Oliver: Late winner gave Bantams the points
Luke Oliver's 88th-minute goal secured League Two strugglers Bradford City a first win on the road this season.
The centre-back scrambled the ball into the bottom corner of the Southend net from close range following Andrew Davies pass into the box.
The win ended Southend's hopes of returning to the top of the table but was just reward for a Bantams side who dominated for much of the match, with winger Kyel Reid proving a thorn in the Blues' side.
City went closest early on with a Michael Flynn free-kick which was saved by Luke Daniels, while Southend did not test City keeper John McLaughlin in the first half.
The hosts improved after the break and the introduction of Lee Sawyer and Anthony Grant resulted in the latter having their first shot on target, an effort easily held by McLaughlin.
Liam Dickinson forced McLaughlin to parry his free-kick from the edge of the area - but Oliver then grabbed the winner and the Bantams held on for four minutes of stoppage time.
(There is a S24 report but our correspondant has lost his phone somewhere between the pub and the station, an unlikely story but full vews & news in the morning, when hopefully the cold air would have done him good; and Barnet did us a favour v Cheltenham as well, bugger!: http://news.bbc.co.uk)
Source: DSG
| Competition: npower League Two Date: Friday, 16th December 2011 Kick off: 19:45 Venue: Roots Hall | ||||
 |
Southend Utd.
|
0 - 1 | Bradford City
Oliver 88
|
 |
| Match Finished | ||||
| Starting line-ups | ||
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Luke Daniels | |
| 12 | Kane Ferdinand (Grant 65) | |
| 15 | Mark Phillips | |
| 2 | Sean Clohessy | |
| 3 | Peter Gilbert | |
| 18 | Ryan Leonard (Sawyer 68) | |
| 16 | Luke Prosser | |
| 4 | Ryan Hall | |
| 8 | Michael Timlin | |
| 9 | Neil Harris | |
| 22 | Liam Dickinson | |
| Substitutes | ||
| 7 | Anthony Grant (Ferdinand 65) | |
| 21 | Blair Sturrock | |
| 11 | Lee Sawyer (Leonard 68) | |
| 1 | Glenn Morris | |
| 5 | Graham Coughlan | |
| Starting line-ups | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon McLaughlan | |
| 6 | Luke Oliver | |
| 2 | Simon Ramsden | |
| 36 | Marcel Seip | |
| 38 | Andrew Davies | |
| 32 | Kyel Reid (O'Brien 85) | |
| 14 | Richard Ravenhill | |
| 4 | Michael Flynn | |
| 21 | Nahki Wells (Stewart 83) | |
| 9 | James Hanson | |
| 39 | Craig Fagan | |
| Substitutes | ||
| 11 | Jack Compton | |
| 34 | Matt Duke | |
| 8 | Ritchie Jones | |
| 7 | Mark Stewart (Wells 83) | |
| 3 | Luke O'Brien (Reid 85) | |
| 46.7% | Possession | 53.3% |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Goal Attempts | 1 |
| 0 | On Target | 1 |
| 0 | Off Target | 0 |
| 0 | Hit Woodwork | 0 |
| 6 | Corners | 5 |
| Referee | Attendance |
|---|---|
| Graham Scott | 5,526 |
| Southend Utd. cards shown | ||
|---|---|---|
| 32 mins | Peter Gilbert | Unsporting behaviour |
| Bradford City cards shown | ||
| 74 mins | Luke Oliver | Unsporting behaviour |
| 75 mins | Kyel Reid | Unsporting behaviour |
Click here to see a full list of the football results from Friday, 16th December 2011.
Source: DSG