The inclement weather that has swept through the east of England has wrecked havoc with other sporting fixtures over the past 24 hours, most notably Essex Eagles’ totesport League clash with Lancashire Lightning (an apt name if ever there was one last night) at Chelmsford yesterday evening, but footballers can undoubtedly put up with more than cricketers, and pitches can generally take on more rain, so it appears to be full steam ahead to Sincil Bank.
Of course, should there be any changes between now and our departure at half-past one then we will keep you informed, but judging by the forecast, any decision is unlikely to be made by the time that TLG begin winging their way northwards via various modes of transport. Localised flooding is the message from the Meteorological Office, but with any luck that will not occur over Lincoln.
Lincoln City Football Club, through their official website, www.redimps.co.uk, declared themselves confident of the match going ahead: “The pitch has coped remarkably well considering the amount of rain we’ve had over the past 48 hours” said Stadium Manager Nigel Dennis. He continued to state that at twenty ten, “If the match was kicking off now, then it would be on. The forecast appears that things can only get better”.
Of more concern to Shrimpers manager Steve Tilson will be the manner in which his side have been leaking goals at the back. Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Cheltenham Town at Roots Hall was the sixth time in seven matches that Blues have conceded two goals in a game, a run stretching back past Torquay United (1-2), Rochdale (1-1; the exception), Yeovil Town (0-2), Hull City (2-2), Northampton Town (2-2) and Darlington (3-2).
Indeed, perhaps more worryingly, it is now fifteen matches since the Shrimpers last kept a clean sheet, when Darryl Flahavan was in goal for the 2-0 victory over another Lincolnshire side, Boston United, at York Street on 3rd March 2004. Interestingly, that was also the last time that Southend won a midweek match, although only Hull at home and the last visit to Sincil Bank have been outside of a Friday or Saturday fixture.
Tilson and Brush must also address the goalscoring problem, which after Saturday now means that United have scored just two competitive goals in four matches across the summer, and have failed to hit the target in three matches after the 0-0 draws with Brighton & Hove Albion and the snore draw with Grays Athletic rounding off the pre-season campaign. Indeed, Drewe Broughton was the last man to find the net for the Seasiders, some 355 minutes of football ago – a period of nearly six hours.
The 37-year-old Tilson’s post-match comments to the official Southend United website, www.southendunited.co.uk, insinuated that this was an area that he would be seeking to improve, stating that, “We didn’t have a shot in the second half” (surely a passing reference to Wayne Gray’s weak effort which bobbled into the goalkeeper’s gloves) and “It was hard in the heat today but there was no end product in the final third”.
Club captain Kevin Maher reiterated those words in an interview with the Southend Evening Echo. He said, “We had a lot of possession but never really hurt them. We kept the ball up to a certain point but the end product wasn’t there and it’s [not] good enough”. The Ilford-born Irishman’s tirade continued, declaring, “We probably had three-quarters of the play but lacked that sharpness where it mattered and that cost us”.
As Southend hope to find some firepower up front, Tesfaye Bramble will miss the next three matches through suspension after his reckless challenge on Robins defender Jamie Victory. Although it appeared at a first glance to be a fifty-fifty tackle, Tilson’s lack of appeal to the Football League means that after studying video evidence he has accepted that the former Cambridge City and Chelmsford City front man has no case to plea, and Bramble will now sit out tonight’s fixture against Lincoln, followed by the trip to Rochdale and the Roots Hall match against Cambridge United.
However, target man Drewe Broughton is back in the squad having recovered from an ankle injury aggravated when he clattered into the advertising hoardings in that game in which he scored at Billericay Town’s New Lodge. The cult hero watched the match frustratingly from the stands at the weekend along with Mark Bentley, and he will be itching to prove his worth up front.
On Saturday, Broughton’s height may have caused a major problem for Town, but against two-times play-off victims City he may not have such a prominent role. Lincoln’s play is formed around a more direct style with tall players at either end of the pitch, and the short but speedy duo of Wayne Gray and Lawrie Dudfield who were so blunt at the weekend could be much sharper and more threatening tonight. Dudfield especially was a massive threat at Sincil Bank last year before limping off injured.
Looking back at the defence, it would appear that the two main contenders for a recall to the side are Che Wilson, who played so admirably in pre-season at either left- or right-back, and Adam Barrett, who would be in line for his debut in Southend colours should he be selected. Barrett missed his first match for non-suspension matters in over two years against Cheltenham, and he will be eager to prove Steve Tilson wrong.
The Wickford-born gaffer may stick with Spencer Prior and Andy Edwards again, though, especially given that Lincoln play a slightly different game to Cheltenham, despite Simon Yeo and Marcus Richardson both being lightning fast front men. Lewis Hunt could also drop back into the centre of the defence given his increased speed in chasing the ball.
Wilson was particularly unlucky not to have been selected, or at least handed a half-hour on the field to improve matters in the opening day defeat. Nicky Nicolau at left-back would seem to be the logical choice to be dropped since he had a nightmare against Martin Devaney, with the prospect of an equally tricky wide man in Yeo or Gary Taylor-Fletcher on the cards this evening. However, Tilson may be swayed by Wilson’s distress against Martin Bullock of Blackpool in the LDV Vans Trophy final, and Duncan Jupp’s place could come under threat.
At times Jupp was sluggish and made poor decisions going forward, so Wilson could replace him in the starting line-up, with Stuart Williams again missing out. In goal, Bart Griemink was flawless against the Robins, and he should keep his place ahead of Darryl Flahavan, who will have to work hard to regain his place in the side.
The centre of midfield remains a problem with Jay Smith (November) and Michael Kightly (late August) still on the sidelines. News of Smith’s delayed return is particularly worrying given his reputation as one of the division’s best attacking midfielders, but Bentley could be awarded a recall to the squad despite still carrying a niggling thigh injury. The former Dagenham & Redbridge man would come in for Hunt, who is a defence-minded midfielder, and has struggled to forge a decent partnership with skipper Maher in that position.
Carl Pettefer and Mark Gower should remain the choices for the wide positions despite neither of them being natural wingers. Gower seems to have eked out a role for himself as the midfielder playmaker on the left, although former Portsmouth talent Pettefer would offer more defensive cover for the naïve Nicolau. Michael Husbands could again be used as an attacking weapon for the last twenty minutes in muggy conditions.
The home side have been buoyed by the news that man-mountain centre-half Ben Futcher has been issued with a partial reprieve by the Football Association after an incident in last season’s Play-Off semi-final second leg against Huddersfield Town at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium. Futcher was fined for his comments to an assistant referee, an incident reported by match official Mike Pike, but was not given a suspension.
Meanwhile forward Yeo could miss out on the encounter after he damaged a shoulder on Saturday whilst falling into the advertising hoardings during Coty’s 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow. Yeo has been to hospital to get precautionary X-rays on the injury, but is nonetheless hoping to receive the all-clear before tonight’s match, having scored five goals during the Red Imps pre-season campaign.
Another striker in Marcus Richardson is certainly out with an ankle injury picked up in the final pre-season match against Watford, and City boss Keith Alexander commented, “Marcus has no chance of being fit for tonight” to the Lincolnshire Echo. Jamie McCombe also misses out with a back injury, although left-sided defender and midfielder Matthew Bloomer does return to the squad having missed the trip to the Salop.
LIKELY SQUADS
Lincoln City |
Southend United | |
5-3-2 Alan Marriott Dean West Michael Blackwood Paul Morgan Ben Futcher Simon Weaver Richard Butcher Peter Gain Ciaran Toner Gary Taylor-Fletcher Francis Green --- Kevin Sandwith Matthew Bloomer Gareth McAuley Niall McNamara Simon Yeo --- Nathan Peat Peter Folkes Adam Kerley | Starting Line-Ups GK DR DL DC DC DC-MR MC MC MC-ML FC FC Substitutes 1 2 3 4 5 Also Available * * * | 4-4-2 Bart Griemink Duncan Jupp Che Wilson Spencer Prior Andy Edwards Mark Gower Kevin Maher Lewis Hunt Carl Pettefer Lawrie Dudfield Wayne Gray --- Darryl Flahavan Nicky Nicolau Adam Barrett Michael Husbands Drewe Broughton --- Stuart Williams Mark Bentley James Corbett |
Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com