Southend United v Crewe Alexandra Preview

March 1, 2016 by Alec Hitchman

The Shrimpers v The Railwaymen – Southend United v Crewe Alexandra

Southend United welcome Cheshire based side Crewe Alexandra to Roots Hall, with both sides looking to get back to winning ways following defeats over the weekend.

Last time out for Crewe, they lost 2-1 at home against Barnsley. They went in front in the first half when Marcus Haber’s shot was deflected in by Jon Guthrie. Barnsley came back to win it in the second half with two goals in 20 minutes. Last time out for Southend, we slumped to a disappointing 3-1 defeat away at Port Vale, who were 3-0 up after 40 minutes. Our goal was scored by Southampton loanee Sam McQueen in the 92nd minute. David Mooney also smashed a 95th minute penalty against the crossbar.

The two sides have met 38 times in total. The first time was back in 1963, when we drew 1-1. The most recent meeting was earlier this season in late September, when Blues beat Crewe 2-1 at Gresty Road (Crewe’s ground). Both goals were scored by Charlton loanee Joe Pigott.

After the weekend’s results, Southend have slipped down to 8th, as a result of Bradford’s win against Blackpool. We are still only 2 points off the play-off places. Crewe currently sit second from bottom, four points ahead of Colchester, but six points from safety.

Overall Meetings

Crewe Wins: 11
Southend Wins: 20
Draws: 7

Who are Crewe Alexandra?

Full Name: Crewe Alexandra Football Club
Founded: 1877
Nicknames: The Alex, The Railwaymen
Ground: Gresty Road (Capacity: 10,153)
Manager: Steve Davis
2014-15 Season: League One, 20th

Most Recent Line-Ups

Southend (v Port Vale): Bentley (GK), O’Neill, Bolger, Barrett, Coker, Atkinson, Timlin (Worrall 44’), Wordsworth, Payne (McQueen 45’), Hunt (Mooney 59’), Barnett
Crewe (v Barnsley): Garratt (GK), Turton, Bakayogo, Nugent, Guthrie, Cooper, Jones, Fox (Ainley 77’), Inman, Haber, Hitchcock (Kirk 70’)

Last Time We Met – Tuesday 29th September 2015

Crewe: Garratt, Kingsley, Nugent, Ray, Turton, Cooper (Ainley 71’), Fox (Atkinson 77’), Inman (GOAL 49’), King, Colclough, Haber (Wilson 77’)
Southend: Bentley, O’Neill, Bolger, Prosser, Coker, Leonard, Deegan, Timlin, Worrall (Atkinson 86’), Mooney (Hunt 74’), Pigott (GOALS – 47’ & 53’ – replaced by Weston 82’)

What Could Happen?

A win for Blues on Tuesday night would put us up to 6th and into the playoff places, but only if Bradford and Coventry both lose.
A win for Crewe would help ease their relegation worries by putting them on 31 points and only 3 points from safety.

High Fives – Crewe Alexandra

Last Five Wins
Rochdale (H) – W 2-0 – Saturday 6th February 2016
Oldham Athletic (H) – W 1-0 – Saturday 28th November 2015
Colchester United (A) – W 2-3 – Tuesday 24th November 2015
Sheffield United (H) – W 1-0 – Saturday 31st October 2015
Barnsley FC (A) – W 1-2 – Saturday 10th October 2015

Last Five Defeats
Barnsley FC (H) – L 1-2 – Saturday 27th February 2016
Chesterfield FC (A) – L 3-1 – Saturday 20th February 2016
Swindon Town (A) – L 4-3 – Saturday 16th January 2016
Coventry City (H) – L 0-5 – Saturday 2nd January 2016
Shrewsbury Town (H) – L 1-2 – Monday 28th December 2015

Last Five Draws
Rochdale FC – (A) – D 2-2 – Tuesday 16th February 2016
Walsall FC (H) – D 1-1 – Saturday 13th February 2016
Millwall FC (A) – D 1-1 – Saturday 30th January 2016
Bury FC (A) – D 0-0 – Tuesday 26th January 2016
Wigan Athletic (H) – D 1-1 – Saturday 23rd January 2016

Last Five Meetings
Southend United (H) – L 1-2 – Tuesday 29th September 2015 – League One
Southend United (N/A) – W 2-0 – Sunday 7th April 2013 – Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final
Southend United (A) – D 2-2 – Wednesday 16th May 2012 – League Two Playoff Semi Final - 2nd Leg
Southend United (H) – W 1-0 – Saturday 12th May 2012 – League Two Playoff Semi Final - 1st Leg
Southend United (A) – L 1-0 – Saturday 18th February 2012 – League Two

Last Five Home Games
Barnsley FC (H) – L 1-2 - Saturday 27th February 2016
Walsall FC (H) – D 1-1 - Saturday 13th February 2016
Rochdale FC (H) – W 2-0 – Saturday 6th February 2016
Wigan Athletic (H) – D 1-1 - Saturday 23rd January 2016
Coventry City (H) – L 0-5 – Saturday 2nd January 2016

Last Five Away Games
Chesterfield FC (A) – L 3-1 – Saturday 20th February 2016
Rochdale FC (A) – D 2-2 – Tuesday 16th February 2016
Millwall FC (A) – D 1-1 – Saturday 30th January 2016
Bury FC (A) – D 0-0 – Tuesday 26th January 2016
Swindon Town (A) – L 4-3 – Saturday 16th January 2016

Crewe – “Four-2-Watch”

Goalkeeper – Ben Garratt
Ben Garratt has been a regular starter for Crewe this season, having made his debut for them in April 2013 following an 8 match loan spell at Stafford Rangers. He was just 19 when he played in the match against Walsall. He has been at the club since 2010 and was kept out of the first team last season by Paul Rachubka.

Defender – Zoumana Bakayogo
Bakayogo begun his career at Paris Saint-Germain but didn’t break into the first team and moved to Millwall in 2006, where he spent two years, making only 16 appearances and scoring no goals. He joined Brighton & Hove Albion on loan in 2007 during his time at Millwall but didn’t make an appearance for The Seagulls.
He then went back to his native France to join Alfortville, where he made 18 appearances without scoring before returning to England where he joined Tranmere Rovers. Whilst at Rovers, he made over 120 appearances (122 to be exact) and scored 6 goals, the first of which was against Exeter City in 2011.
Bakayogo’s spell at Tranmere lasted from 2009 through to 2013, when he was released by Tranmere. Not long after his release, he was snapped up by Leicester City, who were in the Championship at the time. He made his debut for them in a 5-2 victory against Carlisle United in the League Cup.
A short loan spell at Yeovil Town followed, during which he suffered an injury after 37 minutes on his debut and returned to Leicester soon after.
He then joined Crewe, where he made his first appearance against Swindon Town in January this year.

Midfielder – Bradden Inman
The Australian begun his professional career at Newcastle United in 2009, where he failed to break into the first team and soon after, he was loaned out to Crewe in 2012, where he remained on loan until mid-2013. During this loan spell, he made 21 appearances (his first was against Doncaster Rovers in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy) and scored 5 times. After his loan expired, he joined Crewe permanently in 2013 and has since made 85 appearances and has scored 14 times.

Striker – Marcus Haber
Haber begun his career at Vancouver Whitecaps in his native Canada, where 30 appearances and 8 goals in the 2009-2010 season saw him secure a switch to West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2010, where he failed to break into the first team. Soon after, he had three loan spells at separate clubs: Exeter City (5 appearances, no goals), Vancouver Whitecaps (11 appearances, 1 goal) and St.Johnstone in Scotland (11 appearances, 1 goal). He then joined St.Johnstone permanently in 2011 where he remained until the summer of 2012. Whilst at St.Johnstone, he made 31 appearances and scored twice. Two years at Stevenage (above picture) followed, where he made 45 appearances and scored 7 times. In 2013, he joined Notts County on loan from Stevenage, where he made 11 appearances and scored twice. He joined Crewe in the summer of 2014 where he has remained since. During this time, he has made 63 appearances and has scored 12 times.

The Opposition View – N/A

No Crewe fans responded to my request this week