Players have a habit of rising to the occasion against their former clubs and ex-Southend striker Barry Conlon was no exception on Saturday.

The 24-year-old enjoyed one of his best performances in a Quakers shirt since joining the club from York City over a year ago, scoring one goal and creating the other.

And the Dublin-born forward was understandably delighted to get on the scoresheet against one of his former clubs.

"It was a good win especially against my old side and it was nice to score," said Conlon.

"The lads have been disappointed about the games we've drawn where we should have won so hopefully that result will get us back on track.

"The most important thing was that we picked up three points today because there's nothing much between us and the bottom clubs."

Saturday's win takes Quakers eight points clear of basement club Boston, giving Mick Tait's side some breathing space.

"The pressure is off us a bit more and hopefully we can go out and enjoy the games more," said Conlon.

"If we can get a couple more wins together then we're looking at mid-table."

Having spent the last three Saturdays on their travels Quakers returned to a warm Feethams reception after their FA Cup heroics at Wrexham and spirited fightback at Shrewsbury.

"It's good for the fans to see we're having a real go," said Conlon.

"We need to continue working hard and giving 100 per cent.

"It's not always going to go our way, but if we continue in the way we have been we can't go too far wrong.

"You can't let things get you down and I think this is another factor which reflects on how we've been playing."

Tait admitted early into his caretaker role that he'd had reservations about how hard he'd worked his players, but it seems to have paid off.

"Mick has got us all working very hard and we've all got our heads down since he took over," said Conlon.

"Training is very hard, but at the same time we're all working with a smile on our face which I think is important."

Tait, meanwhile, was less than impressed with referee Mark Cowburn's decision to award a second-half penalty to Southend.

"The lads were furious really," said Tait. "Although Ryan shouldn't have stuck his leg out, he never even touched the lad.

"For the referee to be so close and still give a penalty is outrageous, but we have to accept decisions like that.

"I've got myself in enough trouble in the past for disagreeing with referees so I have to just accept it and get on with the game."

Read more about the Quakers here.