For the U’s, the emphasis is most certainly on revenge after the Shrimpers dumped them out of the Trophy at the area final stage over two legs in the first match-ups between the clubs in fourteen years. During that time Blues spent a significant period in the old Division One – now labelled the Championship – whilst Colchester currently hold the ascendancy in League One, lying some thirty places above the Roots Hall outfit in the Coca-Cola Football League.
However, all of that meant nothing when the county’s only two League representatives met in 2003/4; the Layer Road side were pushing for the play-off positions in Division Two and were in the latter stages of the FA Cup in one of their best ever seasons under current boss Phil Parkinson, whilst the Seasiders struggled to avoid relegation to the Nationwide Conference for the first time in their history.
The first clash came in the north of the county, and what a thriller it was. Perhaps surprisingly it was far from a full house at Layer Road, although Blues sold their 1,300 allocation, but nonetheless the home club took the lead through Thomas Pinault with a rocket into the top right-hand corner. Tesfaye Bramble was the instigator of the fightback – he set up Leon Constantine for the equaliser ten minutes later, then three minutes before half-time a Kevin Maher corner was nodded in by Drewe Broughton.
After that action-packed first period, the second was always likely to be less exciting, but still Southend and their rivals served up yet more goalmouth action. Simon Brown allowed Bramble’s weak effort on 68 minutes squirm through his legs, but any initiative handed to the Shrimpers was wiped out when Broughton was dismissed by referee Paul Taylor for a second bookable offence – kicking the ball into the massed away ranks on Terrace One – and almost immediately Wayne Andrews reduced the lead to one as he was left unmarked to stab home.
It was a second successive win for United at Layer Road, following on from an Eastertide triumph over the U’s way back in April 1990. Ian Benjamin and Peter Daley grabbed the goals on that occasion; one that saw Southend effectively promoted and Colchester go down. A week later – fast-forwarding again to 2004 – and a 1-1 draw, with Kemal Izzet and Broughton again on the scoresheet, was enough to ensure the Shrimpers’ first appearance in a national final, by four goals to three on aggregate.
There are many happy memories in the southeast from that match, and very few players that lined up on the Blues side have since departed. In defence from the Layer Road game, Jamie Stuart (Hornchurch) and centre-backs Leon Cort (Hull City) and Mark Warren (Fisher Athletic) have all gone, as have forward Leon Constantine (Peterborough United) and substitute Steven Clark (Hornchurch again). Carl Pettefer actually made his debut in the first clash.
Since the summer though, Parkinson’s U’s have lost a host of the players that served them so badly on the two nights, and a number more are out through injury. In the latter group are midfielders Izzet, Karl Duguid and Sam Stockley, whilst defender Liam Chilvers is the fourth name.
Meanwhile, forward Rowan Vine and midfielder Paul Tierney were only at the club on loan at the time, and failed to see their moves made permanent by Parkinson and his coaching staff. Clumsy custodian Brown has astoundingly found football at Hibernian in Scotland, whilst Wayne Andrews’ move recently to Crystal Palace saw Gareth Williams move in the opposite direction. Alan White (Leyton Orient), Pinault (Grimsby Town) and Scott McGleish, who was a target of Steve Tilson during the close season and went to Northampton Town, will be opposition to Southend in the coming months.
That leaves precious few players left in Parkinson’s plans from that match seven-and-a-half months ago, the principal players being exciting young full-back Greg Halford and experienced utility man Joe Keith, who is second only to Duguid as the side’s longest-serving player. Substitute shotstopper Dean Gerken, ironically a ‘keeper formerly at the Seasiders’ centre of excellence and a Blues fan to boot, is the third name in the matchday squad.
Speaking to Colchester’s official website, www.cu-fc.com, Keith proclaimed, “You can’t really explain how much it hurts being that close to Cardiff and have a team from the lower leagues, thinking we are going to walk all over them and then not beat them was such a hard pill to take. We do owe them one, definitely”. The defender-cum-midfielder’s words will rile Tilson’s men, showing a distinct lack of regard for the Shrimpers and their talents.
In an about-turn, Keith declared, “You can’t under-estimate teams from the lower leagues as we showed against West Brom. We won’t be taking them lightly but we are confident we can beat them”. The U’s still have misgivings about being forced to wear their away strip in both clashes after Southend took the dark blue home kit and white away kit – both of which clashed with the blue-and-white stripes of the north Essex club – and Keith concluded, “Everyone will be up for it, the manager and the coaches will remind us, the players will remind each other and I am sure we will give a good account of ourselves”.
For the U’s, the match does take on that extra significance having lost the pride of the county in the last meeting. For Southend, the long-term aim of this season, correctly, is League success, either automatically or more likely through the play-offs, and having been to Cardiff once, there must be a certain part of Steve Tilson and his men that will have wished that this tie had not come up so that a defeat would not hurt so much.
Despite a recent poll on the official website, www.southendunited.co.uk, stating that 53% of online fans would rather beat Colchester than Kidderminster Harriers last Saturday, the same people, if asked if promotion relied on getting a result against the Worcestershire outfit, would surely have changed their minds. It would be a nonsense to place the LDV Vans Trophy above the Football League in the ranking of the mind, although as Blues now realise, the former can be a great tool of enjoyment.
The parallel, of course, between the meetings is uncanny. Right in between the two matches against the U’s last season, Southend faced Harriers, and on that occasion two penalties helped Blues to a 3-0 success. This time around the result was similar – three points to the home side – and a 1-0 win was enough to move the Shrimpers into the top half of the League Two table for the first time since the 2-0 win over Cheltenham Town on the opening day of 2003/4. The Under-18s, like the Under-17s last season, also won against their Colchester counterparts on ‘foreign’ soil; the army barracks at the Garrison ‘B’ Ground in the lead-up to the game.
Unfortunately for Southend, it seems as though one man, as well as long-term injury victims Jay Smith (four to six weeks; right foot injury) and Bart Griemink (three to four weeks; right knee strain), will be missing the Essex showdown. Jimmy Corbett was forced to sit out the triumph over Kidderminster after ringing in ill on the morning of the match.
Nicky Nicolau, who had impressed in the reserves’ 2-1 defeat to Hornchurch three days earlier, was called up to take his place on the substitutes’ bench, with Steve Tilson confirming to the official website, “[Jimmy] said he’d been sick all night and had a migraine”. The Shrimpers chief continued, “That’s why he wasn’t on the bench on Saturday, but we’ll have to wait and see how he is before deciding whether or not to include him in the game at Colchester tomorrow”.
The ex-Gillingham and Blackburn Rovers flyer’s absence would mean that the same squad as faced Kidderminster would more than likely be recalled to duty, with Michael Kightly acting as cover for any injuries sustained in the pre-match warm-up. The Benfleet-based youngster was one of the heroes of the 2003/4 run in the competition, making his first start for the club in the first round and then netting his only senior goal to date in the 3-0 win over Second Division Luton Town in December.
The likes of Kightly, and Stuart Williams, though, are seemingly not going to be afforded any opportunities in this competition with Tilson and head coach Paul Brush loathed to include them in the pressure cooker of Layer Road. There had been a suggestion before the draw was made that both clubs may rest players, but Tilson confirmed that a first team would take the field in the Shrimpers Trust (www.shrimperstrust.co.uk) Question & Answer session at the start of the month: “Not a chance!”, the gaffer exclaimed.
Another player who would like to be handed an opportunity is Drewe Broughton. He netted five goals in the competition last time out, and ten in thirteen appearances in the Associate Members Cup as a whole, the former statistic being second only to McGleish in 2003/4. With Lawrie Dudfield and Tesfaye Bramble firing on at least half, if not full cylinders, Wayne Gray and Broughton will have to settle for places on the bench.
Another man who impressed at Layer Road last year was Lewis Hunt, but again the versatile defensive midfielder is likely to miss out. Kevin Maher was a rock in the centre of midfield on that early February evening, and the club captain is likely to be partnered again by the surging Mark Bentley. Mark Gower, who scored his first goal of the season with a scintillating strike against Kidderminster four days ago, and Carl Pettefer will play out wide, with transfer-listed Michael Husbands ostracised again.
In defence, Spencer Prior will come up against the club that he had an unsuccessful trial with during the summer, and will be partnered by Adam Barrett, a local lad with a point to prove against Blues’ local rivals. Andy Edwards, a veteran of the tussles with the U’s in the late 80s, will settle for a spot on the sidelines, with Duncan Jupp and Che Wilson the full-backs, the latter looking to put last year’s LDV final nightmare to rest once and for all. Darryl Flahavan will be the sole goalkeeper in the squad again, with Bentley deputising.
Kick off is at eight o’clock, whilst the Shrimpers Trust coaches hope, with your co-operation to leave all stops from Chalkwell Park onwards fifteen minutes earlier than advertised due to roadworks on the A12 at Kelvedon – check out www.shrimperstrust.co.uk for more details. Tickets will stop going on sale from Roots Hall at three o’clock this afternoon – the club have around 150 left – and as the game is all-ticket, will not be on sale at the ground.
LIKELY SQUADS
Colchester United | Southend United | |
4-4-2 Aidan Davidson Greg Halford Pat Baldwin Wayne Brown Kevin Watson Gareth Williams Stephen Hunt Neil Danns Joe Keith Craig Fagan Richard Garcia --- Dean Gerken Bobby Bowry Gavin Johnson Richard Cade Ben May --- John White | Starting Line-Ups GK DR DL DC DC MR MC MC ML FC FC Substitutes 1 2 3 4 5 Also Available * * * * | 4-4-2 Darryl Flahavan Duncan Jupp Che Wilson Adam Barrett Spencer Prior Carl Pettefer Kevin Maher Mark Bentley Mark Gower Tesfaye Bramble Lawrie Dudfield --- Nicky Nicolau Lewis Hunt Andy Edwards Drewe Broughton Wayne Gray --- James Corbett Michael Husbands Michael Kightly Stuart Williams |
REFEREE: Steve Tomlin (East Sussex)
ASSISTANT REFEREES: John Pearce (Essex) and Geoff Russell (Northamptonshire)
**See article on Tomlin’s appointment in Team News for more information**
Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com