Playing several trailists the match was a charity exercise to help the Blues neighbours over the effects of the credit crunch on their limited finances.
A full report and the players involved go here: www.southendunited.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10444~1537152,00.html
With the present situation regarding our lack of fire power upfront young Ed might find himself with an additional game Saturday afternoon!
This from Exiled Shrimper on Shrimperzone re Ed and the other trailists:
Upson was the most impressive, not just for the two goals that he scored, but because he looked composed on the ball when he had it. Based on what I've heard about him from some people with links to Ipswich, he could be a very good player in the future. The first goal was a very clinical finish, and he showed good persistence to follow-up for the second.
The right-back, Ofori-Twumasi, got roasted early on by Leon Antoine, and Canvey did pose problems all the way through down their left-hand side. The other tralist defender, Josh Ford, kept giving the ball away on the ground, but was pretty dominant in the air going forwards, and caused problems from set-pieces.
The two central midfielders, O'Keefe and Forbes were a bit of a little and large partnership, O'Keefe showed a few nice touches, but IMO Forbes didn't really get involved.
Welsh was a little tubby, but had a decent turn of pace and a reasonable delivery into the penalty area, and did force the 'keeper into one save, but since he went off at half-time and left long before the final whistle I guess we won't see him again.
Alliou was better when he switched to a wide-right role in the second period, when he showed a good turn of pace and ran at defenders, though he was ineffectual alongside Samba in the opening period. As for Samba, he looked like he had something, but he didn't really see enough on the ball on the night to prove it.