Southend United 1-3 Kidderminster Harriers

For 45 minutes, it looked like being another very good night for Kieron Dyer’s side.

Leon Chambers-Parillon put The Shrimpers ahead after just ten minutes and Southend spent much of the opening period camped inside Kidderminster territory.

The problem was that one goal was all they had to show for it.

And on a night when the first half could quite easily have finished three or four goals to the good, that failure to turn dominance into a convincing lead ultimately proved extremely expensive.

Kidderminster emerged as a completely different proposition after the interval.

A Darren Oldaker own goal brought the visitors level on the hour, Lewis Walker completed the turnaround 13 minutes later and substitute Callum Stewart raced clear in stoppage time to put the result beyond doubt.

From complete control to a first defeat of the season in the space of one half.

Football can change rather quickly.

The Shrimpers Start On The Front Foot

Southend began the evening with confidence understandably high after victories against Altrincham, Scunthorpe United and Solihull Moors had produced nine points from nine.

And from the opening exchanges, there was little indication that the winning run was about to end.

Ryan Colclough was involved almost immediately, attempting to latch onto an early through ball before Kidderminster goalkeeper Jack Wint reached it first.

The pressure kept coming.

And after ten minutes, The Shrimpers had the breakthrough their start deserved.

Good work down the left created the opening before the ball was delivered into Chambers-Parillon inside the area.

The Southend midfielder made no mistake, steering his finish beyond Wint and into the bottom corner.

Three wins from three suddenly looked like becoming four.

Southend Turn The Screw

The goal did little to slow Southend down.

Sahid Kamara was causing problems down the right while Colclough remained heavily involved from the opposite side.

Harry Cardwell was unable to turn home one opportunity after Kamara had threatened, while Wint was called upon repeatedly as The Shrimpers continued to dominate.

Kidderminster did provide the occasional reminder that they were still in the contest.

Cameron Hargreaves connected sweetly with a first-time volley which Joe Duncan dealt with, while a Callum Dolan delivery caused enough difficulty for the Southend goalkeeper to require another save.

But those moments were exceptions.

The general pattern remained Southend possession, Southend pressure and Kidderminster defending.

Colclough tested Wint from distance.

Chambers-Parillon went looking for his second.

Cardwell had another effort blocked.

Oli Coker fired over shortly before the interval after Kidderminster had surrendered possession in another dangerous area.

The visitors were hanging on.

The scoreboard, however, still read only 1-0.

And that was the one concern.

There was a lot to like about Southend’s first half.

The intensity without the ball was particularly impressive.

Kidderminster were rarely allowed to settle, possession was frequently won back high up the pitch and The Shrimpers repeatedly forced their visitors backwards.

But dominance doesn’t appear on the final score.

Goals do.

Southend had created enough openings to make the second half a formality.

Instead, Kidderminster remained one moment away from being level.

That would matter.

Kidderminster Change The Game

Paul Wotton responded.

Max Brogan was introduced at the interval before Ben Crompton and Callum Stewart followed shortly afterwards.

Whether it was personnel, mentality or simply Kidderminster realising they had somehow survived the first half with the game still within reach, the contest began to change.

Southend still had chances.

A superb Oldaker pass released Colclough shortly after the restart, with Wint gathering his eventual effort at the second attempt.

But Kidderminster were now playing considerably higher up the pitch.

And on the hour, they were level.

A right-wing corner was punched clear by Duncan but only as far as Crompton on the edge of the area.

His well-struck volley appeared to be travelling away from goal before striking Oldaker and changing direction completely.

Duncan had no chance.

The ball flew into the opposite corner.

It was an unfortunate goal.

It was also exactly the reason Southend had needed to make their first-half dominance count.

Suddenly It’s A Contest

The equaliser transformed the atmosphere of the match.

Kidderminster had belief.

Southend suddenly looked less certain.

Stewart immediately began causing problems following his introduction and Duncan was required to make an excellent close-range save as the visitors looked for a second.

The Shrimpers responded with changes of their own.

Lewys Twamley and Josh Popoola replaced Kamara and Colclough as Dyer attempted to regain some attacking momentum.

There was still an opportunity to retake the lead.

A Southend free-kick forced another important stop from Wint before the goalkeeper somehow kept out Popoola at the far post after the ball was worked back into the danger area.

It was a huge save.

And moments later, the game swung completely the other way.

Walker Completes The Turnaround

Kidderminster won a set-piece and Southend failed to deal with it.

The initial aerial challenge dropped loose inside the penalty area and Walker reacted quickest.

The striker didn’t hesitate.

He drove the ball beyond Duncan to put Kidderminster ahead after 73 minutes.

Less than half an hour earlier, Southend had walked off at half-time having completely controlled the contest.

Now they were chasing it.

That is how quickly an unconverted advantage can disappear.

Southend Search For A Response

The Shrimpers attempted to force their way back into the game.

Cardwell remained a focal point and was presented with one of Southend’s better late opportunities, only for Wint to race from his goal and make another important save with his feet.

Kidderminster were no longer simply protecting what they had.

Dolan tested Duncan from range and the visitors looked increasingly dangerous whenever Southend committed men forward.

Anthony Hartigan was introduced for Oldaker as the match entered its closing stages.

The Shrimpers kept pushing.

But there was no equaliser.

Instead, Kidderminster landed the final blow.

Stewart Seals It

With Southend desperately searching for 2-2, space inevitably appeared at the other end.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Stewart exploited every inch of it.

The substitute collected the ball with more than half the pitch ahead of him and simply went.

A Southend defender attempted to recover.

Stewart held him off.

Duncan advanced.

The Kidderminster forward kept his composure and finished clinically to complete the comeback.

Game over.

And, after three consecutive victories, Southend’s perfect start was over too.

There will be frustration about the second half.

But most of it should probably be directed at what happened before it.

Southend were excellent for long periods of the opening 45 minutes.

They pressed aggressively, moved the ball quickly and created chances while Kidderminster struggled to escape their own half.

And yet the visitors went into the dressing room only one goal behind.

At this level, that is dangerous.

Kidderminster deserve enormous credit for what followed.

Wotton’s substitutions changed the contest, they grew in confidence after the equaliser and once Walker put them ahead they defended their advantage with considerably more authority than they had shown in the opening period.

For Southend, it was a harsh lesson.

A dominant performance is only valuable if the scoreboard reflects it.

A First Setback For Dyer

Kieron Dyer’s opening three league matches could hardly have gone better.

Southend came from behind at Altrincham.

They controlled Scunthorpe at Roots Hall.

They survived a far less convincing afternoon at Solihull and still scored three times.

This was something different.

A defeat.

And perhaps a useful one, if lessons are taken from it.

The Shrimpers showed during the first half that their early-season performances have not been a fluke.

There was plenty of quality.

The concern was what happened once Kidderminster found a way back into the game.

The control disappeared.

The visitors grew stronger.

And Southend never really managed to re-establish the authority they had shown before half-time.

There will be better nights at Roots Hall this season.

There will probably be worse ones too.

The important thing now is the response.

A Huge Roots Hall Crowd

An attendance of 9,155 watched the Friday-night fixture at Roots Hall.

It was another excellent turnout and comfortably the largest crowd of Southend’s league season so far.

They deserved more from the first half.

Unfortunately, football matches last twice as long.