Gateshead 1–6 Southend United: Six-Goal First-Half Blitz Sends Shrimpers Second

Southend tear Gateshead apart

There was little indication before kick-off of quite how devastating the next 45 minutes would become, but it took Southend only six minutes to break through.

Zavier Massiah-Edwards, handed his first start for The Shrimpers, immediately made his presence felt. The winger threaded a pass through the Gateshead defence and Cardwell raced clear before keeping his composure to beat goalkeeper Noah Phillips and put Southend ahead.

Gateshead barely had time to recover before Massiah-Edwards was involved again.

Just two minutes later he attacked from the right, worked his way into the penalty area and created the opening for McAdam. The left-back attacked the loose ball and drove a powerful finish beyond Phillips to make it 2–0.

It was McAdam’s second goal in successive Saturdays following his dramatic late strike at Carlisle a week earlier, and Southend were already in complete control.

Austin joins the party

The third arrived after 19 minutes and this time Vontae Daley-Campbell provided the supply.

Given space to advance down the right, the defender delivered low into the area for Austin, who guided his finish beyond Phillips to continue his own scoring run after finding the net against Tamworth in midweek.

At 3–0, Southend could have been forgiven for managing their advantage. Instead, they were only getting started.

A brief pause in the scoring followed, but the final five minutes of the first half turned an excellent away performance into an extraordinary one.

Three more before the break

Cardwell grabbed his second in the 40th minute after Ollie Coker combined with McAdam on the left. Coker’s effort was deflected into Cardwell’s path and the striker reacted immediately, hammering the ball into the roof of the net from close range.

Two minutes later Austin made it five.

The midfielder took advantage when the ball sat invitingly outside the Gateshead area and struck a superb effort beyond Phillips at the near post for his second of the afternoon.

Southend still were not finished.

In first-half stoppage time, McAdam pulled the ball back from the left and Austin calmly found the bottom corner to complete his hat-trick.

Six goals. Six before half-time. And a piece of Southend United history.

Half-time: Gateshead 0–6 Southend United

The half-time whistle brought an extraordinary 45 minutes to an end with Southend holding a six-goal advantage for the first time at the interval in their 120-year history.

Dyer made one change at the break as West Ham United loanee Ryan Battrum replaced Daley-Campbell at right-back.

The second half was inevitably played at a very different tempo. Southend continued to enjoy plenty of possession but no longer needed to attack with the relentless intensity that had overwhelmed Gateshead before the break.

Coker and Darren Oldaker both tested Phillips from distance, while Gateshead occasionally threatened at the other end without seriously changing the course of a contest that had been decided long before.

Dyer uses the advantage

With the points effectively secure, Southend were able to use the second half to manage minutes across the squad.

Rayan Oyebade, Promise Omochere and Ryan Colclough were introduced just before the hour, replacing McAdam, Cardwell and Leon Chambers-Parillon, before Josh Popoola later took over from Massiah-Edwards.

That meant Cardwell left with two goals to his name, Austin remained on after completing his treble and Massiah-Edwards departed having made an immediate impression on his first Southend start.

Gateshead grab a late consolation

The only blemish on Southend’s afternoon arrived in the closing moments.

Luke Supyk delivered from the right and David Eguaibor’s initial effort came back off the post before the Gateshead substitute followed up from close range to deny Joe Duncan a clean sheet.

It mattered little to the outcome.

By then, the travelling Southend support had been able to enjoy an entire second half knowing that the points were heading back to Essex after one of the most destructive halves of football The Shrimpers have produced.

From 3–1 to 6–1

Southend’s response to their only league defeat of the season continues to gather momentum.

The midweek victory against Tamworth had already demonstrated the attacking options available to Dyer when four half-time changes transformed that contest. At Gateshead, several of those players were rewarded with starting places and Southend required no second-half intervention.

Austin scored three, Massiah-Edwards created the opening two goals and Cardwell responded to his return to the starting attack with a brace.

The competition for places is becoming increasingly significant, but so too is Southend’s ability to find different routes to goal.

Full-time: Gateshead 1–6 Southend United

For Gateshead, Eguaibor’s late goal did little more than alter the final scoreline after a first half in which the hosts had simply been unable to contain Southend.

For The Shrimpers, it was a memorable afternoon on Tyneside: six first-half goals, an Austin hat-trick, a Cardwell brace, another McAdam goal and two assists for Massiah-Edwards on his first start.

Most importantly, another three points take Southend up to second in the National League and continue an impressive opening to the 2026/27 campaign.

Next up is a return to Roots Hall, where Barrow provide the opposition on Saturday 26 September after beating Aldershot Town in their latest outing.

Match details

Team line-ups