PHIL Edwards conceded a penalty for the second time in four days as Oxford United lost at struggling Southend United.

Just as in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic the full back felt hard done by – there was no doubt it hit his arm, but it was debatable whether he could have got it out of the way.

Anthony Wordsworth struck home the penalty to give under-pressure Southend and despite pushing hard late on, the U’s could not find a way to get back on level terms.

They had come from behind in the first half, Kane Hemmings’s header on the stroke of half-time cancelling out a superb early strike from Ryan Leonard.

Chances came and went to build on the equaliser, before Wordsworth inflicted a sixth defeat on United in seven winless visits to Roots Hall.

Hemmings’s performance as a substitute on Saturday earned him a place in the starting XI, replacing Ryan Taylor in the only change from the weekend.

United had emphasised the importance of a fast start against a side low on confidence in the build-up, but they struggled to catch light and fell behind in the 13th minute.

Leonard did not seem to be short on belief as he pounced on a Chey Dunkley header and hammered home first-time from 25 yards with a shot which gave Simon Eastwood no chance.

The U’s goalkeeper was busy in the opening half-hour.

He got down well to save a low shot from Wordsworth and tipped a shot from Jermaine McGlashan over after Phil Edwards had given the ball away cheaply.

United, switching back to a 4-4-2 system, played more like a home team, but they struggled to turn long spells of possession into anything threatening.

It took them 33 minutes to create a chance, which Hemmings headed over when he should have done better with Liam Sercombe’s cross.

Southend continued to look the more threatening, helped by the visitors’ carelessness.

A loose pass from Dunkley led to a good chance for Jason Demetriou seven minutes before the break, but Edwards was on hand to backheel the shot, which was probably going wide anyway, to safety.

United looked like a side in need of the interval to have a re-think, but instead drew level in stoppage time.

Marvin Johnson got away with a push in the box to steer a header goalwards, which was cleared for a corner.

A quickly-taken set piece caught out the Shrimpers, with Johnson crossing for Hemmings to power a header into the net from eight yards.

It took time for the game to come to life in the second half, but Wordsworth was fortunate to get away without collecting a second booking for a challenge which floored Maguire on the hour.

United went on to have an excellent spell.

A hopeful ball forward from Dunkley was perfect for Maguire, who raced through but saw his shot blocked by Oxley. Hemmings fired the rebound over.

Within a minute the Shrimpers stopper denied Maguire again, this time with a close range header from Hemmings’s cross.

Johnson also narrowly missed the top corner with another effort, but United’s failure to strike when they were on top proved costly.

With 16 minutes remaining Ben Coker got the better of Johnson and from point blank range his cross struck Edwards on the arm.

Referee Graham Horwood pointed to the spot, from where Wordsworth tucked home.

Wes Thomas and Ryan Taylor were brought on as United went in search of an equaliser.

The former came mightily close to doing just that in the 89th minute, when only a terrific save from Oxley kept him out from Johnson’s free-kick.

Even with six minutes added on there was no late drama – Joe Rothwell firing the last opportunity of the game well off target.

Southend Utd (3-4-3): Oxley, Barrett, Ferdinand, Inniss, Demetriou, Wordsworth (Atkinson 82), Leonard, Coker, McGlashan (O’Neill 70), Mooney, McLaughlin.

Unused subs: Smith, White, Thompson, Cox, King.

Booked: Wordsworth, Mooney, O’Neill, Inniss, Oxley.

Oxford Utd (4-4-2): Eastwood, Edwards, Dunkley, Raglan, Skarz, Rothwell, Lundstram, Sercombe, Johnson, Maguire, Hemmings.

Subs used: Thomas (Hemmings 76), Taylor (Skarz 82).

Unused subs: Buchel, Long, Ruffels, Ledson, MacDonald.

Booked: Lundstram, Maguire, Raglan.

Referee: Graham Horwood (Bedfordshire).

Attendance: 5,597 (440 visitors).