Saturday 1st February 2003 – Southend United 3 (Jay Smith 22, 45pen, Mark Rawle 41) Hull City 0
Peter Taylor returned to his old stomping ground as sparks began to fly in the spring sunshine against his Hull City side. Stephen Kelly made his Southend debut on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, and it was a baptism of fire in front of recalled shotstopper Darryl Flahavan. Midway through the first half, the game came to life as Jay Smith blasted home from a Steven Clark cross. The game was not blessed with numerous chances, but it did see referee Andy Penn retire from the action with a calf injury. Ex-Shrimpers groundsman Neil West was the man to eventually fill in the fourth official duties after a public address.
This started a bizarre five-minute spell that ended with Blues firmly in control but a man short for the second period. Mark Rawle almost immediately after the restart lashed in the Seasiders second goal, City debutant (twice over) Alan Fettis helpless on his return to amber and back colours. Substitute referee Peter Kirkup then took over proceedings, awarding the home side a penalty after Justin Whittle pushed over Danny Marney in the box. Tesfaye Bramble took offence to Marc Joseph, and seemed to elbow the defender, with little contact made, and the stand-in official had no hesitation in sending the former Cambridge City front man off of the pitch. Amidst it all, Jay Smith strolled up to end the Shrimpers penalty jinx by tapping the ball to Fettis’ right.
Predictably the second half was nothing like its predecessor, ten-man United doing well to exert any dominance over the opposition. Flahavan managed to make a couple of decent saves on his personal return to action, and captain Kevin Maher smashed a cross against the top of the crossbar, more by lick than judgement.
Soon afterwards, manager Rob Newman awarded versatile ex-team-mate Daryl Sutch a new deal until the end of the season, with his displays in the middle of both defence and midfield, as well as at right-back, impressing many at the club. At the same time Mark Beard and Tom Jordan continued to sign their own month-to-month deals, the same type of contract as Sutch had been prior to his new contract.
Saturday 8th February 2003 – Southend United 2 (Barrington Belgrave 36, Kevin Maher 72) Bristol Rovers 2
Seven days after defeating the perennial underachievers Hull, Blues undid all the good work by only gaining one point against a poor Bristol Rovers outfit who they had sauntered past earlier in the campaign at the Memorial Ground. The opening gambits saw Southend camped out in front of the South Stand. Barrington Belgrave saw Scott Howie tip his shot over the crossbar before the chubby custodian denied Steven Clark. Mark Rawle fired a shot against the underside of the bar and away and Rawle and Belgrave then saw good efforts blocked.
On the half-hour mark, the Shrimpers were handed the perfect chance to score, Belgrave hauled over by Adam Barrett and Jay Smith, for the second time on consecutive Saturdays, had a spot-kick to take. However, this time a weak penalty was parried out by Howie, and Kevin Maher, following up quickly, sidefooted over the bar. Five minutes later, Blues were finally in front. Maher’s superb ball over the top was latched onto by Belgrave, who slid the ball underneath Howie to make it 1-0.
The second half saw an inspired fightback by the Pirates, and six minutes in the visitors were level, Wayne Carlisle’s corner left unclaimed by Darryl Flahavan and converted by Barrett. Threatened by relegation, Rovers seized the initiative, and Paul Tait flicked the ball into the path of Kevin Street on 57 minutes, the nippy front runner making no mistake. Parity was restored with a rare captain’s goal from Maher, who struck an unstoppable curling shot into the left-hand corner of the net. Blues held sway again, but unfortunately for sub Mark Salter, his diving header was saved by Howie in the dying seconds.
Two days later, Shrimpers chief Newman turned to Watford and Republic of Ireland forward Dominic Foley, who signed initially on a one-month loan deal, to score the goals to revitalise a depressingly mediocre season. Foley, standing tall at six-feet and four inches, was seen as the target man to stand in for injured Tesfaye Bramble, and he came with good pedigree after netting twice in six full international matches. Better still for Southend supporters, it seemed as though a table-topping act would be appearing at Roots Hall – rumours abounded that Girls Aloud or Liberty X were pencilled in for the Blues Family Bonanza in nine days time against Rushden & Diamonds. In the end only Jonny Spurling, Terry Alderton and the nauseating Martin Day arrived.
Saturday 15th February 2003 – Wrexham 3 Southend United 0
Before all that though, the underachieving Seasiders had to travel to Wales to tackle Wrexham. However, the subsequent performance was extremely disappointing, and unlike the game against the Pirates, Blues left the Red Dragons’ Racecourse Ground home pointless. The seeds were sown after only nine minutes as Damon Searle was forced to clear off of the line from a Lee Trundle shot. Six minutes later the home side were in front, Andy Morrell, top scorer in the Third Division with 24 goals at the time, turning provider to send in a brilliant left-wing cross, Carlos Edwards pushing the ball past Darryl Flahavan. The first half ended with Brian Carey thumping Jay Smith and Dominic Foley unnoticed and South American Edwards clearing Stephen Kelly’s header off of the goalline.
Already heated after the Carey incident, the match became shrouded in controversy when Morrell left Smith writhing after a hefty challenge, before continuing his run to tap home a Trundle cross and double the Welshmen’s advantage. Southend’s defence was nowhere to be seen, but referee Peter Walton took no action against Morrell and allowed the goal to stand. The striker then dealt the visitors the ultimate blow by ending any resistance in setting up Paul Edwards to slip in a third. Kelly again saw a header scrambled clear, but in all honesty it was another totally inept display on their travels by United.
As manager Rob Newman continued to seek out a resolution to his team’s poor on-field showing, he snapped up a former Premiership striker to assist. However, the new man was Brett Darby, an 18-year-old from Leicester City who had played well during a couple of reserve team encounters in the Avon Insurance Combination. Darby’s credentials were perhaps best summed up by the fact that he was still eligible for, and started out performing for, the club’s Under-19 team.
Saturday 22nd February 2003 – Southend United 2 (Mark Rawle 4, Damon Searle 6) Rushden & Diamonds 1
Incredibly, amidst all the doom and gloom, the Shrimpers saved one of their best games of the entire campaign for the Blues Family Bonanza Day match against Rushden & Diamonds, who were by now frantically in the process of chasing down table-topping Hartlepool. Unfortunately, on a brilliantly sunny day, and with a bumper crowd causing kick-off to be delayed by fifteen minutes, the only chart-topping acts seen by the crowd were Diamonds (by the end of the season anyway), the local group booked to play splitting up just a week after their Roots Hall performance.
On the field, Southend reigned supreme. After only four minutes the home faithful’s heroes were ahead, Dominic Foley threading a sublime through ball into the path of Mark Rawle, who made no mistake in slotting the ball past Billy Turley in the Rushden goal. Two minutes on, the crowd not yet having caught their breath, Damon Searle netted the goal of the season. Rawle hooked the ball into the box, taking Turley out of position, and Barry Hunter could only direct his header to Searle, who smashed home a dipping curling shot from fully thirty-five yards on the half-volley.
The rest of the game was a little bit of a letdown after its frantic start, although twice Foley should have opened his United account. The visitors gradually fought back into the encounter, and equalised when Stephen Kelly deflected Barry Hunter’s header freakishly into his own net. In the second period the Northamptonshire outfit continued to press, but only a wildly skewed shot from Paul Hall offered any substantial threat to Darryl Flahavan’s goal. Three points had come at last, but as the four-week month closed, the play-offs were as far off as ever.
On the last day of the month, Newman told three of his team that they were surplus to requirements. Former captain Phil Whelan, ravaged by injury in 2002/3, Graeme Jones, the embodiment of an injury-riddled career and a desperate clinging to past glories, and Barrington Belgrave, a vastly underachieving personification of the general lethargy around the club, were told that this season would be their last by the south-east Essex League coastline. March would prove to be the end of the line for some more faces…
Third Division Table (as of 22nd February 2003):
1. Hartlepool United Pl33 W21 D7 L5 F55 A32 Pts70 GD23
2. Rushden & Diamonds Pl32 W15 D11 L6 F50 A33 Pts56 GD17
3. AFC Bournemouth Pl31 W14 D11 L6 F42 A33 Pts53 GD9
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11. Lincoln City Pl32 W12 D12 L8 F34 A27 Pts48 GD11
12. Southend United Pl33 W14 D3 L16 F38 A44 Pts45 GD-6
13. Cambridge United Pl31 W12 D8 L11 F52 A46 Pts44 GD6
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23. Bristol Rovers Pl32 W6 D11 L15 F34 A44 Pts29 GD-10
24. Exeter City Pl33 W6 D10 L17 F35 A53 Pts28 GD-18
TLG Player-of-the-Month; December
Winner: Steven Clark
For the second month in succession the former West Ham winger claims the TLG accolade as Player-of-the-Month as he continued in a trailblazing run of form that briefly threatened to resurrect the Shrimpers season. Clark was on form when the rest of the team were not, desperately attempting to gain three points against Bristol Rovers as the rest of the side handed the Pirates the treasure and then shining as Blues went down in pathetic manner at Wrexham, getting the TLG Man-of-the-Match awards in both cases.
Runner-Up: Jay Smith
In an incredible symmetry, midfield partner Jay Smith comes second again. The battling playmaker was on top form, notching two goals, one from the spot, as Southend dominated Hull City on the first day of the month, and as the Seasiders won in their last fixture of the encounter, it was Smith again who provided the impetus for victory. In between he missed his spot-kick against Bristol Rovers and picked up an eventually season-ending injury at the Racecourse Ground.
Third Place: Damon Searle
The Welshman gains third place over the equally impressive Daryl Sutch and Mark Rawle by virtue of his stunning winner after just six minutes of the clash against Rushden & Diamonds. Witnessed by the biggest home crowd of the campaign, he helped to show the part-time spectators that the Third Division can be full of skill and talent as well as blood and thunder. He was consistent throughout the month, playing well at home and adequately in the 3-0 defeat at Wrexham.
Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com