Soccer: Gulls boosted by tired Blues

A second-half brace from Gulls captain Brian Healy kept the Devon outfit on the edge of the play-off zone in eighth position, one point behind the last elevation spot currently occupied by Cheltenham Town, who are Blues' end of season visitors on Saturday.

This was the Shrimpers' seventh home defeat of yet another bitterly disappointing campaign, which began with genuine hopes of winning Second Division status but is ending back among the basement league's deadwood as it did last term.

However, at least the Seasiders haven't had to put up with the previous season's relegation nightmares which came very close to handing the club a Conference League debut.

But that fact does not seem to be impressing the Roots Hall strugglers' loyal band of fans, who have finally run out of patience with Blues' underachievers, as last night's crowd of just 2,563 proved.

This was Southend's lowest attendance for nearly three years, only just beating the 2,307 who turned up for a 3-2 Second Division triumph against Preston North End on December 2, 1997.

It was also the first time a Roots Hall crowd has slipped beneath the 3,000 mark since Southend crashed back into the bottom division the season before last - and who can blame the supporters for staying away?

If last night's display was anything to go by then Southend will be lucky to attract 2,000 home spectators for Cheltenham's visit this weekend. They are another side who have managed to battle their way into the promotion picture on vastly inferior resources to the Shrimpers.

Against Torquay, who were nothing more than workmanlike, Southend were both clueless and useless as they spluttered and stuttered their way through another 90 minutes like headless chickens.

Blues completely lacked any form of creative nous and could have played all week without scoring, so punchless was their puny attacking threat and frustrating over indulgence in the backwards pass.

Indeed, Southend's limitations going forward restricted them to a lone tactic of pumping long-balls down the channels and through the middle, which were easy meat for Torquay's back-line, who rarely looked troubled.

However, more worrying was the way in which Southend's players were far too often second to the ball and happy to stand back and watch their opponents challenge for headers and tackles as Torquay's greater appetite and will to win shone through as bright as day.

Now Seasiders fans everywhere must pray that Blues boss Alan Little has a good clear out of his current underachievers during the summer.

After all he could do a lot worse than replace his present rabble with players as hungry as the former trainees, non-league journeymen and lower division stalwarts who made up Torquay's ranks, but were still a cut above their Southend counterparts in every department.

Little made two changes to his starting line-up against the Gulls.

Midfielder Mark Tinkler replaced loan-man Nigel Pepper, who has returned to Aberdeen, and 18-year-old central defender Tom McDonald was handed his full league debut in place of Leo Roget, who was late getting to the ground after being involved in a car accident.

Mel Capleton played in goal, behind Blues' familiar five-man defensive system of centre-halves, skipper Simon Coleman, David Morley and McDonald, supported by wing-backs Garry Cross and Nathan Jones.

Kevin Maher, Scott Houghton and Tinkler were the midfield three, with Martin Carruthers and Steve Jones again partnered in attack for the Seasiders.

Capleton had one of his hesitant moments in the first five minutes when he completely missed a long throw launched into the Southend box from the left-flank by Torquay defender Wayne Thomas.

The Southend keeper spilled the ball under the aerial challenge of Eifion Williams, handing the visiting striker's front-partner Tony Bedeau a free-shot at an empty net from 12 yards, but Coleman intervened and cleared the danger.

Six minutes later, Maher floated a right-wing free-kick into the heart of the Gull's penalty area, which Steve Jones headed tamely past the left-post from 12 yards out after beating Thomas in the air.

And Thomas' nightmare start to the game continued on 13 minutes when he lost possession to Houghton on the edge of his box, but the midfielder could not match Steve Jones' six-yard box run with a quality pass and Torquay defender Lee Russell hacked the ball away.

However, Torquay soon began exerting pressure on Southend's goal and right wing-back Paul Holmes' left-wing cross was headed on by team-mate Jimmy Aggrey into Healy's path after 18 minutes, but he smashed his volley wide from ten yards.

Towering defender Aggrey was causing trouble in the Southend box again 60 seconds later, flicking on a long-goal kick from Gulls custodian Stuart Jones, which allowed visiting midfielder Chris Brandon to tip-toe his way past the Southend defence. But he could only flash a shot from ten yards past the right-post.

Tinkler tried to revive Southend's limp attack with a 20-yard shot over the bar, before the former Leeds United midfielder made a powerful run down the right-wing and found Carruthers with a quickly-whipped cross, which the Blues hitman headed straight at the Torquay goalie.

Williams then chased a lost cause to Southend's left by-line and dug-out a pinpoint cross for his midfield comrade Kevin Hill, which he headed over Capleton's bar on 35 minutes, before Carruthers drilled a low shot past the left-post back at the other end.

Southend started off the second-half brighter with Houghton trying his luck with a looping shot from the edge of the Torquay box which nestled comfortably in Stuart Jones' hands after 46 minutes.

Maher then found Houghton on the left-flank with a carefully rolled pass, which allowed the midfielder to accelerate past Holmes and hit a well struck 18-yard drive agonisingly wide of Torquay's left-post.

But Torquay were not going to sit back and take much more and started getting their own attacking momentum flowing again as left wing-back Robbie Herrera broke away and centred for Bedeau, who beat Coleman but headed straight at Capleton from close range.

Blues hit back on 51 minutes when Nathan Jones' free-kick from the left-flank was only half-cleared by Torquay's desperate rearguard, but Carruthers blazed the rebound over the bar from 15-yards.

And eight minutes later the Gulls got their first goal from the edge of the box after Morley was penalised for a foul on Brandon.

Healy took the responsibility and curled a perfect dead-ball kick above the Southend wall and inside Capleton's right-hand post, who, not for the first time this season, looked to be out of position.

Southend's laboured attempts to get back into the game hardly worried Torquay with Tinkler hitting an 18-yard volley straight into Torquay's brick wall-like defence on 64 minutes after connecting with Houghton's corner.

Steve Jones then tried an overhead-kick after his namesake Stuart in the Torquay goal had made a hash of a clearance, but the ball rolled away from danger.

Then on 71 minutes, Williams left Tinkler in a heap and broke into the Southend box, but Capleton read the danger well and claimed the ball at the frontman's feet.

Three minutes later, Stuart Jones was called into his only real piece of action all night when Southend forward Steve Jones turned Aggrey and smashed an awkward low drive from the edge of the box across goal, but the Torquay keeper clawed the effort away.

And on 79 minutes, Tinkler's skidding cross from the right caught Thomas out on the six-yard box, but Morley somehow scooped the ball over the bar from just six-yards after coming in on the blind side of his opponent.

However, Torquay wrapped up their first Roots Hall win for 14 years with nine minutes left in controversial circumstances, following a harsh penalty decision.

Bedeau picked up the ball completely unmarked on the edge of the Southend penalty area and skipped past Capleton, before trying to steer a low shot inside the left-post, which back-tracking Blues defender Nathan Jones looked to have blocked lawfully on the goal-line.

But Nottingham referee Fraser Stretton astonished everybody in the ground by pointing to the spot and showing the Southend man his second red card of the season after the ball had taken a wicked bounce off his outstretched leg and grazed his hand.

All of which left dead-ball expert Healy to drive the spot-kick into the bottom left-hand corner of the Southend goal and leave Blues rooted in 18th place in the league standings.

Next game: Southend United v Cheltenham (Saturday, 3pm)

(Right) Young guns - Garry Cross (left) and Tom McDonald gave solid performances for the Blues

(Left) Looking forward - David Morley sets up a Shrimpers attack against the Gulls

(Right) Tackle time - Scott Houghton beats a challenge from Torquay skipper Brian Healy

Pictures: DAVE MONTIER

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.