Southend ended Altrincham’s three-game winning run as they strolled to a 3-0 victory at Roots Hall.
Altrincham fell behind in the ninth minute when Oli Coker fired home after a neat one-two with Slavi Spasov.
Captain Nathan Ralph drove home the second after 19 minutes and the hosts could even afford to miss a penalty in the 54th minute when Luke Hutchinson saved Gus Scott-Morriss’s spot-kick.
The overworked Hutchinson saved brilliantly to deny Harry Boyes in the 76th minute, and after Altrincham had Dan Sassi sent off late on for a second yellow card, there was time for Josh Walker to pounce on a defensive error and make it three.
