Sky Bet League Two’s bottom club Southend ended their long wait for a win this season as Emile Acquah’s late goal earned them a deserved 1-0 victory at Walsall

The 20-year-old substitute turned in the box before firing into the bottom corner two minutes from time, shortly after Elijah Adebayo had hit the bar with a penalty for Walsall.

Southend could have led inside two minutes as Brandon Goodship raced on to goalkeeper Mark Oxley’s up and under, but Walsall stopper Liam Roberts denied him one-on-one.

Roberts then made a double save to deny Timothee Dieng and superbly tipped a header wide from the midfielder before the break.

Walsall’s only real chance of the half saw Oxley push Alfie Bates’ 20-yarder wide, but they improved after the break and the Southend keeper did superbly to thwart Dan Scarr’s close-range header.

When Tom Clifford brought down Cameron Norman, Southend looked set for a seventh straight league defeat, but Adebayo blazed his 81st-minute penalty onto the bar.

Acquah took full advantage with an accurate finish five minutes later to secure Southend’s first win since March.