Southend United (1) 2 Hall 15, 52
Gillingham (2) 2 McDonald 6, Akinfenwa 18 (pen)
Att. 5,771
Entrance: £4.75 (Sun offer)
Programme: £3
Mileage: 132/8,097
Match Report
Winter draws on. Old joke, but on a chilly evening at Roots Hall following a Spring-like day, Gillingham’s sequence of draws continued to damage their prospects for automatic promotion. In fairness to both sides, to which the draw did neither any favours, they set out their stall to win the game and subsequently an open game ensued.Southend started the game very much the brighter but it was the visitors that took an early lead. Curtis Weston laid the ball into the path of Cody McDonald who ended his five goal drought with a shot from the edge of the area into the bottom corner. The massive away support numbering over 900 were joyous, unfortunately for not too long. On the quarter hour, referee Brendan Malone awarded a highly dubious free kick 20 yards out for a foul by Jack Payne. Ryan Hall curled the ball around the wall and the out stretched hand of Alan Julian. Hall is presently on bail pending the appeal of a 20 week jail sentence having been found guilty for affray following the club’s Christmas Party.
Within two minutes Gillingham were back in front. McDonald was brought down just inside the penalty area and Adebayo Akinfenwa calmly slid home the resultant penalty. The remainder of the half was goalless but it was not for the want of attacking intentions by both sides. Andy Barcham was squeezed wide enough to make the chance too acute, Julian was brought into action by Blair Sturrock and Lee Sawyer and there was an absolutely magnificent volley from Gills’ skipper Barry Fuller that was equally magnificently saved by Rhys Evans.
The first half was extended by seven minutes following a clash of heads between Garry Richards and Sturrock, leaving the Southend player with his head swathed in bandages.
Gillingham started the second half without Akinfenwa who was suffering from a headache and replaced by Dennis Oli. Two great chances were carved out in the first five minutes of the half, Payne hit a post in the 48th minute and McDonald forced Evans into good save a minute later. So it was against the run of play when Southend equalised in the 52nd minute. Weston lost possession in midfield and Hall was able to fire past Julian from 18 yards.
Ryan Hall was now in full flow and Gillingham’s defenders would have been cursing the judicial process as three times he peppered the goal from free kicks. Southend were much the dominant force, Gillingham’s attack looking nothing like the first half force without the bustling Akinfenwa. Despite this is was the visitors that staged the grandstand finish, a Matt Lawrence header was cleared from the line and from the rebound his fellow central defender Richards had a shot blocked.
Yet another draw, and this sequence of results is really killing Gillingham's prospects, but on this occasion it has to be said that it was a fair scoreline.
The viewing for a visiting supporter at Roots Hall is one of the worst that you could come across. Seats bolted onto a terrace built for standing give barely enough leg room for a six-year-old let alone somebody over six foot tall and the lighting somehow leaves the far goal strangely invisible. There has been talk for several years about Southend building a new stadium, it cannot come soon enough.
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