ELLIOT Benyon hopes his winning penalty at Oxford United can signal the start of a change of fortune for him at Southend United.

The 25-year-old forward has endured a frustrating season at Roots Hall, making just three starts.

But he came off the bench to fire home the decisive spot kick in Blues’ successful penalty shoot out in the area semi-final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy at the Kassam Stadium.

And the striker now wants to remain in Paul Sturrock’s plans.

“It has been a frustrating season for me so far and I haven’t played as much as I would’ve liked but it was a nice moment at Oxford on Tuesday and hopefully there can be a few more of them now,” said Benyon.

“I did think I had missed the penalty when I saw the goalkeeper going the right way but thankfully it went in and the most important thing was that it helped Southend United get through to the next round of the competition.

“We’re close to getting to a Wembley final now but we’re back in action in the league tomorrow at Exeter and that’s also a very important game.”

Benyon has now not started a game for Blues since the 1-1 draw at Plymouth Argyle in September.

But, with Britt Assombalonga (ankle) and Freddy Eastwood (knee) both struggling to be fit for Saturday’s game, Benyon could find himself featuring in some part of the game.

And he feels fit enough to make an impact, despite his lack of game time.

“The lads who aren’t playing do extra work on the training ground and I feel fine,” said Benyon.

“It’s hard to be fully match fit because you need games for that and we don’t have a reserve team at the moment.

“But I feel fit and would love to play some part in the match this weekend.”

However, if Benyon does remain out of favour then the forward hinted he may be forced to leave the club on loan.

“I’m 25 years-old now and I need to be playing games,” said Benyon.

“Ideally I’d like that to be at Southend because it’s a good team who are doing well but I just want to be involved in the matches.”