Shrimpers sink to disappointing defeat against ten man Shrews

Last updated : 22 January 2012 By exiledessexboy

After the coup de theatre that was Bilel's last ten minutes at the Cobblers the previous Saturday, this was a display that would have been cancelled early on, so tired looked and uninspiring was the performance.

There was certainly a lack of intellegence with a man advantage for so long in the game.

No excuses here Luggs, a week off with the bench that would win us promotion, let's hope the ten days before Swindon at home, a massive match now if ever there was one, can have the desired effect, for this was not very good at all, yet somehow we remain top of the table, thank you Pirates and Pilgrims!

Blues boss Paul Sturrock made one change to his starting eleven when Anthony Grant was announced replacing Ryan Hall on the right.

Hall has been named on the subs bench due to a stomach illness and some personal problems which Sturrock felt had not left him in the right frame of mind to play after missing some training sessions.

The Shrimpers started brightly enough when David Martin unleashed a 20 yarder that Shrews shot stopper Chris Neal did well to hold on to after the ball fell from his clutches at first with Elliot Benyon hovering.

Shrewsbury were getting more in to the game though with some nice passing and movement off the ball which saw Mark Wright head across the face of goal with the Shrimpers defence ball watching, while a James Collins shot from close range was deflected just wide.

Anthony Grant was struggling out wide right early on but saw his effort from eight yards deflected over the bar by Shrews defender Ian Sharps after good work by Martin.

Taylor replied with a 25 yarder followed just before the half hour by the incident that would change the game, not for the good for the league leaders as it proved.

S24 player-to-watch and Shrews top scorer Marvin Morgan was shown a straight red card by match official  Dean Whitestone for what he saw as a late lunge on midfielder Jean-Paul Kalala which wasn't appreciated by the away side for sure, but, unsurprisingly, not by the home faithful whose vocal support for their team was raised for the rest of the match.

So even with a man less they pushed the Shrimpers back, and even a fully stretched Glenn Morris wouldn't have topped a long range effort by left-back Joe Jacobson if it had been inches inside his post instead of being just wide of it.

The wind was also causing problems within the magnificent Greenhous Stadium and Jermaine Grandison's cross was well dealt with by Morris as the ball spun around in the air, before the one chance for the Essex boys as the players were about to walk off for the break that may have changed the course of the match.

Dickinson set up Elliot Benyon who turned well but shot straight at Neal, an inch either way. He fling his head back, questions have to be asked about the former Swindon hitman, four successive starts now and while everybody can see the boy's got talent, he seems off the pace at the moment.

The calls for the big Bolton loanee Jack Sampson, who should have come on at some stage anyway, to start against Benyon's former club will grow longer and louder after this. 

So the second half, and left back Peter Gilbert made a challenge on 52 minutes that against a referee who has sent a home player off and heard the boos of the crowd in his ear ever since, you should never do, not that he deserved some of the abuse he got afterwards!

It certainly looked as if he made contact with James Collins, arrested for drink-driving late last year along with Villa's Barry Bannan, but online evidence seems to suggest made a meal of it, however, the penalty was given and put away with aplomb by the same player sending Morris the wrong way.

Now on came Ryan Hall, badly missed, though Sean Clohessy was forced to be more defensive than usual by the strength of Town's attacking even with ten men, in place of the out of position Grant, before Bilel Mohsni also came on for the injured Mark Phillips.

That was a blow, first because the former Millwal centre-back sould be out for a long time, and it lost the Shrimpers of a real attacking force in Mohsni up front, as Northampton found out last weekend. 

However, the Shrimpers had the bit between their teeth with these changes and close to the hour mark Dickinson shot wide from about 20 yards out, before Benyon's strike from a similar distance cleared the bar.

Suddenly, on 64 minutes, Southend equalised, and there was something inevitable it was Ryan Hall, his 11th of the season bringing him level with Liam.

The winger was well teed up by Dickinson andlet loose a stinging low shot from 14 yards which Neal got a hand to but deflected it on to the other which placed in it the back of the net.

Dickinson hadd been booked before the break and as is his way was stilll getting involved in needless back chat when the second great 'incident' of the game took place that put the man in black under great pressure which, to his credit, he handled quite well.

Up he jumped with the Shrews Aussie centre-back Shane Cansdell-Sherriff and after a clash of heads it was the defender who came off worse lying still on the ground.

it looked as if the Shrimpers striker would be off but the ref decided a chat was enough, it was an accident after all whatever the baying hoards were shouting, and as Cansdell-Sherriff was stretchered off, nine minutes of stoppage time were to be added at the end, it looked as if the game was set up for another thrilling Southend finish as we saw at the Sixfields.

It may have been thrilling, but from a total home perspective!

Only eight minutes left and  the other centre-back Jermaine Grandison was given the freedom of Shropshire to head home Matt Richards’ right wing corner with a bullett header.

Sampson would surely get some match time now? No said Luggy, on came Kane Ferdinand in place of the injured JP, possibily from the earlier challenge that saw Morgan sent off, and Mohsni was at last made a striker to compliment Benyon and Dickinson.

Sadly, for the 407 Shrimpers support in the 5,601 total attendance, there was to be no repeat of last week's herorics, not sure Hall or Martin got a decent cross in between them, and the side were to return to south-east Essex without any points but still to remain top of the tree!

Time for Di Canio's Robins Tuesday week under the lights at Roots Hall. 

Southend player markings: Morris - 6, Clohessy - 6, Barker - 6, Phillips - 6 (Mohsni 58 - 6), Gilbert - 5, Grant - 5 (Hall 56 - 6), Kalala - 6 (Ferdinand 83 - 5), Timlin - 6, Benyon - 4, Dickinson - 6. 

Referee: Mr. D. Whitestone - 6.