'Final defeat feels raw' - Southend boss Maher

Kevin Maher made 454 appearances for Southend United as a player

Southend United will reflect with pride on their journey to the National League's promotion final but it may take some time, according to boss Kevin Maher.

The Shrimpers were within 29 minutes of a return to the EFL before going down 3-2 in extra time to Oldham Athletic at Wembley Stadium.

The Essex side have endured a troubled recent history, including a number of winding-up petitions, transfer embargoes, relegation to non-league football, and continued ownership issues before being taken over last July.

"What we've all been through at this club, you shouldn't have to go through those sorts of things," Maher told BBC Sport.

"When we reflect we should be proud as a football club to see how far we've come in such a short period of time - but it's pretty raw because as a professional you want to win."

Southend only secured their play-off place on the final day of the regular season before coming through extra time to beat Rochdale 4-3 in their play-off eliminator, and then squeezing past Forest Green Rovers on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the semi-finals.

They led twice in the Wembley showpiece in front of a record crowd of 52,115 with an own goal from Oldham's Manny Monthe and then Leon Chambers-Parillon's header in the first minute of extra time.

But, after Joe Garner had levelled from the penalty spot early in the second half, James Norwood and Kian Harratt scored in the space of two minutes in extra time to send Oldham back to the EFL after a three-year absence.

"There were so many momentum shifts in the game," Maher, the former Southend midfielder, said.

"At 2-1 I thought we might go and get the third, and if you do that it probably puts it to bed."

Maher congratulated Oldham in his post-match press conference and added his voice to the calls for a third promotion spot from the National League.

"There's a bottleneck at this level, and this game tells you everything about the standard and quality in the league.

"In the National league you've got to be better than 22 teams and only the top one goes up automatically, while in League Two you've only got to be better than 20 sides – it should be three up, of course it should.

"Whether it gets voted in or not I don't know, people say it's like turkeys voting for Christmas."