Strong contenders Cleethorpes has ended Southall's FA Vase dream by defeating them 5-2. After a lacklustre opening 15 minutes, Southall suffered a blow when striker Wayne Harvey had to leave the ground following an injury. Five minutes later, Cleethorpes move caught the Southall defence completely napping, Liam Davis giving the Lincolnshire side the lead. Southall pressed forward in response, winning a corner, only to lose the chance and prompting a blistering Cleethorpes counter-attack, resulting in Jon Oglesby slotting into an empty net. A comedy of errors in the Southall defence gifted Oglesby his second and Cleethorpes' third goal.
With a big deficit to neutralise, the home side began the second half brightly, and started to create chances, but in the 55th minute the need to attack resulted in an under-manned defence, another Cleethorpes breakaway, and an easy finish for Brody Robertson in front of the large and colourful contingent of away supporters behind the goal. To Southall's credit, they didn't lie down, and indeed pulled a goal back straight away through Liam Hind. In fact, Cleethorpes were forced onto the back foot for long periods before an error by Southall keeper Michael Power-Simpson gifted Davis his second and Cleethorpes' fifth, with seven minutes of normal time remaining. There was still time for Southall's impressive Rowan Vine to snatch another consolation straight from the restart, and with three minutes plus plenty of injury time left on the clock, Liam Highton in the Cleethorpes goal had to make a blinding save to deny Southall a third goal, which on the balance of second half play might just have made things interesting!
Southall, which has been acquired by local Sikh businessman Chana Singh Gill, take pride in their second half display, which gave a definite glimpse of what might have been. However, it was all too little too late, and it was Cleethorpes who sent their lively contingent of supporters home with their own Wembley dreams firmly intact.
Southall's ability to rebound will now be tested, with a difficult fixture against in-form Broadfields Utd, and an even tougher looking Saturday visit to high flying Baldock Town. Although due to Southall's slow start to the season promotion looks too tall an order, a top four finish is achievable, which would secure a place in next season's FA Cup qualifiers. This would be a significant landmark for the club, so there's still plenty to play for in what has been Southall's best season for decades.
