My sixth game of 2015 saw me at my local SkyBet League Two promotion chasing Southend United as they took on struggling Cheltenham Town at Roots Hall. It was a rare Football League match for myself although my mate often says this is much better than the stuff you normally watch!!! I of course disagree with this to a certain extent but anyway it was a football match and an evening out!! The Blues went into this one obvious favourites for most although if you ask any Shrimpers fan they would probably not be as confident knowing what their side can be capable of!!! Still the hosts have had a decent season sitting 5th in the division and well inside the play off positions whilst opponents Cheltenham are one place above the dropzone and having a difficult season so far. This showed in the first half as the Blues started the better and should of been ahead early on when a cross was headed just over by centre back Thompson but the hosts and the majority of the 5,013 crowd didn't have to wait long for the opener when they took the lead after 9 minutes when terrible defending allowed Cassidy to ghost in unmarked at the back post and although his header was saved the ball fell to Joe Pigott who smashed home the rebound. Timlin went close for the Blues on 20 minutes and then the hosts doubled their money on 34 minutes when a Ben Coker free kick was nodded home by Joe Pigott for his and Southend's second of the evening. It had been a dominant 45 minutes from the Blues. Cheltenham did threaten on a couple of occasions in the second period, having one off the line seconds into the half and then forcing Bentley into a smart save with his legs later on in the half. The Blues wern't without their own chances but they never really hit the heights of their first half performance but this didn't really matter to much as they had done more than enough against a fairly poor Cheltenham side. The biggest cheer of the half came on 66 minutes when the returning hero Adam Barrett came on to take his place in the heart of defence alongside Thompson, who had a terrific game himself. So the Blues move up to 4th and only two points from the automatic promotion places. Play-offs is a must but automatic promotion would be even better and this win certainly does their chances no harm at all.
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