January
Wednesday 15th - Southend United 1 (Maher 60) Peterborough United 2 - Avon Insurance Combination
Tuesday 21st - Portsmouth 2 Southend United 1 (Gray 84) - Avon Insurance Combination
Monday 27th - Southend United 1 (Salter 52) Swindon Town 4 - Avon Insurance Combination
Wednesday 29th - Dagenham & Redbridge 1 Southend United 4 (Newman 6, Salter 6, 58, Ilett 81) - Essex Senior Cup
The New Year brought few cheers from the home faithful that turned up for the opening reserve fixture of 2003 at Roots Hall midway through the month - the first Blues Twos game there in three months. After just 43 seconds, Michael Frew latched onto Francis Green's through ball and slid the ball past Michael Forde in the Shrimpers net, Danny Gay on first-team duty due to Darryl Flahavan's injury. Ten minutes later the same combination doubled the visitors lead. The only consolation on the day was Kevin Maher's clever quick free-kick on the hour which handed Southend a sniff.
Six days later, arguably the toughest fixture of the season faced the young Seasiders. With virtually a youth squad on the south coast, Blues took on Division One leaders Portsmouth at Fratton Park. The youngsters acquitted themselves well, although fantastic goalkeeper Michael Price could do nothing about Deon Burton's 24th minute goal. Burton was one of six full internationals on show for Pompey, and another (and one who had smashed home five goals in the Champions League during the present season), Nigerian Ayegbeni Yakubu scored the second. But United did not cave in, and Jamie Gray earned his reward for a superb overall performance by pulling one back and almost equalising in the dying stages.
A 4-1 defeat at the hands of Swindon Town followed, Mark Salter scoring the only Southend strike as the second-string suffered a fourth successive failure in the Combination. Two days later, the Essex Senior Cup reached the quarter-final stage, offering some respite for the Shrimpers. Having been delayed from three weeks earlier, Blues started out in spectacular fashion. Player-boss Rob Newman opened the scoring with a rasping 25-yard half-volley just six minutes in, and less than sixty seconds later it was 2-0 thanks to Salter's second goal in three days. He made it three soon after half-time, Steve Vaughan having briefly offered resistance with a low strike past the returning Flahavan. Little Joe Ilett wrapped matters up nine minutes from time.
February
Tuesday 4th - Queens Park Rangers 1 Southend United 1 (Thurgood 76) - Avon Insurance Combination
Wednesday 12th - Southend United 0 Luton Town 0 - Avon Insurance Combination
Monday 17th - Chelmsford City 2 Southend United 0 - Essex Senior Cup
February began in bitter conditions as Blues travelled to Northwood in order to challenge QPR. The home side dominated a poor first 75 minutes, but soon after that mark, captain Stuart Thurgood curled a stunning low shot into the bottom left-hand corner to hand United the lead. The Hoops replied in contentious fashion - David Booles converting as Marien Ifura appeared to foul shotstopper Danny Gay and 1-1 was how it finished. A dull 0-0 draw, with Gay and Mark Beard prominent (the latter clearing off of the line in the second half) against Luton at the Hall made it two draws in a row going into the Essex Senior Cup semi-final with Chelmsford City.
What followed at Billericay Town's New Lodge stadium was utter madness as Blues threw away a decent opportunity of silverware with one of the most abject displays of football witnessed by Seasiders' supporters in recent years. Manager Rob Newman was by far and away the team's best performer as a distinct lack of passion, determination and commitment was showed up by a forceful City outfit. Danny Slatter and Dale Watkins scored inside six minutes to compound the travelling support's misery.
March
Wednesday 12th - Southend United 2 (Darby 57, Jenkins 83) Leyton Orient 0 - Avon Insurance Combination
Wednesday 26th - Cheltenham Town 0 Southend United 2 (Darby 30, Sutton 40) - Avon Insurance Combination
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After a fortnight's break, Whaddon Road was the venue for Southend's next reserve encounter. Cheltenham Town fielded a strong side, but it was the visitors, who included Chris Sutton's younger brother John in their line-up, who prevailed. After an end-to-end opening half-hour, Brett Darby lobbed Shane Higgs to give Southend the lead. Ten minutes later it was Sutton's turn, the youngster lashing past Higgs from Darby centre. Steady resistance capped an excellent display.
April
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Tuesday 8th - Southend United 2 (Bramble 10, Baptiste 76) Crystal Palace 1 - Avon Insurance Combination
Monday 14th - Southend United 4 (George 5, 44, 53, Millar 10) Gillingham 0 - Avon Insurance Combination
Wednesday 16th - Bristol City 4 Southend United 0 - Avon Insurance Combination
Wednesday 23rd - Southend United 1 (Bramble 74) Barnet 1 - Avon Insurance Combination
Monday 28th - Southend United 2 (Kightly 36, Anthony Clark 45) Bristol Rovers 1 - Avon Insurance Combination
Wednesday 30th - Norwich City 4 Southend United 2 (Sutch 34, Kightly 83) - Avon Insurance Combination
The season came to an end in April, after re-arranged matches meant that Blues Twos had to undertake seven games in that time. On just the second day of the month, they claimed a third consecutive triumph, 3-1 against Third Division rivals Oxford United with an unfamiliar name on the scoresheet. Dexter Blackstock, who was in sensational form at the time, opened the scoring for the U's, but Blues were soon level, defender Mark Beard, playing on the right-hand side of midfield, tapping home from twelve yards. Three minutes later, Beard scored again with a superb chip, and young Michael Kightly completed the rout with his first reserve goal.
A real contender for performance of the season came as the second-string beat champions-elect Crystal Palace, who would have won the championship had they won at Roots Hall. In what everyone in south-east Essex agreed was as good an Avon Insurance Combination match as anyone will ever see, the two teams locked horns over an enthralling end-to-end encounter. Fit-again striker Tesfaye Bramble opened the scoring after just ten minutes, trialist Rocky Baptiste setting the ex-Cambridge City front man away. However, Kerem Bashkal soon restored parity, and the crowd had to wait for another hour for the deciding goal, although there were plenty of chances at either end, not least when Mark Beard's glancing header was deemed to be offside on the stroke of half-time. Beard's low cross on 76 minutes may have been going goalwards, but Baptiste made sure by firing into the roof of the net to seal a fantastic victory.
Incredibly the next outing, also at Roots Hall, saw the Shrimpers better even that with a stunning 4-0 win over fellow First Division side Gillingham. Trialist Robert George was the pick of the players on show in a one-sided fixture - his first goal came after just five minutes and the second followed on ten from James Millar, a trialist released by the Gills in December. With youngsters Kightly and Anthony Clark impressing on the flanks, numerous chances were wasted, but George converted the former's near-post cross to make it three on the stroke of half-time. And the Great Yarmouth Town hit-man completed a sensational hat-trick just after the interval.
It was now five successive wins and seven matches unbeaten in Combination matches, but the run was about to stop at Ashton Gate. An extremely young Southend side, littered with trialists and contained only Steven Clark as a household name went down by the same scoreline to the Robins, Leroy Lita taking on the mantle of hat-trick hero and Peter Beadle his support act.
However, Blues maintained their impressive home record with a 1-1 stalemate against rock-bottom Barnet, albeit with a less than cohesive performance. Despite dominating for long periods of time, the home side only managed to take the lead with sixteen minutes left, Bramble connecting with Baptiste's flick-on. However, the Conference club capitalised on the poor finishing to equalise through substitute Lee Roche. Indeed, Danny Gay had to make a sublime save from Ben Wiper to ensure that the Shrimpers gained a single point.
The home season ended with Southend gaining revenge over Bristol, United seeing off the challenge of Rovers where they couldn't find a way past City. Both sides had their chances in the first thirty minutes, but it was the highly impressive Michael Kightly netting after good work from Steven Clark. Then, on the stroke of half-time, Anthony Clark popped up from a Kightly ball to double the lead. The Seasiders dominated for long periods, but the Gasheads were awarded a dubious penalty after an innocuous misdemeanor led to Dave Gilroy scoring from the spot.
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How It All Finished
Avon Insurance Combination
Played 25, Won 11, Drawn 5, Lost 9, Scored 37, Conceded 38, Goal Difference -1, Points 38, Position 12th (out of 26)
Essex Senior Cup
Semi Final: Lost 0-2 to Chelmsford City (away)
Top Scorers
Stuart Thurgood 6
Mark Salter 5
Robert George 3
Michael Kightly 3
Mark Rawle 3
Most Appearances
Tom Jordan 25 (+1)
Stuart Thurgood 25
Danny Gay 24 (+1)
Anthony Clark 16 (+7)
Steve Tilson 19
TLG Reserve Player of the Year
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Stephen Broad (average rating: 7.00, M-o-t-M awards: 0)
Manager Steve Wignall harshly showed the former Chelsea Reserves captain the door at the end of the season, but it certainly wasn’t through a lack of effort. The young centre-back was always committed, whether it be in his natural position or on the right-hand side of defence. Broad’s appearances in the second-string only numbered ten, but in each of those he gave his all, and Southend’s back-line was strengthened greatly by his presence.
Runner-Up
Stuart Thurgood (average rating: 6.90, M-o-t-M awards: 4)
For much of the campaign, Thurgood captained Blues Twos, and he was rewarded at the end of the season for his whole-hearted, all-tackling combative midfield role with the offer of a new contract. Having appeared on 25 separate occasions for the reserves, Thurgood was a mainstay of the team, and he never once let them down, saving some of his best performances for the middle of the season, when form was indifferent. Despite struggling in the match overall, his two late, late goals, one a real show of steel from the penalty spot, at Burroughs Park in the Essex Senior Cup Third Round secured Blues’ safe passage.
Third Place
Mark Beard (average rating: 6.78, M-o-t-M awards: 1)
Beard was another player to be released at the end of the season, having slipped into the reserves midway through the campaign. He never stopped, even when pushed up into midfield, and he encouraged the younger players to follow his lead. The two goals in the 3-1 win over Oxford United stand out as his highlight of the campaign.
Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com