Joe Gallen took responsibility for the travelling reserves side this afternoon and there were many familiar faces for the Under 18’s coach to work with.

In the absence of Chris Day, Sean Thomas started his first reserve team game of the season. He was behind a back four of Marcus Bignot, Pat Kanyuka, Ryan Johnson and Daniel Murphy.

Gallen fielded a five man midfield, consisting of Lewis Hamilton, Marc Bircham, Marcus Bean, Adam Miller, and Aaron Brown with Luke Townsend the only recognised striker.

Both Murphy and Townsend are confirmed as leaving the club this summer so it was an ideal chance to put themselves in the shop window, something their youth team colleague Lee Craig has already done, he lined up on trial for the opposition!

The game didn’t really come alive until the 75^th minute, when Wayne Gray found himself clear in the six yard box and gave Southend the lead.

Late in the game however Adam Miller’s close range strike looked to have earned Rangers a draw but Luke Townsend latched onto a long ball deep into injury time to steal the three points for Rangers.

Adam Miller continues to shine at this level, that’s his third goal in two games whilst Townsend scored his first goal since a double strike against Woking back in October.