91Èȱ¬

Southend United kept their automatic promotion hopes alive with a 2-0 win at Roots Hall that dents Newport County's ambition of making the play-offs.

Cian Bolger's header seconds before the break and Stephen McLaughlin's second-half strike sealed a play-off place for the Shrimpers.

County's David Tutonda and Aaron O'Connor hit the woodwork for the Exiles who slip to ninth in the table.

Southend are five points off the top three with a game in hand.

United keeper Daniel Bentley kept an 11th successive home clean sheet - a club record.

Newport manager Jimmy Dack told 91Èȱ¬ Radio Wales:

"It's a hard place to come, Southend, but we've got to play better than that.

"We will keep working hard and we will keep fighting until the end.

"We've got three games left and we need three wins [to make the play-offs]."