Determined Shrimpers in mood to end Athletic jinx
Reporter: Athletic with TONY BUGBY
Date published: 25 September 2009
Spotlight on tomorrow’s big match
PERHAPS it’s the bracing sea air, but Athletic certainly enjoy their visits to Southend United.
They have won on their last two visits to Roots Hall and tomorrow will be bidding to make that a hat-trick of triumphs in Coca-Cola League One.
Chris Taylor and Lee Hughes were on target in last season’s 2-1 victory, while the campaign before that Hughes was the matchwinner again in a 1-0 success.
Delving further back, Athletic have lost only once in their last six matches at Southend, which reinforces the view that it is a lucky ground.
Athletic manager Dave Penney will be looking for his team to build on last Saturday’s long-awaited home victory over Carlisle, their first at Boundary Park since February.
It was only Athletic’s second league win of the campaign, but one which hoisted them out of the four relegation places.
Should Athletic win at Southend they will vault over the eighth-placed Shrimpers in the table, further evidence about how quickly fortunes can change.
Athletic would in all probability climb into the top half of the table and, in the space of a week, their season would take on a completely different outlook.
It won’t be easy, however, as Steve Tilson’s side have lost only one of their eight league matches.
That said, they have won only twice as five draws account for the majority of points which have slipped away.
Tilson, League One’s longest-serving manager, said: “I have been pretty happy with how things have gone so far, but it is still early days.
“We have lost one game, and that was through some disappointing decisions by the referee.
“The biggest plus point is that we have competed in every match so far.”
Southend’s bright start to the season has inspired by the goals of Lee Barnard, the former Tottenham striker, who has found the net eight times.
It would have been nine but for a penalty miss against Leeds, although he remains on course to easily overtake the 11 goals he scored last season – his highest total for a campaign.
Tilson is not concerned about Southend’s reliance on Barnard for goals even though the next leading scorer is Franck Moussa with two.
He said: “It is not a worry. Lee has started the season in terrific form and hopefully he can keep that up until May.
“He has always scored goals and for the reserves at Spurs he scored something like one goal every two games. As long as he stays fit, he will be a danger.”
Tilson has brought in striker Roy O’Donovan from Sunderland on loan and the Eire ‘B’ international scored on his debut in last Saturday’s 3-2 win at Brighton.
Added Tilson: “Roy offers us something a bit different as he has pace and, hopefully, he can use that to run in behind defenders.
“I’m a big believer in only bringing in players which are different to what you have, and Roy provides that. I am hoping he can score a few goals during his time with us.”
Southend, like Athletic, have to operate on a shoestring budget, but that does not faze Tilson.
He said: “It is difficult, but then a lot of people in all walks of life are having difficult times at the moment, and football is no different.
“We will have a new stadium, hopefully, getting under way soon and, when that happens, the football club will have a bright future,”
Tilson believes it is still possible for the smaller clubs to match the big guns.
“It’s been the same for a few years,” he said. “Last season we had the likes of Leeds, Leicester and MK Dons, who all had big budgets.
“This season there are Charlton, Norwich and Huddersfield. It’s still possible to be competitive and anyone can beat anyone in this division.
“But although money doesn’t guarantee success, it can make life a lot easier.”
TOMORROW’S LEAGUE ONE FIXTURES
Bristol Rovers v Brighton, Carlisle v Southampton, Charlton v Exeter, Gillingham v Norwich, Hartlepool v Walsall, Huddersfield v Stockport, Leyton Orient v Millwall, MK Dons v Leeds, Southend v Athletic, Swindon v Wycombe, Tranmere v Colchester, Yeovil v Brentford.
