Latest news with #JackBridge
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Maher praises 'energy and heart' of Southend players
Kevin Maher paid tribute to the "reserves of energy, heart and character" in his Southend United squad after their penalty shoot-out win at Forest Green Rovers in the National League play-off Shrimpers booked a Wembley meeting with Oldham Athletic on 1 June after scoring late in extra time to take the game to flirting with oblivion in recent years, Southend reached the play-offs with a late run of form that saw them leapfrog Gateshead and then hold the north-east side to a goalless draw on the final day of the regular season to clinch the final top-seven coming from 3-1 down to beat Rochdale away in extra time in the qualifying round, they had to travel to Gloucestershire and again trailed in extra time before Jack Bridge equalised and then Gus Scott-Morris scored the winning who has guided the team through legal battles, transfer embargoes and point deductions before they were taken over last year, paid tribute to his players."The reserves of energy, heart and character came through again. It should never be doubted with the players we have here," he told BBC Radio Essex."We found a way again and everyone deserves so much credit to get us in this position. It seemed like it was dead and buried at the end but you shouldn't be surprised that the players have gone and done it again."It's nice to see the people in the directors' box, and my kids are here so it's nice for them, and the fans. The highs and lows of what has gone on in games recently is unbelievable, but that's where the football club has been, and we keep going."Maher saw the reaction in the directors' box first-hand as he was unable to watch Scott-Morris's decisive said of the shoot-out: "I watched most of it, I couldn't watch the last one. We practised and Gus has been pretty consistent."I was watching the guys up in the directors' box so I could see their reaction. I couldn't watch it."The elation when it went in was an unbelievable feeling. If you could bottle that, it would be worth a few quid."Southend head into the final as underdogs, once more, against the Latics, but Maher said they were focused on returning to the Football League five years after relegation."The way the game panned out, the emotion and relief that comes with it, make no mistake, we're going to win," he said.
Powys County Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Southend beat Forest Green on penalties to reach National League play-off final
Southend booked a place in the National League play-off final against Oldham at Wembley after beating Forest Green 4-2 on penalties. The Shrimpers' Jack Bridge swept home four minutes from the end to cancel out Emmanuel Osadebe's extra-time header to make it 2-2 and force the shoot-out, with Gus Scott-Morris scoring the spot-kick which secured victory. Osadebe had come off the bench just before the match finished 1-1 in regulation time but within four minutes of the restart headed down Liam Sercombe's cross to the far post. A relatively uneventful first half saw Southend's Keenan Appiah-Forson hit the crossbar from the edge of the area but it was not until the 54th minute that the deadlock was broken when team-mate Ben Goodliffe's header looped over the goalkeeper at the near post. But the lead lasted just eight minutes as Kyle McAllister's cross was nodded in by Ryan Innis to take the game to extra time.
