Blues edge past spirited Wakering

THE Shrimpers’ traditional pre-season trip to Burroughs Park produced a closer than anticipated affair, with the home side running their more illustrious visitors right to the wire.
Despite Southend fielding their strongest available squad, the Rovers drew first blood after just six minutes. Crowd favourite, Billy Johnson beat Daniel Bentley at his near post with a twenty-five yard free kick.
The goal spurred Southend into life. New signing Gavin Tomlin twice hitting the frame of the goal following good flank play from Clohessy and Elliot Benyon, while Rovers custodian Louis Godwin-Green had to be alert as the action encamped itself in his penalty area.
Eventually, the Rovers rearguard buckled. With 21 minutes played, Luke Prosser met Ryan Hall’s right wing corner with a powerful header to restore parity.
With Southend enjoying the lion’s share of the game, the majority of the 821 crowd would have expected the visitors to push on and put the game out of sight, but they were soon in for another shock when Luca Frankis raced clear of the Shrimpers defence before finishing neatly low into Bentley’s right hand corner.
Rovers lead lasted only six minutes before Elliot Benyon followed up to head home after Godwin-Green had saved his initial effort, and two minutes later Southend took the lead when Tomlin opened his Blues account following good work from Benyon.
With both team’s changing personnel at the interval, the second period took the guise of a completely different game. Rovers rarely threatened to level the score, while Freddy Eastwood missed a close range effort you’d have put your mortgage on his scoring. That aside, only a late effort from Kevan Hurst threatened to add to the first half goal feast.
Rovers’ player-manager Dan Trenkel was delighted with his team’s display, telling me he is now faced with the nice problem of picking 16 from the 23 players used for their Essex Senior League opener on August 4.
Teams
Rovers 1st half
Godwin-Green, Gibson, Drury, Mbamarah, Sparrow, Finneran, Pugsley, Simon-Parson, Frankis, Nash, Johnson.
Rovers 2nd half
Watts, Hepburn, D Trenkel, Williams, Dean, Webb, M Trenkel, Keys, Holmes, Mbamarah (Benjamin)
Shrimpers 1st half
Bentley, Clohessy, Straker, Ferdinand, Creswell, Prosser, Hall, Harris, Tomlin, Benyon, Spicer.
Shrimpers 2nd half
Bentley, Woodyard, Leonard, Phillips, Barker, Paxman, Hurst, Eastwood, Martin, Folly (Agyakwa), Christie
Brian Jeeves

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