ON a day of conflicting fortunes for their two forwards, Southend United made it successive 1-0 wins in League Two with a hard fought triumph at Hartlepool.

Striker Freddy Eastwood was full of smiles after scoring the only goal of the game after just five minutes.

But, alongside him, it was a frustrating afternoon for Barry Corr who was shown a ridiculous red card right on the stroke of half-time.

The Irishman bumped in to the back of Hartlepool defender Jack Baldwin when attempting to reach a deep free-kick from Ben Coker and also tangled legs with the centre-back at the same time.

However, to describe that as violent conduct is quite simply farcical and Corr did certainly not kick out in the manner suggested by referee Mark Brown when he was confronted by Southend’s protesting players.

The dismissal did not deny Blues victory at Victoria Park but could still prove costly due to Corr’s subsequent three match suspension.

For me, the Irishman is currently the most important player in the entire Shrimpers squad due to the impact he has on the side and the lack of a similar type of player as a replacement.

Blues boss Phil Brown has confirmed that the club look set to appeal against the dubious decision but, despite the match recording clearly showing the softness of the dismissal, red cards very rarely get overturned.

That does not bode well for Southend as their next two matches are up against very strong sides, Northampton Town and Chesterfield and that is followed by a tough looking trip to Wycombe Wanderers.

But, with or without Corr, those trio of games will give a clearer indication of the strength of this current Southend side.

Brown has assembled an incredibly hard working side packed full of commitment, effort and endeavour and Blues are just one of four teams to have won their opening two matches at League Two level.

However, it remains important to not get carried away as both of Southend's opponents so far, Plymouth and Hartlepool, were far from impressive.

Hartlepool, in particular, very rarely looked like scoring at the weekend even when the Shrimpers were reduced to 10 men.

The Monkeyhangers and Plymouth are also two of just three teams without a point in the division so far and a clearer indication of Southend’s chances of success this season will certainly emerge in the next few matches.

Eastwood, in particular, will be looking forward to those games after getting back on to the score-sheet at Hartlepool.

The striker endured a frustrating season with the Shrimpers last time around and barely figured while Paul Sturrock was in charge.

As a result, he hit the back of the net just four times last term but, since Brown’s arrival at the club, the striker has been far more involved.

The 29-year-old has featured in 10 of Brown’s 11 games in charge, with seven of them being starts.

But Saturday’s instinctive finish was Eastwood’s first goal during that time and just his second in his last 24 appearances.

The striker continues to divide opinion among those following the fortunes of Blues and is clearly unlikely to reach the standards he did during his first spell at Roots Hall.

However, in short glimpses, Eastwood is now starting to show signs of skill and quality but even more impressive was his work-rate against Hartlepool, especially when the Shrimpers went down to 10 men.

Eastwood will now want to build on his match winning strike and will also take on extra importance if Corr does have to sit out the next three matches.

Blues’ other two strikers Craig Reid and Don Cowan are both still finding their feet at the club and are not yet up to full fitness after enduring a disrupted pre-season.

However, they could be called upon sooner than expected and it remains a concern that Southend’s small squad could soon start to get stretched.

In the opening three games of the new season, Blues have already lost defender Julian Bennett to a long term injury and Corr could now be joining him on the sidelines for the next three weeks.

The Shrimpers are still unable to recruit replacements due to a transfer embargo and, with the list of unavailable players starting to mount, so too is the seriousness of limitations facing Brown as he looks to build on an encouraging start to the season.