Rochdale v Southend United - Preview

Phil Whelan is one of three players returning from injury.

Shrimpers manager Rob Newman has undoubtedly recieved a huge boost before the encounter with Rochdale, as Phil Whelan (knee), Graeme Jones (shin) and Ian Selley (foot) have all been declared fit, with the three players all missing from Monday's match against Cambridge, with Selley having also missed the Oxford game.

Also drafted into the squad for the Spotland encounter is new signing, defender Tom Jordan aswell as youth teamer Anthony Clark. Newman has also put himself on standby.

United have enjoyed their trips to Rochdale of late, Stephen Broad's wonderful 25 yard thunderbolt giving Southend a 1-0 victory there last December, following a 1-0 success the previous season, Martin Carruthers' unforgettable first half strike quite literally bringing the net down. The game was held up for ten minutes as a result.

It's going to be a tough one though, with Dale, under the guidance of new player manager Paul Simpson - always a thorn in Blues side - swinging back into action for the first time since thrashing Wrexham 5-2 in North Wales on Monday afternoon, Simpson grabbing a hat-trick himself.

Southend however wull be at full strengtrh for this tie and followong a superb away success at Oxford united, will certainly be looking for a repeat performance.

A full report will be available on www.thelittlegazette.com on return from Lancashire, we estimate around midnight.

LAST MATCHES:
Southend United 2 (Broad 7, Smith 30) Cambridge United 1 (Riza 28), Line-Up - Flahavan, Broad, Beard, Searle, Cort, Maher, Steven Clark (Belgrave 70), Jenkins, Bramble, Rawle (Thurgood 84), Smith. Unused - Maye, Newman, Gay.

Wrexham 2 (Thomas 13, Morrell 38) Rochdale 5 (McEvilly 17, Simpson 22, 42, 59, Griffiths 24) Line-up - Edwards, Evans, Griffiths, MacAuley, Doughty, Duffy, Simpson (Townsen 89), Flitcroft, Oliver (Warner 89), Platt, McEvilly (Connor 69). Unused - Gilks, Jobson.

LAST FIVE:
March 9th, 2002 - Southend United (0) 0 Rochdale (0) 0 - Division Three
December 15th, 2001 - Rochdale (0) 0 Southend United (1) 1 (Broad) - Division Three
March 3rd, 2001 - Southend United (2) 3 (Whelan, Lee 2 (1pen)) Rochdale (0) 0 - Division Three
September 30th, 2000 - Rochdale (0) 0 Southend United (1) 1 (Carruthers) - Division Three
January 15th, 2000 - Southend United (0) 3 (Houghton, Carruthers (pen), Roget) Rochdale (3) 3 - Division Three


SOUTHEND (from):- Darryl Flahavan, Daniel Gay, Mark Beard, Damon Searle, Neil Jenkins, Leon Cort, Phil Whelan, Tom Jordan, Stephen Broad, Kevin Maher, Anthony Clark, Stuart Thurgood, Rob Newman, Ian Selley, Mark Rawle, Barrington Belgrave, Tesfaye Bramble, Graeme Jones, Steven Clark.

Mark Wallis
www.thelittlegazette.com