Southend United Football Club

• Nickname:Shrimpers
• Founded:1906
• Manager:Paul Sturrock

• Ground:Roots Hall
• Capacity:12392

Tilson revels in Blues success

04 Jan 2009 - 13:02:08

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Southend United boss Steve Tilson was ecstatic after seeing his side secure a 1-1 FA Cup third round draw away to Premier League giants Chelsea.

A last-minute Peter Clarke goal set up a Roots Hall replay in just over a week's time and gave Tilson and the club's fans a day to remember at Stamford Bridge.

He beamed: "It's a fantastic day for the club and fans. We had to ride our luck and we got the chance at the death.

"Our goalkeeper made a great save at the end to keep us in it, but the idea was to stay in the game for as long as we could.

"We had to get a lot of bodies behind the ball and it is not how we normally play, but it worked wonders.

"Peter does get in good positions and that is his second goal this season, but on another day we could have lost by four or five goals.

"If they had scored early on then we would have had to open up and possibly got beaten by a hatful, but it is a great result for us."