Cheltenham Town	Lincoln City	Rochdale	Cambridge United	West Ham United	Bristol Rovers
Macclesfield Town	Rushden & Diamonds	Wycombe Wanderers	Notts County	Kidderminster Harriers	Colchester United
Darlington	Boston United	Swansea City	Scunthorpe United	Shrewsbury Town	Northampton Town
Shrewsbury Town	Oxford United	Luton Town	Yeovil Town	Grimsby Town	Northampton Town
Leyton Orient	Bury	Chester City	Wycombe Wanderers	Mansfield Town	Rushden & Diamonds
Kidderminster Harriers	Boston United	Notts County	Mansfield Town	Swindon Town	Darlington
Swansea City	Scunthorpe United	Bristol Rovers	Northampton Town	Shrewsbury Town	Bury
Chester City	Bristol Rovers	Lincoln City	Cheltenham Town	Rochdale	Cambridge United
Bristol Rovers	Wrexham	Leyton Orient	Macclesfield Town	Oxford United	Yeovil Town
Grimsby Town	Northampton Town	Northampton Town	Lincoln City

Pettefer holds off Sol Davis in the FA Cup tie with Luton Town

Mr. Consistent, Mr. Reliable, Mr. Dependable, all terms used to describe the diminutive former Portsmouth midfielder’s first full season with the Shrimpers. Never flamboyant, creative or showy, he has proven himself to be the man to fall back on during a long and rewarding campaign on the southeast Essex coastline.

Indeed, the closest that the 24-year-old came to missing a match all term was when he had a spell of three yellow cards in five matches just a month away from the first cut-off point. The Taplow-born utility man never flinched, and when he had got through the fixture with Bristol Rovers sighed with relief.

It has been levelled at Pettefer that he has not got stuck in as much as maybe he should do, but ostensibly he has performed throughout 2004/4 in the wrong position. He is a defensive midfielder, and he has played manfully on the left or the right-hand side of midfield for an entire year.

Of course, it remains to be seen what 2005/6 has in store, but a spell as a left- or right-back cannot be ruled out of the equation. In the three Play-Off matches at the conclusion of the campaign, he proved himself adept at covering for Duncan Jupp as he marauded up field, and in doing so kept the defensive solid on the right flank. It was a necessary and mucky task, but typically of Pettefer, he stood up to it.

The moment that stunned most Southend supporters was Pettefer’s first (and so far, only) goal for the Shrimpers. He collected the ball on the right-hand side of the Northampton Town penalty area in the area quarter-final of the LDV Vans Trophy and sent the ball screaming into the top left-hand corner. It was a strike that even he was surprised by.

No doubt he will work hard at his finishing for the upcoming term. Had Blues missed out on promotion, many would have held the battler responsible after a shocking miss in front of an open goal at Grimsby Town on the final day of the regular season. Instead, as he always does, Pettefer rolled his sleeves up and made sure that his display at Cardiff in the final against Lincoln City was flawless. It was no less than we have come to expect.

Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com