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Away vs Portsmouth - Friday 26th October 2012

FA Youth Cup

Southend United ’s interest in The FA Youth Cup was ended at the First Round stage as Portsmouth staged a second half fightback to record a 2 -1 victory over the Shrimpers.

Marlon Agyakwa was on target for Blues’ Youths just before the half-hour mark to give the visitors the lead but the initiative swung back towards Pompey after just 48 seconds of the second half when Bradley Tarbuck levelled from the penalty spot. Liam Triggs’ glancing header eleven minutes from time was enough to consign Ricky Duncan’s team to an early exit.

To make matters worse, captain Jack Edwards was sent off deep into stoppage time for raising his arms to Portsmouth winger Jack Maloney, compounding a frustrating conclusion to the evening. It was an ending that could not have been in starker contrast to the beginning at Fratton Park, which saw the Shrimpers immediately on the front foot.

Jason Williams and Jack Payne were a livewire combination at the forefront of the Southend attack, and the diminutive Payne wasted no time in unleashing an early strike that required charging down by Jack Whatmough just inside the penalty area. The tie was still only eight minutes old when Williams ran at the Pompey back-line, taunting three defenders before offloading to Mitchell Pinnock for a wild shot over the crossbar.

Southend seemed to have settled quickly, and Pinnock forced the first save out of Connor O’Hara in the 18th minute. The opportunity arrived at the end of an elaborate build-up, with Jack Bridge shielding the ball before laying off to Agyakwa. His cross was flicked to the back post where Pinnock’s stopping header was easily gathered by O’Hara.

The hosts troubled Blues for the first time in the 26th minute when Tarbuck - a 16-year-old who has already made his first-team debut for Portsmouth - got in behind Kane Farrell, but Aaron Tatham moved swiftly across to knock the ball out for a corner which was subsequently cleared.

Blues took the lead in the 28th minute through Agyakwa, who has come close to senior recognition with the Shrimpers himself. The flanker was handed set-piece responsibilities after Pinnock had fired over from 30 yards with the previous free-kick, and a training ground routine from similar distance saw Agyakwa collect a return pass from Payne before floating his 28-yard shot over O’Hara and inside the right-hand post. Only the second-year scholar himself will know if the dipping strike was deliberate, but it handed Southend a deserved advantage.

Two minutes later, Ted Smith preserved that lead with a smart save beside his near post after Maloney delivered an impressive 25-yard drive, although that was a rare moment of exertion for the Shrimpers shotstopper as his side continued to look the more likely to score in the closing stages of the first half.

A neat interchange between Williams and Agyakwa showcased the away club’s confidence, and it led to Pinnock arrowing the ball into O’Hara’s gloves from the edge of the ‘D’. Seconds later Payne tricked his way into the penalty area and dribbled past two defenders before being superbly apprehended by Whatmough inside the six- yard box. A final chance was spurned in the 44th minute when Williams powered a header over from Agyakwa’s corner.

The momentum was completely with Southend, but Duncan’s charges had taken the lead in their previous two fixtures without recording a victory and Pompey had fought back from a goal behind to draw 1-1 in a league match earlier in the season, so there was no guarantee that things would continue to go their way.

That was how it proved as, within seconds of the restart, Maloney surged into the penalty area and drew a foul from Harry Jeffery. Tarbuck stepped up and comprehensively slammed the spot-kick into the left-hand corner of the net with Smith having dived in the opposite direction.

Only 48 seconds had passed at that point, but Blues had a chance to restore the lead six minutes later. Agyakwa was the provider and a back-post corner again caught out the home defence, allowing Josh Banton to arrive unmarked. Unfortunately his header was skewed wide.

Portsmouth were seeing more of the ball, and Maloney and Lewis Horsburgh required constant attention from Jeffery and Banton, but Smith was far from overworked and instead it was expansive play from the Shrimpers that crafted the next goalmouth action midway through the second period. Payne shifted the ball out to Agyakwa on the right, and his centre was heading towards Pinnock before Pompey skipper Josh Warren volleyed the ball

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narrowly wide of his own goal.

That was Agyakwa’s last involvement in the match but his replacement, schoolboy Nico Cotton, wasted no time in introducing himself to the 673-strong crowd. He ran straight at Whatmough and earned his team a corner, a set- piece that eventually led to Farrell setting up Williams for a prodded attempt at O’Hara.

Sadly for Southend, Pompey’s next move proved decisive. Tarbuck was awarded a free-kick on the right touchline, and his curling delivery was superbly met by Triggs ’ angled header, although there was a level of culpability in the visiting defending as the left-back was allowed the space to guide his aerial effort home.

Whatmough teamed up with Warren on the goal-line to hack away Williams’ faint touch to a Pinnock centre in the 83rd minute, and shortly after the Southend duo linked up again to force O’Hara into a smart near-post save. Duncan threw on centre-back Dan Snook as an auxiliary forward to create more of a presence up front, but it was man-of-the-match Whatmough who made the final telling contribution, blocking Cotton’s thunderous strike on the edge of the penalty area.

Blues’ woes were not complete until the fifth minute of stoppage time, however, as Maloney blocked Edwards from taking a quick free-kick and the Shrimpers skipper retaliated, earning himself a red card for violent conduct and a three-match suspension. Southend will attempt to bounce back next Saturday, when they bring their Football League Youth Alliance Cup Group Four campaign to a close at Leyton Orient seeking progression to the knockout stages.

Southend United U18s: Ted Smith, Harry Jeffery (Dan Snook 88), Kane Farrell, Jack Edwards, Josh Banton, Aaron Tatham, Marlon Agyakwa (Nico Cotton 70), Jack Bridge, Jason Williams, Jack Payne, Mitchell Pinnock. Substitutes not used: Dominic Russo, Charlie Barlow, Dan King. Goal: Agyakwa (28). Cautioned: Williams (66 - foul tackle). Dismissed: Edwards (90+5 - violent conduct).

Portsmouth U18s: Connor O’Hara, Ben Close, Liam Triggs, Nick Awford, Josh Warren, Jack Whatmough, Bradley Tarbuck, George Branford, Lewis Horsburgh, Jae Heon Kim (James Hartson 75), Jack Maloney. Substitutes not used: Claude da Costa, Chad Field, Fahad Rwakarambwe, Conor Chaplin. Goals: Tarbuck (46 pen), Triggs (79). Cautioned: Warren (85 - adopting an aggressive attitude), Maloney (90+5 - delaying the restart of play).

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02/ 07/ 2014