Southend manager Paul Sturrock remained upbeat despite watching his side lose 2-1 to 10-man Shrewsbury.
Goals from James Collins, from the penalty spot, and Jermaine Grandison sandwiched a Ryan Hall strike for the visiting Shrimpers as Marvin Morgan's 28th-minute dismissal for a lunge on Jon-Paul Kalala did not adversely affect the result for the Shrews.
Sturrock, whose side remain top of League Two on goal difference, believed there was not much separating the two teams.
"We started the game very well and had a couple of half-chances," he said. "It was pretty even and the sending-off was definitely a key feature.
"In the second half they showed the will to win that 10 men usually do and caught us a few times on the break when we tried to push forward.
"That's football and we've won two games this season with 10 men. We'll live to fight another day."
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