COMEBACK IS CRUCIAL TO MAHER
SOUTHEND United boss Kevin Maher praised the response of his players during the second half of this vital comeback win against Aldershot Town at Roots Hall.
The Shrimpers fought back from a goal down at the break to record a second victory in succession.
And Maher admitted Harry Cardwell’s equaliser just moments after Rollin Menayese had been sent off was a crucial moment of the match.
“They’ve had the sending off and scoring straight after that is important,” said Maher. “It almost didn’t give them time to reorganise because it can be difficult playing 10 men once they’re set.”
Menayese saw red after pulling back Shrimpers striker Danny Waldron.
And Maher understood why the decision was made.
“I’ve watched it back and it’s tight,” said the Blues boss.
“He’s going into the box and he’s been held back so I can see why it’s been given.”
Ollie Kensdale, Jack Wood and Marcus Dackers went on to join Cardwell on the scoresheet, but it was Aldershot who had the better of the first half.
“I actually thought we started well and had good passages of play but without really threatening enough,” said Maher.
“We turned the ball over cheaply which gave them opportunities to counter.
“It was bad decisions on the ball sometimes but the response in the second half was very good.”
Aldershot dropped to sixth after the defeat but were on top for the majority of the first 45 minutes and caused Southend problems on the counter-attack.
That tactic also led to the Shots opening the scoring in the 18th minute as Josh
Stokes fired home after Loret Tolaj’s shot had been blocked by Kensdale.
The visitors soon came close to doubling their lead after again winning the ball back high up the pitch.
James Daly rolled a pass into the path of Tolaj who slammed a powerful left footed shot against the underside of the crossbar with Stikes slicing the rebound wide of the right post.
However, the match turned on its head at the start of the second half when Menayese was dismissed for stopping Waldon advancing into the penalty area.
The resulting Bridge freekick was fumbled out by Jordi Van Stappershoeff, enabling Cardwell to tap home his 13th goal of the season.
Moments later, Kensdale fired home a powerful left footed shot, on his 100th appearance for the club, after being found by a left wing cross from James Morton.
Southend then sealed their win with two goals in stoppage time. The first came when Wood worked his way in from the right hand side before scoring with a cool finish.
And, in the sixth minute of added time, Dackers slammed home a well-struck shot via the underside of the crossbar.
The win moved Southend 16th in the table.
STAR MAN: Ollie Kensdale (Southend) 6,631
★★★★★ ATT: ENTERTAINMENT: REFEREE: David Richardson