FREDDY Eastwood was a happy man after firing Southend United to a 1-0 win at Hartlepool, with his first away goal since returning to the club.

The 29-year-old striker had gone 15 games on the road without hitting the back of the net since rejoining the Shrimpers in March 2012.

But he was back on target against the Monkeyhangers and always felt confident of netting in the north-east.

“I have a good goalscoring record against Hartlepool and I think I’ve scored every time I’ve played here so I fancied my chances of getting a goal,” said Eastwood.

“It doesn’t really bother me too much if I score or not if I’m honest because it’s just about playing well and getting points on the board.

“Goals will come when you play well but I’m delighted to have got my first goal of the season.”

Eastwood has now scored four goals in four games against Hartlepool.

And he felt the timing of his latest effort was crucial in helping Blues come out on top.

“We knew Hartlepool had lost the first two games so we wanted to get on top of them and scoring early was key,” said Eastwood.

“It was really back to the walls in the second half when we went down to 10 men but I think winning the game shows how good a side we are.”

Blues were forced to play a numerical disadvantage for the whole second half after Eastwood’s strike partner Barry Corr was dismissed after a tangle with Jack Baldwin just before the break.

But Eastwood did not agree with the decision.

“I was right behind Barry and there was nothing in it at all,” said Eastwood, “The referee didn’t give it, it was the linesman but Barry didn’t do anything wrong.

“The scuffle just before it didn’t help because Baz got involved in it and I think that might have had something to do with it.

“But they said he kicked out and he didn’t do that at all so it was disappointing because I think we would've scored a few more had Baz stayed on.”