In their most recent National League U19 Alliance South Division match, Southend United U19s lost 2-0 on the road against Maidenhead United on Wednesday afternoon.
At the Berkshire College of Agriculture, both teams had periods of difficulty on a challenging surface, but goals from Enzo Pashraj and Luca Lombardi helped the hosts win in the end. Blues have now dropped three of their previous four games as a result of the outcome.
For the match, Woking had beaten them 5-0 at Bowers & Pitsea seven days prior, therefore Joshua Jackson and Joe Poxon were left off the starting lineup. Louis Bragg and Aidon Shehu were back in the starting lineup.
Pashaj had an early chance to fire after Bragg fouled Soul Hale, but he missed from the edge of the penalty box with a fifth-minute free kick. After five minutes, Declan Fleming was hit by Luke Cerullo’s throw, which spiralled over the custodian and then missed the mark.
After a poor start, Southend started to gain momentum, and in the thirteenth minute, George Pulham nodded over after excellent combination play on the right side between Bragg and Oscar Jones. Fleming also skied an effort wide sixty seconds later.
After that, Jones and Thato Molefi had to play defensive to prevent Pashaj and Hale from combining in the penalty area. In the 26th minute, Bragg broke through to the Maidenhead goal line, but Beau MacDonald’s cut-back went wide at the near post.
As the first half went on, Bragg and Archie McGonigle both fired in enticing crosses from the right side, but nobody in the penalty area had the motivation to sprint past their man and get a crucial touch on the ball to divert it in.
Rather, a speculative MacDonald attempt in the 33rd minute brought Southend dangerously close. The midfielder saw Oliver Burger-Williams, the custodian, off his line and attempted a chip, but the shot missed the left upright by a distance of 35 yards.
Though Cerullo’s handling of the ball outside his penalty area forced Jake Huet to track Pashaj’s run in the 37th minute, Maidenhead came near with a curling free-kick four minutes later thanks to Jaydn Dundas.
Ronnie Blake’s left-wing cross was first headed towards goal by McGonigle, giving Southend hope in the second half. However, on minute 52, Pashaj gave Maidenhead the lead with a goal from inside the six-yard box after his initial attempt was stopped.
The substitution of Jamie Davies caused a shift in momentum, as on minute 57 he flashed a shot over from 15 yards out and then combined with Hale on the left side for a drilled centre that Huet cut out, allowing Lombardi to smash over from beside the penalty spot.
Blues had a couple of openings shortly afterwards as Bragg crossed for Pulham, who couldn’t control at the far post, and McGonigle also sent a delivery in from the right-hand side that Blake could only push into the gloves of Burger-Williams.
