Mark Bentley awaits his fate

Wednesday’s night dramatic win against Colchester United at Layer Road continued the good form that the Shrimpers have been in, but the LDV Vans Trophy will be nothing more than a welcome distraction for the remainder of the season. Another trip to Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium would be fantastic, but this time in the Play-Offs rather than the knock-out competition.

However, the LDV win did produce a massive downside when Mark Bentley was inexplicably given his marching orders for allegedly stamping on U’s left-back Stephen Hunt after the defender had dangerously slid in on the Shrimpers midfielder. Bentley explained his version of the story yesterday to the Southend Evening Echo.

“I just couldn’t believe it when I turned round and he showed me a red card”, said the 26-year-old former Dagenham & Redbridge battler. “When I first heard the referee blow his whistle I thought we’d got the free-kick because their guy had jumped in on me. I had tried to leap over him, but as I landed my trailing leg accidentally caught him but I didn’t know it had at the time”.

Should Bentley be found guilty of the offence, he will sit out the game against Darlington tomorrow, as well as the home fixtures against Boston United and Swansea City. He revealed that he had pleaded with referee John Robinson at the end of the game to reconsider his decision, “I asked him to please look at the video, but he was still adamant that I had stamped on the player’s head”. Steve Tilson will hear of the Football League’s decision today.

There is a precedent in the Nationwide Conference this week as the Football Association overturned Canvey Island defender Steve Ward’s dismissal against Woking for a professional foul. In that case there appears to be less of an argument that Bentley has – the crux was that the incident did not prevent a goalscoring opportunity, which should be more difficult to prove than malice in a step over another player, depending on the video evidence.

Of course, a matter involving far more players concerns the amount of time they were on the pitch on Wednesday – less than three days before being called into action again. Darryl Flahavan, Adam Barrett, Che Wilson, Kevin Maher and Carl Pettefer all started the last League game – the 1-0 win over Kidderminster Harriers at Roots Hall – and then completed over two hours of football at Layer Road. With a long trip – some 270 miles – to Durham ahead of them, tiredness could be an influencing factor.

The decision by Steve Tilson to rest Spencer Prior and Lawrie Dudfield, who were both nursing niggling injuries, was a nod towards tomorrow’s fixture, as was his choice to take off goalscorer Tesfaye Bramble just three minutes into the first period of stoppage time to allow the former Cambridge City front runner sufficient time for recuperation. Duncan Jupp’s withdrawal seven minutes from the end could have been another decision taken with the benefit of foresight.

Tilson commented on the two absentees: “It was a precautionary measure. We decided it was best to leave them out, but we will have a look at them again before deciding whether or not they are available for the match with Darlington”. With Prior having completed ninety minutes against Harriers and Dudfield the majority of that clash as well, both are expected to travel north.

The man who made all the headlines, though, was Jimmy Corbett as he slammed home the decisive ninth penalty of the evening to hand Blues an unassailable 5-3 cushion. He took the chance afterwards to hint at a return to first team action. Also speaking to the Echo, the 24-year-old muttered, “Hopefully this will let the fans and the manager know that I’m still around waiting for a chance”. The ex-Blackburn Rovers flyer will be anxious to come up against the Quakers, whom he represented against Southend whilst on loan at Feethams.

He could step into Bentley’s boots in the centre of the midfield with Jay Smith still at least a month away from a return to first-team action. Should the one-time Gravesend & Northfleet midfielder miss out, then Corbett, who played a few miles down the road at Gillingham as a prodigious youngster, and Lewis Hunt would be the two men vying to assist club captain Kevin Maher.

Also in the midfield, Mark Gower and Carl Pettefer are expected to continue their good work down the flanks. The former netted his first goal of the season in sensational fashion against Harriers, and although at times he still looked to be suffering from a lack of confidence or full fitness in midweek, he is likely to resume on the left, with Pettefer on the right. Michael Kightly should travel as cover for the pair, having been named on the bench on Wednesday.

Up front, Bramble scored his second goal in successive games at Layer Road in striking home number two for the season as a whole in sensational fashion, curling the ball around the outstretched hand of Aidan Davison. He should retain his place, with either Dudfield returning or Wayne Gray, who had his best game in a blue shirt against the U’s partnering him. Drewe Broughton is likely to be demoted to the bench again, with Michael Husbands still transfer-listed.

In defence, Jupp should continue at right-back with Wilson on the left after encountering problems against Neil Danns. In the middle it will be a straight choice between Andy Edwards, who was in commanding form, and Spencer Prior to play alongside Adam Barrett. Nicky Nicolau will sit on the sidelines. Darryl Flahavan is still the only fit shotstopper at the club, with Bart Griemink working on his fitness at Layer Road two days ago. It remains to be seen who could be next in line if Bentley is banned.

Darlington’s main concern is over the fitness of former Middlesbrough midfielder Craig Hignett. The veteran midfielder had to go off just four minutes after scoring the Quaker’s goal in a 1-1 draw with Northampton Town, and he has been receiving extensive treatment on a troublesome groin. However, he told the Northern Echo, “I’m just about there and I will be training with the rest of the lads on Friday”.

The ex-Leeds United player had scored in both of his two games for the club before breaking down, and he explained, “Once you get on a run you want to keep it going and I’ll be expecting to get another”. Another ex-Boro player, Curtis Fleming, will definitely miss out as he sits on the touchlines for seven weeks following a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Darlo are set to be strengthened up front by the arrival of ex-Leeds United hit-man Clyde Wijnhard. The striker has attracted interest from both Sunderland and Oldham Athletic, but appears to be set to sign a short-term contract today, despite rumours to the contrary earlier in the week. He even travelled to Field Mill on Tuesday to watch his prospective side bow out of the LDV Vans Trophy on penalty kicks to Mansfield Town.

As well as Fleming out of contention and David McGurk on loan at York City, who want to extend his stay, Joey Hutchison is also injured and will miss the Shrimpers visit. However, boss Dave Hodgson has ruled out bringing anyone else in, stating to the Northern Echo, “Unless a player picks up an injury before Saturday we’ll stick with what we’ve got”. Alun Armstrong and captain Craig Liddle will return after being rested in midweek.

The match kicks off at three o’clock, as usual, and a decent Shrimpers attendance is expected for only the second visit to the largest ground in League Two, with the Shrimpers Trust coach fully booked. We’ll see you all there!

LIKELY SQUADS

REFEREE: Clive Oliver (Northumberland)

ASSISTANTS: Richard Hewitt (North Yorkshire) and Paul Nicholson (County Durham)

Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com