Pre Season Friendly, Wednesday 22nd July
My final pre season outing saw me over at Roots Hall to check out how Southend United were shaping up ahead of what is a hotly anticipated season for them following changes over the summer to their management and playing staff, they welcomed League Two Northampton Town to their home this evening looking to build on a very promising showing against the mighty West Ham United at the weekend.
Over 10,000 fans crammed into Roots Hall on Saturday as their side took on a very strong Hammers outfit, and the 1-1 draw certainly gave many home fans some optimism about their side, Kieron Dyer is now the man charged with taking the side forward and hoping they can hit the ground running come the season, still plenty of work to do before that though and they welcomed a Cobblers side who will be plying their trade in League Two, which is a level above the National League of course.
Town of course had their own agenda and were themselves looking to shape a side for another long tough season in the fourth tier, and it was they who made a good start and rather dampen the mood at Roots Hall amongst the majority of the 1,720 crowd inside the stadium, Max Dyche looping a header into the net after just six minutes, and they certainly looked much sharper and quicker to the ball than the hosts did in the opening exchanges.
It took a while for the hosts to settle, once they did though they caused some alarm but if truth be told the visiting defence coped fairly comfortably with anything that was thrown at them, and with six minutes of the first half remaining they doubled their lead as The Blues switched off, Matty Warhurst applying the finishing touches to a ball played back across goal from the left hand side, meaning the Cobblers would go into the break two goals to the good.
Both sides made plenty of changes at the start of the half, and the second period saw Southend have plenty of the ball although most of the possession wasn't very penetrative as Town dealt with most of what came their way, attacking wise the visitors didn't enjoy quite as much as they did in the first period but when they were handed a chance on a plate from the hosts with twenty minutes to go, they took full advantage, Harvey Saunders eventually firing home after it appeared the chance had gone, 0-3.
More changes came and The Blues did manage to find a goal to give their fans something to cheer on what had been an otherwise disappointing evening for them, Oli Hyams sliding home at the back post after the visitors keeper had made a decent stop, but it was the 64 fans from Northampton who had more things to cheer on this evening, credit to them for coming to watch their side on a Tuesday night, they were rewarded with a decent showing from their side.
A disappointing result for the Blues then and a wake up call that their is still much work to do ahead of the season, still plenty of positives to take from this one despite the outcome, and no doubt Dyer and Co can shape a side capable of giving it a good go this season, but it will take a lot of work for sure and the fans will need to be patient if possible, and allow this new look side time to find their feet.
Full time Southend United 1 Northampton Town 3
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