Halifax Town 2–6 Southend United: six goals and a proper away-day reward

Six. SIX! I know you can read the scoreline at the top of the page, but it is worth saying it again. Southend United have gone to Halifax, in a lunchtime kick-off, and scored six away from home. If anybody was worried that securing the play-offs on Tuesday might cause this team to take its foot off the pedal, I think we have our answer.

Oli Coker got two, Andrew Dallas put away a penalty, Harry Cardwell marked his first league start since January with a goal, Gus Scott-Morriss scored yet again and Leon Chambers-Parillon made it half a dozen in added time. Six goals, six different moments to celebrate, and 571 Southend supporters making the trip to Yorkshire rewarded with the sort of away day you remember for years.

It was not quite the one-sided walkover the final score might suggest. Halifax had chances, they scored twice, and there were spells when our defending was far too generous. But what a response every time we needed one. We have spent plenty of afternoons bemoaning promising attacks that lead nowhere. Today, the chances kept going in. I could get used to this.

Six minutes in, and Coker has us flying

The game started at half past twelve, which is an outrageous time to expect supporters to travel from Essex to West Yorkshire. Thankfully, Southend wasted very little time making the early alarm worthwhile.

There were warning signs at both ends. Jay Turner-Cooke and Josh Hmami found space for Halifax in the opening exchanges, and for all the excitement of our scoreline, I do not want to pretend we never gave the ball away. But the first goal was ours. Jack Bridge held the ball up on the edge of the box and laid it off to Oli Coker, who hit an early shot from distance. It skipped into the corner beyond Sam Johnson after six minutes.

That was exactly what I wanted from us after the first half at Aldershot: positive movement, a player prepared to shoot, and a reward for trying something. Coker has always looked capable of those moments. The difference between looking capable and actually producing them in a big game is what matters. Today he did both, and he was nowhere near finished.

There is something rather lovely about Bridge being involved in the opening goal too. He has had to watch a lot of football from the bench while Harry Boyes has made the left side his own. Give Bridge a start, though, and he reminds you how much he can contribute when he finds space and runs at people. This afternoon became a very strong argument for keeping him involved.

Halifax hit back. Southend hit harder.

Will Harris was the player I warned about in the preview, and it took him only nineteen minutes to show why. Josh Hmami helped win possession, Cody Johnson found the pass and Harris finished the move. One-all, and suddenly our lovely early lead was gone.

At that point we needed to respond. Halifax were enjoying space in areas that worried me, and Collin Andeng-Ndi had already been called upon. There have been matches this season where an equaliser has taken the wind out of us. This was not one of them.

Dallas was brought down by Will Smith in the area shortly after the half-hour mark. He picked himself up, took the penalty and restored our advantage. There is something to be said for a forward accepting that responsibility, particularly when a home side has just worked its way back into a game. Southend were 2–1 up and had regained control of the scoreboard, if not every inch of the pitch.

Then came one of the passages that shows why football is never quite as simple as listing the scorers. Halifax threatened from a corner, Will Smith got a header towards goal, and Gus Scott-Morriss was there on the line to help keep the ball out. Had that gone in, we might have had a very different afternoon. Instead, Southend survived the scare and went down the other end to put real daylight between the teams.

Three minutes before half-time, Dallas turned provider. Harry Taylor helped get the move going, the ball came across from Dallas, and Harry Cardwell applied the finish. Three-one. That goal felt important for more than the score. Cardwell has had a frustrating spell out injured, and he is still working his way back to full sharpness. For a striker, there is no better reminder that he belongs in the side than putting one in the net. You could almost feel the relief.

Halifax had not folded, and Andeng-Ndi still had to stay alert before the interval. But we had scored three times, shown some excellent movement and answered their equaliser with the authority I had been hoping to see.

Two more, and we are almost running out of fingers

A two-goal lead away from home should be a comforting thing. Supporting Southend means I still tend to view it with suspicion. Thankfully, the second half produced another of those beautiful early moments when all the nerves disappear for a while.

In the 52nd minute, Halifax failed to deal properly with a ball into the area. Coker was onto it and drove home his second of the afternoon. Four-one. It was a different sort of goal from his first: less about a shot from distance, more about being switched on, anticipating the loose ball and refusing to waste the chance. Two goals in a match is an excellent return. Two quite different finishes show how useful a footballer he is becoming.

Cardwell then threatened again and forced Johnson into a save. From the resulting corner, Coker delivered and Scott-Morriss arrived to make it five just before the hour. There he was again. Our captain, a defender by trade, scoring his seventeenth goal of the season. I genuinely do not know whether to laugh, applaud or ask what on earth we have done to deserve such a remarkable attacking weapon on the right.

Five-one after 59 minutes. At that point you could forgive any of us for checking the screen just to make sure it had not made a mistake. Coker had two, Gus had another, Cardwell had scored, and Dallas had both a goal and an assist. We had made a team who started the day immediately below us look like they could not cope with the speed of our attacks.

Bridge, Coker and a few others deserve a proper mention

Oli Coker is my man of the match, by the smallest of margins. The two goals would usually settle the argument on their own, but he was also involved in creating the fifth and spent the afternoon making things happen rather than waiting for them to happen around him. His movement and willingness to shoot were excellent.

I can easily understand anybody choosing Jack Bridge instead. He had a terrific game on the left, involved in the opener and the sixth, and his delivery and movement kept stretching Halifax. After all the discussion about what Boyes offers in that position, Bridge has just reminded Maher he has two very different, very useful options. That is a good problem to have going into the play-offs.

Harry Taylor was his usual dependable self and James Golding helped us play out with more confidence, although I hope Maher remains careful with Golding’s fitness. Sam Austin worked hard, while Morton offered the steadiness that let others roam. Dallas will probably look back and think there were chances to add to his goal, but the penalty and the pass for Cardwell mattered. I am not going to spend an afternoon when we scored six pretending the attackers failed us.

Cardwell looked as though he still needs minutes, which is completely understandable. Getting the start, surviving a proper spell of football and finding the net is a very good step. Slavi Spasov, Cav Miley and Chambers-Parillon also got time on the pitch. We have been talking about injury problems for months. It feels wonderful to be talking about choices.

Do not ignore the two at the other end

I am delighted, but I do not want the six to hide everything else. Halifax found enough space to create chances, and the clearance from the line was every bit as important at that moment as a finish at the other end. Andeng-Ndi had work to do, and two Halifax efforts were ruled out during a very open second half.

Kieron Morris eventually got their second in the 85th minute. By then the contest was decided, but the concession still deserves a mention. We had gone three league games without letting in a goal. There is no disgrace in that run ending, particularly with five on the board, yet better teams in the play-offs will be more ruthless if we allow them the same opportunities.

There is room for honesty without spoiling a victory. We attacked brilliantly and took our chances with real conviction. We also surrendered possession and left gaps on occasions. I would rather acknowledge that now, while we are in a position to learn, than wait until an important knock-out game to discover how costly it can be.

With the result settled, the one thing I was still hoping for was a proper finish to the afternoon. Leon Chambers-Parillon obliged. In the seventh minute of added time, Bridge sent the ball across and Leon arrived at the far post to score his first of the day and Southend’s sixth. After his long road back, that was a moment worth celebrating on its own. He looked delighted, and so he should. We have missed that little burst of invention and confidence from him.

Sixth place, and now the pressure is on the teams above

Southend leave The Shay with 78 points and a goal difference of plus 36. Forest Green have also got 78, but their defeat at Hartlepool leaves us above them in sixth. Scunthorpe drew at Wealdstone and are four points ahead in fifth, with us holding a game in hand. Suddenly that hope of a home play-off eliminator does not seem quite such a distant thought.

We have two league matches left: Hartlepool away on Tuesday and Wealdstone at Roots Hall next Saturday. No, I am not taking anything for granted. This league has a habit of bringing you back to earth with a bump just when you start enjoying yourself. But I would much rather be looking towards those fixtures with 78 points, goals arriving from all directions and competition for places than wondering where the next win will come from.

There was also a very human side to the afternoon. Five hundred and seventy-one Southend supporters got up early, made a long trip and backed the team. For those who travelled, this was one of those days that makes the delays, the mileage and the expense feel worth it. A scoreline like this does not happen every week. They will be talking about it all the way home.

A six-goal away win at half past twelve on a Saturday. Sometimes following this club is rather wonderful. Up the Shrimpers.

Match details

National League · Saturday 18 April 2026 · The Shay
Full-time: FC Halifax Town 2–6 Southend United
Half-time: 1–3
Attendance: 1,896 (571 Southend supporters)

Goals

Halifax: Harris 19, Morris 85.
Southend: Coker 6, 52; Dallas 31 (pen); Cardwell 42; Scott-Morriss 59; Chambers-Parillon 90+7.

Line-ups

FC Halifax Town: Sam Johnson; Hugill (Warburton 60), Smith (Bray 60), Palmer, Hobson (Alimi-Adetoro 81), Cody Johnson, Turner-Cooke, Crowe (Morris 81), Hmami, Harris, Kawa (Waters 81).

Southend United: Andeng-Ndi; Scott-Morriss (Chambers-Parillon 61), Taylor, Golding (Goodliffe 84), Gubbins, Bridge, Coker, Morton (Miley 61), Austin, Cardwell (Spasov 61), Dallas (Kendall 88).

Bookings

Halifax: Palmer 57, Turner-Cooke 67.
Southend: Golding 67.

Officials

Referee: Ross Joyce.
Assistants: Adam Burgess, George Eaton.
Fourth official: Tom Wall.

League table after Saturday’s matches

Next up

Hartlepool United away — Tuesday 21 April, 7:45pm.
Wealdstone at Roots Hall — Saturday 25 April, 12:30pm.