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Southend United 1 Stockport County 1

Simon Smedley
15/10/2008

A STUNNING strike from substitute Leon McSweeney earned another precious point for County on Saturday, but after a splendid second-half performance once again from the Hatters, they could quite easily have returned back north with three points.

Jim Gannon’s young side remain unbeaten on their travels so far this season, and remain handily placed just outside the League One play-off picture, but there may well have been disappointment on the long journey home having only secured the one point against a rattled ten-man Southend side.

On the team news front, as predicted, Fraser Forster replaced Owain fon Williams in goal and Anthony Pilkington went up top in place of County’s other international absentee Peter Thompson, while Jaroslaw Fojut came in after signing on loan on Thursday in place of the still missing Gareth Owen.

Thursday’s other loan capture Tony Kane also came in for his second County debut.

Aiming to preserve their five-game unbeaten league run, County opened confidently at Roots Hall against a Shrimpers side who were themselves on the back of a four-match winning streak.

It was the hosts who created the first opening though, with much-travelled wide-man Kevin Betsy charging down the right before unleashing a tame effort at league debutant Forster.

The tidy-looking Forster then denied Jean-Francois Christophe after he was teed up by Betsy, while at the other end striker Pilkington bent a 25-yard free-kick special round the Shrimpers’ wall, but unfortunately also inches wide of the post.

Southend took the lead on 19 minutes straight from Adam Federici’s goal-kick. He thumped the ball down the middle, Alex Revell flicked the ball on and Lee Barnard turned Fojut before firing past Forster.

The Hatters’ first shot on target came on 33 minutes, but Tommy Rowe’s effort was straight at Federici.

Stephen Gleeson fired wide from distance for County, before Forster did well to turn a curling shot from Hal Robson-Kanu out for a corner seconds before the interval.

County went on to have by far the better of the second period.

Early on Jim McNulty’s cross from the left was flicked goalwards at the near post by Pilkington, but Federici managed to beat his effort away.

Just after the hour mark, McSweeney entered the fray in place of Kane, and less than 60 seconds later he rifled in a deserved equaliser after picking up the ball just outside the Southend box and unleashing a right-foot shot into the top corner of Federici’s goal.

The hosts were then reduced to ten men on 68 minutes when Dan Harding saw red following an ugly challenge on McSweeney, so could County now go on and win the game?

Pilkington and Paul Turnbull (twice) squandered late chances, while the County bench were also screaming for a penalty when Osei Sankofa looked to have directed an arm towards a Johnny Mullins cross.

It wasn’t to be, but again Gannon’s men turned in another encouraging performance to bounce back from the midweek defeat in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.