Chris Powell frustrated by late defeat to Rochdale

Southend manager Chris Powell labelled his side’s 2-1 Sky Bet League One defeat to Rochdale as a “real dagger to the heart”’

Callum Camps’ 87th-minute header handed Dale their first victory at Roots Hall since 1985.

And Powell was left frustrated by the familiar feeling of the setback as the Shrimpers again conceded late on.

“In virtually every defeat we’ve had at home this season we’ve got back into the game then switched off at the end,” said Powell.

“We want to win games but we have to respect the point.

“If we had done that this season we would have four or five more points and be in the top half.

“It’s a real dagger to the heart and it’s amazing how many times this has happened now.

“We’ve lost more games here than we’ve won and I don’t like that.

“It hurts and the first-half performance was unacceptable.

“We were fortunate it was only 1-0 at half-time and well done to Nathan (Bishop) for making some good saves.

“We had to change things at half-time to give them something to think about and we needed to be more proactive.

“We got back into it but then the goal we’ve given away at the end there is very poor.”

Rochdale came close to taking an early lead when Joe Rafferty sent a half-volley over the crossbar from close range.

But, with 23 minutes on the clock, the visitors broke the deadlock as Jordan Williams outmuscled Elvis Bwomono on Dale’s left flank before sprinting into the box and sending a low, left-footed shot past Shrimpers goalkeeper Nathan Bishop who was making his first League start.

Southend improve slightly after the break and equalised in the 81st minute when Sam Mantom’s left-wing corner was flicked on at the near post by Taylor Moore to tee up centre-back John White to head home from close range.

However, Dale hit back six minutes later to secure all three points when the Shrimpers failed to clear and Ian Henderson’s chipped cross from the left-hand side was headed into the bottom right-hand corner of the net by Camps.

And Dale boss Keith Hill was thrilled to see his side come out on top.

“From a game perspective, I thought the lads showed great honesty, a good appetite and a winning desire so I think we got our just rewards,” said Hill.

“We recovered well from last week, put in a good performance and got three points

“There wasn’t any drama on the pitch and that’s good because I don’t like drama.

“I’ve got to make sure I get this squad back to a no drama attitude and I thought we got as close today as we possibly can to that type of performance.”