here with a very experienced team. They defended resiliently, put a lot of men behind the ball and made life difficult for us."
- Published16 January 2016
- Published16 January 2016
