 Cup |
Daggers grew in confidence, but it was the visitors that still seemed more likely to score. Okai flashed Coker's short corner narrowly over before Ofori-Acheampong arched his neck back to head George Smith's centre off-target in the 32nd minute. Then, as the half-time whistle beckoned, the same pair combined, with Ofori-Acheampong this time chipping over with his right foot. The second period followed a similar pattern of play, but this time Southend were not so profligate in sight of goal and they equalised within six minutes of the restart. Okai's inswinging corner was hooked to the back post by Louis Baucutt, and Ofori-Acheampong's towering header was nodded in off the underside of the crossbar by Coker, who registered his first goal for the Under-18s in the process. A rare Daggers attack involving good build-up play from Adam Gemili culminated in Louis Dennis firing straight at Bentley before the introduction of Hicham Abdellah in place of Coker added a new threat for the Shrimpers. The winger was immediately in action, collecting Nesbitt's cross-field ball and forcing a parried save from the Dagenham goalkeeper. Blues edged ahead midway through the second half after a cunning set-piece routine involving Stevens and Nesbitt earned a corner. Abdellah passed short to Nesbitt again, and his swinging left-footed cross eventually bounced into the path of Ofori-Acheampong, who rifled the ball through a crowded six-yard box and into the net. That should have been the signal for Southend to close out the game, and they had opportunities to make the result safe, notably when another fierce Abdellah effort from Stevens' slide-rule pass was beaten away at the near post and when Ofori-Acheampong powerfully headed Anthony Furlonge's pinpoint cross over from close range. Those missed opportunities came back to haunt Blues in the last minute of regulation time as Dennis threaded the ball down the inside-left channel for a Dagenham midfielder to gallop onto before dispatching it into the bottom left-hand corner. Even given this hammer-blow, the Shrimpers could have inflicted a third consecutive single-goal defeat upon their hosts when Ofori-Acheampong raced clear to latch onto Furlonge's through ball in the second minute of stoppage time. However, he could only locate the 'keeper's gloves with his eventual shot from 15 yards, leaving Southend in need of wins against Gillingham and Colchester United in their final two group games to make progress to the Second Round of the Youth Alliance Cup likely. Southend United: Daniel Bentley, Anthony Furlonge, Teddy Nesbitt, James Stevens, Louis Baucutt, Kane Ferdinand, Fope Coker (Hicham Abdellah 59), Alex Woodyard, Duane Ofori-Acheampong, George Smith (Jack Paxman 84), Julian Okai (Ryan Auger 84). Substitutes not used: Luke Chambers, Rhys Mackay. Goals: Coker (51), Ofori-Acheampong (66). Thanks to the Shrimpers Trust website for the reprinting of these reports, for the Trust's own youth section, go here: |
Blues dominated long spells of possessions at The Academy in Loughton but a lack of potency in front of goal cost them dearly as the hosts netted a last-minute leveller to claim their first point of the Group 5 campaign.