Sturrock sticks up for ref

Paul Sturrock defended the match officials after his Southend side beat Cheltenham 3-1 on Saturday.

Opposite number Mark Yates was unhappy with the free-kicks that led to Britt Assombalonga's and Mark Phillips' decisive headed goals after the break. "I didn't think he was at all bad," said Sturrock of referee Scott Duncan's display. "You're always going to get one or two decisions that don't look quite right, but he had a good game." Of his own players, Sturrock was full of praise for the way they responded to Jermaine McGlashan opening the scoring for the hosts in the 15th minute. "We played with a good tempo and created chances once I changed the system," he added.