Southend United 0 Mansfield Town 1

Last updated : 28 December 2004 By Mark Wallis

An appalling last gasp decision by referee John Robinson and his assistant Ian Gosling denied Southend a point they would have scarcely deserved on Monday afternoon, Wayne Gray’s late strike ruled out for an offence spotted by nobody else amongst the large Roots Hall crowd.

Indeed, officially 7,082 crammed into the ground, although the real figure would hover somewhere around the 9,000 mark, but as they often do, the Shrimpers failed to perform infront of a large audience.

One change from the side which defeated Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park two days earlier saw the injured Mark Gower replaced by Tesfaye Bramble on the left flank whilst a returning Spencer Prior had to make do with a place on the bench with Andy Edwards retaining his place.

In a match of very few chances, the only real note of the first half was the Shrimpers inability to deal with pacey striker Derek Asamoah, and it was he who poked a fourth minute shot at the legs of Bart Griemink.

The only other first half opportunity, on 21 minutes, seeing a Kevin Maher corner flicked on by the head of Edwards only for Wayne Gray to poke the ball into the arms of shot-stopper Kevin Pilkington.

Half-time: Southend United 0 Mansfield Town 0

Asamoah again caused Southend problems after the break, and Griemink’s legs once again denied the former Northampton Town-man two minutes after the break.

Another Asamoah chance saw a quick-fire shot zip over the crossbar before he set-up the only goal with ten minutes remaining, sprinting into the box before picking out the unchecked run of Paul Warne who had the simple task of side-footing home from fifteen yards. (0-1)

That goal suddenly brought life to United for the first time in the afternoon, and a Gray cross saw Adam Barrett head just off target.

As the game ticked into stoppage time Southend were denied a blatant penalty when Jake Buxton blantantly handled a Carl Pettefer centre before the real drama ensued when, after an intense scramble, Gray poked the ball past three Town defenders on the goalline, but Gosling had his flag in the air, we can only presume for an unseen foul, to deny Steve Tilson’s side a point.

MATCH FACTS
SOUTHEND UNITED...(0) 0 MANSFIELD TOWN…(0) 1
Division Three, Monday 28th December 2004 @ Roots Hall

Line-ups:
The Shrimpers (4-4-2; navy shirts, navy shorts, navy socks):- Bart Griemink; Lewis Hunt, Che Wilson, Adam Barrett, Andy Edwards; Kevin Maher, Mark Bentley, Carl Pettefer, Tesfaye Bramble (Lawrie Dudfield 77); Wayne Gray, Freddy Eastwood. Unused subs – Nicky Nicolau, Jim Corbett, Spencer Prior, Darryl Flahavan.

The Stags (4-4-2; white, orange, orange):- Kevin Pilkington; Luke Dimech, J Kitamirike, Jake Buxton, Alex John-Baptiste; Tom Curtis, Simon Brown, Adam Murray (Fraser McLachalan 78), Paul Warne; Ritchie Barker, Derek Asamoah.

Goal: Mansfield: Warne 80 (side foot finish; inside area; timed at 79:17)
Bookings: Southend: Bentley (71 – foul).
Sent-off: None.
Total Goal Efforts: Southend 9, Mansfield 8
Shots/headers on target: Southend 1, Mansfield 4
Shots/headers off target: Southend 4, Mansfield 3
Blocked shots: Southend 4, Mansfield 1
Hit Woodwork: Southend 0, Mansfield 0
Corners: Southend 3, Mansfield 2
Free Kicks: Southend 21, Mansfield 13
Caught Offside: Southend 4, Mansfield 3

Match Time:
First Half: 45:13. Second Half: 50:42. Total: 95:55.
Indicated stoppage time: First Half: 0 minutes (Actual: 00:13), Second Half: 3 minutes (04:42)

Referee: John Robinson (Humberside FA), 0 out of 10 (General Control 0/5, Application of Laws 0/3, Personality & Appearance 0/2) – this idiot gets the same mark he received at Layer Road.

Assistants: Ian Gosling (Kent FA) and Ian Searle (Essex FA)

Attendance: 7,082 (approx 150 away fans)

Mark Wallis
www.thelittlegazette.com

NB. Shots/headers on target includes all goals and Free Kicks includes all penalties.