The last time Southend United faced Darlington at the Williamson Motors Stadium (then known as the Reynolds Arena after previous chairman and self-proclaimed club saviour George Reynolds) was in late September 2003, and buoyed by their first point on their travels since January 2003, the Shrimpers played out a dour 0-0 draw against a team that had just thrashed Boston United 3-0. Indeed, the Quakers were nowhere near as prolific against Blues, failing to register a single effort on target as neither side looked capable of winning the first fixture between the teams at the Reynolds Arena.
However, few people will forget the last time the clubs actually played each other on Easter Monday in April. The Quakers incredibly surged into a two-goal lead at half-time through Danny Graham and a Ryan Valentine penalty, even though they barely threatened goal otherwise. Southend dominated proceedings, and spurred on by Mark Bentley’s thunderbolt straight from the second half kick off, a Leon Constantine penalty was followed up by Mark Gower’s Goal of the Season to complete an astounding and enthralling comeback.
The previous clash at Roots Hall had seen the Seasiders emerge victorious, as two quick-fire goals handed United an April triumph over the Quakers. Kevin Maher and Neil Jenkins were the men to hit the target just before the interval as Darlington were surprised out of the game. Earlier that same season, a late Tesfaye Bramble strike failed to make up for a missed penalty earlier in the game as Darlo won 2-1.
Southend captain Maher, enjoys playing against the northerners, and in 2001/2 he netted along with Barrington Belgrave as Southend fought back from two-nil down to force an unlikely draw. Earlier in the campaign United had won a tight game 1-0 thanks to Mark Rawle, with Damon Searle ridiculously sent off in a tangle with ex-Shrimper Barry Conlon.
The one-time Manchester City and Republic of Ireland Under-21 international has often been the Seasiders’ nemesis, although he now plies his trade for Barnsley, but he had not joined Darlo the last time they won at Roots Hall in August 2000. Instead it was a former Southend loanee, Lee Nogan, who put the nail in the coffin after Craig Liddle had opened the scoring on a 2-0 triumph.
Overall, though, Blues hold a 13-10 advantage over Darlington, and in the northeast the record is very good, with five wins, five draws and five defeats at Feethams and the New Stadium. Ironically, separated by fourteen years, the club’s biggest win over Darlo (4-0 in 1971) and biggest defeat (1-3 in 1985) both came on April 3rd!
Last Meeting
Southend United | 3-2 | Darlington |
Mark Bentley 46Leon Constantine 73 (p) Mark Gower 85 | Nationwide League Division Three @ Roots Hall on Monday, 12th April 2004 | Danny Graham 6 Ryan Valentine 32 (pen) |
Darryl Flahavan -- Duncan Jupp -- Nicky Nicolau Mark Warren -- Leon Cort Lewis Hunt -- Mark Bentley -- Leon Constantine Mark Gower -- Drewe Broughton Tesfaye Bramble | 5 6 7 7 5 6 9 7 7 7 7 | Michael Price Jonathan Hutchinson -- Matthew Clarke Ryan Valentine -- Neil Maddison Brian Close -- David McGurk Mark Convery -- Neil Wainwright Barry Conlon Danny Graham | 8 7 6 7 7(75) 5 5 6(57) 6 5 7(63) |
Carl Emberson Jamie Stuart Steven Clark Che Wilson Neil Jenkins | - - - - - | Jack Norton Ian Clark Clark Keltie Chris Hughes Neil Teggart | - 5(57) 6(75) - 6(63 |
Match ReportBy Mark Wallis | |||
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Last Five Meetings
12th April 2004 – Southend United 3 (Mark Bentley 46, Leon Constantine 73 [pen], Mark Gower 85) Darlington 2 (Danny Graham 6, Ryan Valentine 32 [pen]) – League Division Three
30th September 2003 – Darlington 0 Southend United 0 – League Division Three
5th April 2003 – Southend United 2 (Kevin Maher 40, Neil Jenkins 42) Darlington 0 - League Division Three
30th November 2002 – Darlington 2 (Barry Conlon 37, Ashley Nicholls 87) Southend United 1 (Tesfaye Bramble 90) – League Division Three
19th January 2002 – Darlington 2 (Paul Heckingbottom 37, Bobby Ford 58 [pen]) Southend United 2 (Kevin Maher 78, Barrington Belgrave 89) – League Division Three
The Complete Head-to-Head Record
2003/4 – H3-2 A0-0 (League)
2002/3 – H2-0 A1-2 (League)
2001/2 – H1-0 A2-2 (League)
2000/1 – H0-2 A1-1 (League)
1999/2000 – H1-2 A0-1 (League)
1998/9 – H2-1 A1-2 (League)
1984/5 – H1-1 A1-3 (League)
1980/1 – H1-0 A2-0 (League)
1977/8 – H2-0 A0-2 (League)
1976/7 – H0-0 A0-0 (League)
1971/2 – H3-0 A3-2 (League)
1970/1 – H0-0 A4-0 (League)
1969/70 – H2-0 A2-0 (League)
1968/9 – H1-1 A3-2 (League)
1967/8 – H2-2 A1-1 (League, H1-2 (League Cup)
Summary
Overall |
Matches: 31 Southend United wins: 13 Darlington wins: 10 Draws: 8 Southend United goals: 39 Darlington goals: 36 Biggest Southend United win: 4-0 (Feethams; 3rd April 1971; Division Four) Biggest Darlington win: 3-1 (Feethams; 3rd April 1985; Division Four) |
In The League |
Matches: 30 Southend United wins: 13 Darlington wins: 9 Draws: 8 Southend United goals: 38 Darlington goals: 34 Biggest Southend United win: 4-0 (Feethams; 3rd April 1971; Division Four) Biggest Darlington win: 3-1 (Feethams; 3rd April 1985; Division Four) |
In Darlington |
Matches: 15 Southend United wins: 5 Darlington wins: 5 Draws: 5 Southend United goals: 21 Darlington goals: 18 Biggest Southend United win: 4-0 (Feethams; 3rd April 1971; Division Four) Biggest Darlington win: 3-1 (Feethams; 3rd April 1985; Division Four) |
Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com