Shrimpers Tormented By Saddlers

Last weekend Freddy Eastwood’s three goals went a long way to helping the travelling Shrimpers to a 4-3 away win at Chesterfield, however due to the successful forward picking up not only three goals but a yellow card as well, he had to sit in the stands for this one as he had merited five cautions and warranted a suspension.

However this wasn’t all bad as new-boy Lee Bradbury was ‘given the nod’ to start for the first time for the club alongside Shaun Goater. Despite having a broken nose, Kevin Maher played through the pain barrier and will continue to do so for the time being, whilst Mark Bentley was again deemed unfit and Mitchell Cole again started.

Efe Sodje didn’t start the match, the Nigerian-born defender had only just returned from a one match ban, however he didn’t have to wait long to get involved with the thick of the action. After Spencer Prior had climbed up to challenge the Saddlers Scott Fitzgerald, the former Manchester City defender fell and duly twisted his knee...just 180 seconds into the game!

The first couple of minutes were reasonably active, with Bradbury smashing a volley just wide of goal in the first move of the match, and Mitchell Cole hitting a volley of his own which was well held by Walsall ‘keeper Andy Oakes.

In what proved to be an incredible sequence of events, Mitchell Cole was then injured just less than twenty five minutes into the game after a frankly disgraceful tackle by Craig Pead. Pead, who is formerly

Cole had to go to hospital for an X-Ray on his anke

of Coventry City, escaped without a caution but to be perfectly honest his tackle towards the by-line was late and ill-mannered. James Lawson was the man chosen to replace Cole, moving onto the right-hand side of midfield whilst Gower went to the left, which was surprising given that Carl Pettefer was ever-present for the Shrimpers at right-midfield last term and he was an option on the substitute’s bench.

The free-kick from the foul was swung in by Maher, and the man with a broken nose was unfortunate not to grab his first goal of the campaign – Oakes somehow managing to hook the ball up and over the crossbar. From the resulting corner Shaun Goater could and should have made it four goals in five starts as he headed over unchallenged from a looping Kevin Maher corner.

Duncan Jupp took a throw in just outside the Walsall penalty area, which was converted into a stinging half volley by Luke Guttridge, who tested the goalkeeper’s hands to their full capability, forcing a corner kick. Maher again supplied the perfect ball, but for whatever reason, Southend didn’t want to score a header. Lawson rose up, again unchallenged, and crashed his header centimetres wide of the far post in what was becoming a frustrating patch for Steve Tilson’s men.

Walsall were very close to gaining the lead with their only chance of the first half during stoppage time, Andy Barrowman being halted by Darryl Flahavan after he had strayed away from the Southend backline…and after an astute through pass by Pablo Mills.

If the first half wasn’t action-packed enough for your liking, reading the second half will be painful. There was about as much entertainment in the second half as there is in old peoples home. To say neither side would score in a brothel is an understatement!

However they both tried. Starting with the Blues, and inside the first minute of the second half, Lawson had managed to bundle Craig Pead off of the ball, possibly in an illegal manner but his tackle on Mitchell Cole was illegal so justice done, although Lawson failed to leave Pead regretting his mistake as he smashed the ball straight at Oakes with the goal gaping.

Had some good chances after he came on

Lawson then turned provider, as he sent a pin-point drilled cross for Luke Guttridge to fire home, but former Charlton target Guttridge hadn’t read the script and mis-hit his shot in an alarming manner , seeing it spin up and away from him rather than spin up into the net.

After Simon Osborn had curled Walsall’s second shot of the ninety minutes wide, Kevin Maher then went desperately close to giving Southend maximum points. Maher, who had to have his nose treated again during the game following an altercation with Pablo Mills, sprinted into the box and leaped onto a Jupp cross and headed high over the bar. Things could have been oh so different had Shaun Goater moved himself out of Maher’s way, but in the end both sides had to be content with a share of the spoils – Walsall certainly were. However the home team won’t necessarily be, especially considering they could have gained points on both Brentford and Colchester who both lost by a goal to nil to Port Vale and Barnsley respectively.

By Adam Duffill
www.thelittlegazette.com