The first match to take place at the new Roots Hall stadium, upon Blues’ return after a forty-year exile, was against the Canaries on Saturday 20 August 2005. After the doldrums of decreasing attendances, a crowd of 17,000 amassed to witness the return of the Shrimpers to their spiritual home, back where it had all started in 1906.
There were three debutants in the side, with the most famous undoubtedly being Sammy McCrory. He would go on to net the first goal at the ‘new’ ground on 26 minutes. He was joined in the newboy ranks by Dickie Dowsett and John McGuigan, with the former also managing to find the target in the final reckoning.
On a beautifully sunny day in southeast Essex, United started the game by kicking into the sunlight, and two of the debutants, McCrory and Dowsett, combined to test Ken Nethercott in the Norwich goal in the opening exchanges. Roy Hollis, the club’s record goalscorer, and McGuigan were also denied early on before the visitors could get a foothold in the game.
City should have taken the lead when Sammy Chung saw his shot blocked by Doug Young, and then Bobby Brennan blazed wide with the goal gaping. Soon United were in the ascendancy again, though, and McGuigan only just failed to convert a dangerous McCrory centre before yet another aerial effort was palmed away by Nethercott between the sticks.
Finally, McCrory was able to take the glory of scoring the first goal at the Hall and deny the visitors that distinction. Jim Duthie powered the original effort towards goal, and Nethercott appeared to have effected a save when McCrory bundled both player and ball over the goalline. Despite City’s best protests, the goal was given.
Hollis, playing against his former club, saw a shot blocked on the goalline by Bill Lewis before the half-time whistle but there was to be no stopping the hosts immediately after the interval. Five minutes into the second period, skipper Kevin Baron and McCrory offered decoy runs to allow Hollis to smash the ball into the corner of the goal.
Then, just sixty seconds later, Dowsett made sure of the result with his opening goal in a Blues shirt. This time the strike was a fine solo attempt, with the new acquisition skilfully beating the Norwich defence before firing past a helpless Nethercott from an acute angle.
The occasion was marred only slightly by the Canaries’ consolation just before the midway point of the second half. Martin Reagan was the goalscorer, tricking his way past Young before defeating Harry Threadgold with a low drive into the bottom of the goal.
The goalmouth activity from that point onwards was all towards the Norwich net, but the closest United would come was a Hollis header that sailed agonisingly wide of the mark. Nethercott, easily the visitors’ man-of-the-match, kept his team’s scoreline respectable on an historic day for the hosts.
3 FLD3S 1 TEAMS Harry THREADGOLD Ken NETHERCOTT Doug YOUNG Maurice NORMAN Sandy ANDERSON Bill LEWIS Jim DUTHIE Roy McCROHAN Dennis HOWE Reg FOULKES Jimmy LAWLER Ron ASHMAN Dickie DOWSETT Peter GORDON Sammy McCRORY Sammy CHUNG Roy HOLLIS Ralph HUNT Kevin BARON Bobby BRENNAN John McGUIGAN Martin REAGANSOUTHEND UTD
NORWICH CITY
Sammy McCrory 26
Roy Hollis 50
Dickie Dowsett 5117,000
Martin Reagan 64
Robert Craven
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