- Barrett (54), Christophe (89)
- Date:2009-05-02
- Kick-off:15:00
- Venue:Roots Hall
- Attendance:8192
- Referee:Horwood, G
Live Commentary
90mins
The ref has blown his whistle for full time.
89mins
Goal!! Jean-Francois Christophe scores for Southend.
85mins
Cheltenham are replacing Yuri Berchiche with Jack Durrant.
85mins
Kyle Haynes is being taken off, Theo Lewis has come on in his place.
80mins
Lee Barnard is being taken off, Kevin Betsy has come on in his place.
80mins
Adam Barrett is booked for unsporting behaviour.
72mins
Anthony Grant is replaced by Jean-Francois Christophe.
66mins
Francis Laurent is being taken off, Damian Scannell has come on in his place.
55mins
Cheltenham are replacing Jake Lee with Josh Emery.
54mins
Goal!! Southend have scored with Adam Barrett putting it in the back of the net.
46mins
The second half is under way with the score currently at 0 v 0.
45mins
The ref has blown his whistle for half time.
29mins
The referee has booked Anthony Grant.
12mins
Yuri Berchiche goes into the referee's book for unsporting behaviour.
0mins
It's 3pm on Saturday, May 2nd, the match has kicked off.
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Match Report
Southend United captain Adam Barrett and substitute Jean Francois-Christophe ensured relegated Cheltenham's season ended on a low note.
The defender headed a Simon Francis free-kick into the top left-hand corner of the net from eight yards in the 54th minute.
And midfielder Christophe blasted home a 20-yard shot into the opposite corner in the 89th minute after being teed up by Franck Moussa.
The Robins were relegated last weekend but had battled all the way to avoid the drop.
And they continued in that frame of mind against Southend with a fast pace that was nearly rewarded as early as the ninth minute.
Left-back Yuri Berchiche crossed from the left byline and found Michael Antonio six yards out from the middle of Steve Mildenhall's goal.
A goal looked certain but instead the striker somehow hooked the ball over the bar.
Southend gradually worked their way into the game and stepped up the pressure, although there was little to really worry Will Puddy, who looked comfortable between the sticks in his first game for the Robins' first team.
On-loan Watford striker Theo Robinson provided the Blues' biggest threat and had the ball in the back of the net from Moussa's corner, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.
Puddy smothered a low 16-yard Robinson effort before easily holding a cross-cum-shot from the forward.
Robinson then fired a 12-yard effort straight at Puddy, Alan McCormack slammed a driven 30-yard shot wide and Anthony Grant finished the half by shooting wide.
The second half started with Moussa firing into the side-netting before Southend took the lead in the 54th minute.
Simon Francis' free-kick found Barrett eight yards out and the defender headed into the top left corner.
Cheltenham nearly found a quick equaliser, but Mildenhall dived to save David Hutton's free-kick.
The Shrimpers came within a whisker of doubling their advantage when Lee Barnard picked up a poor Puddy clearance and tried an audacious 40-yard shot which went just wide.
Puddy then blocked a McCormack effort before Blues netted their second goal through Christophe.
Southend United Team
Cheltenham Town Team
Southend United | Cheltenham Town |
Corners
| 9 | 0 |
Fouls
| 17 | 9 |
Goal attempts
| 20 | 9 |
Shots off target
| 11 | 6 |
Offsides
| 2 | 3 |