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Early exchanges saw visiting midfielder Chris Priest curl a shot over Darryl Flahavan's crossbar before Rawle's long range effort caused little distress to Wilson. As Southend managed to get a grip of the match - with Mark Beard particularly impressive - Mark Rawle looped a header over the bar from a Neil Jenkins cross before, at the other end, Matthew Tipton volleyed wayward following a neat Kyle Lightbourne knock back.
Good work from Beard earned United a corner on 24 minutes, Graeme Jones nodding Kevin Maher's flag kick wide before another Maher corner produced the only goal of the match two minutes later. This time the delivery came from the opposite side, the left, and it was flighted perfectly for Leon Cort to rise and thunder an unstoppable header into the net from six yards.
Three minutes later and the advantage could have been doubled, Wilson bizarrely pushing a ball straight into the path of Beard who's accurate cross was flicked inches over the bar by the head of Rawle.
United had a lucky escape on 32 minutes, Jenkins being in thr perfect position to hack a Lightbourne effort off the goal line, but thr Silkmen rode their luck aswell, only minutes later Jay Smith's well executed through ball found Tes Bramble who stormed toward goal only to be felled by the waving leg of Michael Welch, strangely referee Phil Crossley seemed oblivious to the incident. To be fair to Crossley - a man who has bad memories of Roots Hall for he was running the line the day referee Mike North tragically died - had an otherwise tidy game.
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Wilson was left floundering again on 36 minutes, somehow getting nowhere near Maher's rather routine corner, Cort volleted the ball back into the box and Bramble was unlucky seeing his header fly just past the post. Then, on the stroke of half time, a Jenkins centre was flicked on by Rawle into the path of Beard who could only poke the ball at Wilson at full stretch.
The half time interval was certainly livened up with Phil Whelan become the first person to 'shoot through the hole' on United's half time 'Shoot for a Car' competiton. For the record it didn't even touch the sides!
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Rawle did brilliantly well to beat three defenders before Wilson parried his shot and on 83 minutes Jones saw a fierce shot deflected into the side netting from a tight angle before the last action of the match, in injury time, Smith testing Wilson following a Jones knock back.
Mark Wallis
www.thelittlegazette.com