The bells have stopped chiming for Darryl Flahaven at Pompey
Former Shrimpers shot stopper Darryl Flahaven has been around since leaving south-east Essex in 2008, last ending up at Championship Portsmouth, the club his brother Arron played for before his sad death in 2001 in a car accident, in fact Darryl has a son named Aaron in his memory.
The diminuative goal-keeper won the PFA League One player of the year and was named in the League One Team of the Year in 2005-06; he was also named the Southend United Player's Player of the year in 2005-06.
However, after his arrival last year on the south coast he failed to make an appearance this season and Pompey boss Steve Cotterill wants somebody who will provide more competition for the No.1 keeper Jamie Ashdown.
Cotterill told www.portsmouth.co.uk/: "Darryl was on a contract until the end of the season and he is now going. I just wish him all the best and, hopefully, he will find somewhere. Instead, I'm looking at someone I just feel will put a bit more competition on to Jamie. I want somebody who has played at a good level and I have a couple of ideas. One would be a free transfer I think we could get. It's very important to have competition all around the pitch."
Good Luck Darryl, where we now take a look back at arguably his finest hour as a Shrimper six years ago last month!
League Two Play-Off Semi-Final Leg 1 - Sunday, May 15th, 2005:
Northampton Town 0 Southend United 0
Southend United ended their first ever Football League Playoff match with a scoreless draw against Northampton. However the fans of the Shrimpers deserve a special mention for their brilliant noise that was echoed around the nation live on Sky Sports…
To progress, Steve Tilson's men only require to beat the Cobblers at Roots Hall, a feat that they have already achieved with a 2-1 triumph over Northampton during the normal League season. That said, the Shrimpers defeated Town twice at Sixfields, once in the League and once in the LDV Vans Trophy area quarter-finals prior to this summer fixture.
However, Southend will have to put to bed a hoodoo that has seen them defeated in three of the last four televised clashes, and having failed to score in over 360 minutes of action. A victory would also represent a first win in five matches for the Seasiders, who at least claimed a second successive draw after the 1-1 finish at Grimsby Town eight days earlier.
From that match, Tilson made just one change, replacing Wayne Gray with the returning Tesfaye Bramble, the Monserrat international who scored the last goal in Cambridge United's 35-year Football League history a fortnight earlier. Freddy Eastwood retained his place in the starting line-up, with strikers Gray and Lawrie Dudfield both named on the substitutes' bench.
In a tentative start, a Mark Gower free-kick flicked off a Northampton head and produced a corner that Bramble directed straight at former Arsenal trainee Lee Harper in the hosts' net. Soon afterwards, at the other end, Lee Williamson darted in from the right-hand side and set up Scott McGleish, who miscued his shot completely from twelve yards.
Seconds later, a Charley Hearn corner was flicked onto the roof of the net by Cobblers captain Chris Willmott, who remained an aerial threat throughout the encounter. This was the only time, though, that he really got the better of man-of-the-match Spencer Prior at the heart of the Southend back-line.
In baking-hot spring sunshine, and with the obvious pressure of a Cup final-atmosphere, neither side was able to recreate the expansive football that had earned them a place in the top seven of Division Three. Instead it was left to the side's renowned front men, Andy Kirk for the homesters and Freddy Eastwood for the visitors - who between them have bagged fifty goals this season - to feed on the scraps that were left.
Midfielder David Rowson won an important header at the expense of Prior on the edge of the penalty area, and Kirk found ex-Colchester United hitman McGleish running into the inside-right channel. His shot was low and true, but Darryl Flahavan made the first real save of the match.
It was Adam Barrett's rampaging runs that perplexed Colin Calderwood's side when they came, and just before the half-hour mark, the Professional Footballer's Association Division Three Player-of-the-Year held off right-back Sam Togwell to cross for Eastwood, who blasted to the left of the goal. A similar run from Bramble five minutes later coaxed a tug from Willmott, who was booked for his unsporting behaviour.
Unfortunately, 34-year-old referee Lee Mason then got caught up in the occasion and the SKY cameras and produced further cautions for Duncan Jupp's innocuous challenge on Williamson and Che Wilson, astoundingly having not touched Town's record signing Josh Low. In between, Mark Bentley exchanged passes with Mark Gower and nodded low but straight at Harper from eight yards and Williamson's fierce drive from 25 yards was brilliantly parried away by an unsighted Flahavan after Low's free-kick had been cleared.
Half-time: Northampton Town 0 Southend United 0
At half-time, Bramble's hamstring tightened up and he was replaced by former Town hero Lawrie Dudfield in a like-for-like change. Initially it was the away side that threatened most in the second half, with Bentley heading wide to the right of goal from a Gower corner. Barrett also missed the target, this time after Bentley had headed into his path thirty yards out.
The ineffectual Gower was taken off on the hour, with diminutive Luke Guttridge coming on. Colin Calderwood also made a switch, with Williamson brought off and danger man Martin Smith his replacement. Still Southend had the better of the half-chances, with Dudfield held by Willmott and skipper Kevin Maher's free-kick being headed over by Eastwood after he had clambered above Rowson.
Maher also shot well wide, whilst Bentley was added into the referee's notebook despite seemingly being assaulted by Fred Murray on the left. Smith dispossessed Guttridge on the left flank and crossed for McGleish, who nodded over the crossbar with a diving effort. Another dangerous moment arrived a quarter-of-an-hour from the end when Kirk dribbled past Barrett, but his shot bounced invitingly for Flahavan.
The dangerous incidents were now occurring away from the 1,000-strong Shrimpers faithful, and Smith again caused problems when he wriggled free of Duncan Jupp and shot towards goal, the ball appearing to hit Guttridge as he tracked across the penalty area.
In the final twelve minutes, both teams missed their best opportunities in what was a forgettable match. Firstly Eastwood, who had not imposed himself on the game, finally beat Crystal Palace-loanee Togwell in the Northampton right-back role, and crossed for Guttridge, who somehow managed to find the supporting post behind the goal whilst unmarked six yards out at the back post.
His next attempt on goal was headed away by McGleish, and Dudfield also tapped a shot at Harper after a raking fifty-yard pass from left-back Che Wilson. Then, in the final minute of the game, Town wasted the chance to take a 1-0 lead into the second leg. Hearn found Kirk in behind the ageing Prior, and the Northern Ireland international was denied by a stretching Flahavan, who turned his goalbound effort around the right-hand upright. It was to prove a match-saver, and means the sides return to Essex next Saturday evening with the tie all-square at 0-0.
Full-time: Northampton Town 0 Southend United 0
NORTHAMPTON TOWN | 0 | D3 | 0 | SOUTHEND UNITED |
6601 | ||||
4-4-2 | TEAMS | 4-4-2 | ||
Lee HARPER | Darryl FLAHAVAN | |||
Sam TOGWELL | Duncan JUPP | |||
Luke CHAMBERS | Spencer PRIOR | |||
Chris WILLMOTT | Adam BARRETT | |||
Fred MURRAY | Che WILSON | |||
Lee WILLIAMSON | 58 | Carl PETTEFER | ||
David ROWSON | Kevin MAHER | |||
Charley HEARN | Mark BENTLEY | |||
Josh LOW | 73 | 60 | Mark GOWER | |
Scott McGLEISH | 87 | Freddy EASTWOOD | ||
Andy KIRK | h-t | Tesfaye BRAMBLE | ||
SUBS | ||||
Mark BUNN | Bart GRIEMINK | |||
David HUNT | Andy EDWARDS | |||
Marc RICHARDS | h-t | Lawrie DUDFIELD | ||
Eric SABIN | 73 | 87 | Wayne GRAY | |
Martin SMITH | 58 | 60 | Luke GUTTRIDGE |
Match Statistics |
Northampton Town (0)…0 Southend United (0)…0 @ Sixfields Stadium, Northampton in the Division Three Play-Offs Semi-Final First Leg on Sunday 15/05/05 |
Goals: none |
Bookings: Northampton: Willmott 35 (foul), Hearn 67 (foul); Southend: Jupp 37 (foul), Wilson 45+1 (foul), Bentley 69 (foul). |
Sent-off: none |
Total Goal Efforts | Cobblers 10 Shrimpers 12 |
Shots/Headers On Target | Cobblers 3 Shrimpers 3 |
Shots/Headers Off Target | Cobblers 5 Shrimpers 6 |
Blocked shots | Cobblers 2 Shrimpers 3 |
Hit Woodwork | Cobblers 0 Shrimpers 0 |
Corners | Cobblers 10 Shrimpers 3 |
Free-kicks | Cobblers 20 Shrimpers 15 |
Offsides | Cobblers 1 Shrimpers 2 |
Sundries |
Match Time | 94:40 (First half: 46:22, Second half: 48:18) |
Indicated Stoppage Time | First half: 1 minute, Second half: 3 minutes |
Referee: Lee Mason (Cheshire FA) 6 out of 10 (3/5 General Control, 1/3 Application of the Laws of the game, 2/2 Appearance and Personality) - started off well, but after he had booked Willmott for Northampton, he quickly lost control, and failed to regain it. Failed continually to spot Togwell's foul throws and gave some suspicious free-kicks. |
Attendance: 6,601 (approximately 1,050 Shrimpers) |
Programme Cover: Andy Kirk, Josh Low and Fred Murray celebrate |
GK Darryl Flahavan | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals Conceded: 0 | Rating: 8 | |||
As the match was nearing it's end former Boston man, Andy Kirk found space and managed to get a shot away. However Flahavan's flexibility once again showed to be his greatest asset as he flung across the goal to tip wide of the post. |
RB Duncan Jupp | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6.5 |
Jupp did not have the best of games as he seemed to continuously give the ball away. Jupp also mistimed a number of tackles including to needlessly overzealous challenge that warranted him a caution. Despite this Jupp made a crucial block as Andy Kirk's shot was heading goalwards. |
CB Spencer Prior | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7 |
Another more than capable performance from Prior as he kept it simple in search of a win. Prior, clearly desperate to gain promotion, flung himself everywhere he could as he competed well throughout |
CB Adam Barrett | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6.5 |
Barrett was strangely awarded with Sky Sports, 'Powerade Man of the Match.' Quite why, I am not sure as it was a very average performance from Barrett, however it is another personal accolade that Adam has received from this season. On the positive side Barrett made a couple of superb runs into the heart of the defence. Despite this I felt that defensively he looked challenged often by Andy Kirk and when substituted onto the field, Eric Sabin. |
LB Che Wilson | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6 |
I was less than impressed with Che today as he was often the man who gave the ball away and broke down attacks. Wilson has proved, this season, that he a very good player and was correctly awarded with the 'SZ most improved player of the year.' However today he returned to the man that, last year, fitted into a side that was struggling to stay in the Football League. |
RM/LM Carl Pettefer | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 5 |
Maybe watching on television made it look worse than it normally does but Pettefer has got to be the most negative footballer I have ever seen. Sometimes he goes for the direct approach and when he does it is often effective. However it was on far too many occasions that Petts found himself passing backwards and not even attempting to beat players. This just lead to my frustration of the game being epitomised on one player, Carl Pettefer. |
CM Mark Bentley | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7.5 |
Bentley certainly gave the team something that is needed, a driving force. Bentley was one of the few players that really committed to the cause on the day as he went in with a few crunching tackles. In fact one tackle, that he was cautioned for, he was very lucky to stay on the pitch for as he went over the top of the ball. In attack Bentley came very close to adding to his tally of six goals as he latched on to a Mark Gower cross. However, the direction of the header failed to match the power as goalkeeper, Harper gathered easily. |
CM Kevin Maher | Minutes on pitch: 90 |Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6 |
A strangely quite performance from Captain Kev as he failed to step up to the plate in the way we know he can. Do you remember a year ago when two amazing performances from the skipper, against Colchester, saw the Blues to Cardiff? We are yet to see a repeat of this although something similar would be nice against Northampton. The actual game saw Maher deliver a couple of good set pieces although not to the effect that he has done throughout the season. |
LM Mark Gower | Minutes on pitch: 60 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7 |
Gower is now looking a much more dangerous proposition and I was very disappointed to see him substituted after just one hour of the match. Gower had put a couple of dangerous crosses into the penalty area and he looked very sharp when in possession of the ball. |
CF Freddy Eastwood | Minutes on pitch: 86 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 1| Rating: 6 |
Eastwood had a very quite game as he was limited to just a couple of long range shots and a header that he sent wide of the goal. On the whole Freddy was kept very quite apart from one moment when he sent a super ball onto the head of Luke Guttridge. |
CF Tesfaye Bramble | Minutes on pitch: 45 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6 |
You've got to feel sorry for Tes. Brought in to the side and given a chance to perform he was part of the least creative half of football I have seen for quite a while. Then after thirty five minutes, poor old Bramble pulled up with a hamstring strain and played the last ten minutes hobbling about. In fact the one time Tes did get the ball at his feet he was surging goalwards only to be pulled back by Willmott. |
RM Luke Guttridge | Minutes on pitch: 30 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6 |
In half an hour Guttridge fought hard but to little avail as the game was closing up into nothing. However Guttridge did have a golden chance to turn the tie around when Eastwood picked his head out perfectly only to head wide of the post. |
CF Lawrie Dudfield | Minutes on pitch: 45 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6 |
Fourty five minutes on the field and I was not that impressed with Dudfield. He had one shot that was easily gathered by Harper but on the whole Lawrie was very quite. Don't get me wrong Dudfield was trying incredibly hard as he chased everything down but unfortunately it was not to be as he suffered another frustrating week. |
CF Wayne Gray | Minutes on pitch: 4 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6 |
Only four minutes for Wayne and it was no where near long enough to influence the game. Gray will look train hard in the week and hope for first team selection on Saturday in the return leg. |
(Report by Robert Craven and Marks out of Ten by Matt Donahue first appeared in The Little Gazette; Sunday, May 15th, 2005.)
The Flahaven Files
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darryl James Flahavan | ||
| Date of birth | 28 November 1978 (1978-11-28) | ||
| Place of birth | Southampton, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Portsmouth | ||
| Number | 37 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Southampton | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996-1998 | Southampton | 0 | (0) |
| 1998-2000 | Woking | 43 | (0) |
| 2000-2008 | Southend United | 291 | (0) |
| 2008-2010 | Crystal Palace | 2 | (0) |
| 2009 | → Leeds United (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2009 | → Oldham Athletic (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2010 | → Oldham Athletic (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2010- | Portsmouth | 0 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:19, 27 August 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
(Player info supplied by Wikipedia, for the full article go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darryl_Flahavan)