Boston United have extended Georgie Gent’s loan until December, and Jake Rooney has served the two-match suspension that kept him out at Yeovil. Those are useful changes for Paul Hurst before Southend’s visit on Saturday 10 October, with international returnees expected to give him further options after the 6-0 defeat. For Southend, the question is whether the start against Fylde can be repeated without Ryan Colclough, and the finishing improved.
More options after six at Yeovil
Nicholas Pozo and Kai Mauro were away with their countries; Ollie Bostock was with Wales Under-21s. Hurst said afterwards that he expected four players back during the week, with one due later than the others. Gent’s extension keeps the Barnsley defender on the left, where he has already made seven appearances for Boston.
The Yeovil game came apart before half-time. Ryan Jones scored in the 34th minute; Brett McGavin followed three minutes later. James Daly and Johl Powell made it four by first-half added time, an eleven-minute collapse. Mason Obeng scored after the break before Powell added a penalty.
Hurst described the performance as embarrassing and apologised to the travelling supporters. His worry about attacks turning almost immediately into danger at the other end is the part that matters to Southend. He also defended Louis Chadwick, who had made saves and was not, in Hurst’s assessment, responsible for the six goals.
Boston have four points from eighteen available at home. Their win against Altrincham sits alongside one draw and four defeats. Yet on 19 September they won 3-1 at Forest Green, with Tom Cursons scoring twice, and subsequently took a point at Halifax through Chadwick’s late saves. A team capable of winning at Forest Green can make an optimistic prediction look careless if Southend let the afternoon settle on the home side’s terms.
Which parts of the Fylde XI survive?
The Fylde preview identified playing out as an opening for a coordinated press; Harry Cardwell’s pressure on the goalkeeper helped produce Darren Oldaker’s second-minute goal. Kieron Dyer kept Anthony Hartigan alongside Oldaker, with Dan Cox back beside Ben Goodliffe and Jack Sims retaining his place in goal. The improvement had names and positions attached to it. Vontae Daley-Campbell supplied Colclough’s goal and the header from which Goodliffe scored the third. He also found Leon Chambers-Parillon close to goal and set up Oli Coker, whose unfinished chances help explain why the score stayed within Fylde’s reach.
Colclough will not be in the same XI at Boston. A groin strain rules him out, with Dyer expecting him back for the FA Cup tie against Berkhamsted. Dyer now says the winger’s Fylde appearance probably came too soon after illness, despite Colclough feeling ready to play. Two of the substitutions were forced that afternoon, with Daley-Campbell also suffering cramp.
Coker is running without pain after his dead leg, although Dyer said the area remained sore to touch and he needed to get back to full speed. Goodliffe is training normally again. Daley-Campbell has recovered from the sickness bug, and Dyer says the players affected by it are back training after illness disrupted two consecutive matches.
Joe Duncan is back from Wales Under-21 duty and available for selection. Finley Woodham’s original two-week loan was announced on 23 September to cover that absence; the period specified in that announcement has now elapsed. Sims kept the shirt against Fylde. Dyer must now decide whether to restore Duncan immediately or retain Sims after the win.
Hartigan is the selection I would be most reluctant to disturb. Dyer’s assessment this week was specific: when Southend recovered possession, Hartigan sent the ball forward into the attacking players instead of recycling it sideways or backwards. Dyer linked that improvement to consecutive starts after adapting from Barnet’s system. Replacing Colclough requires a change; dismantling that midfield partnership would be a different decision.
Ephraim Yeboah has returned to Bristol City before the end of his initial 28-day loan. His only Southend appearance was as a substitute in the 4-2 defeat to Barrow. Rico Richards, the attacking midfielder signed from Port Vale this summer, is back training, but Dyer is aiming for a short appearance against Berkhamsted rather than Saturday at Boston.
Two ways into the game
Dyer expects Boston to close passing lanes and counter, having changed between a back five and a back four this season. He also saw them press goal kicks aggressively against Fylde, so Southend have prepared for both approaches. If Boston send players high, the first pass beyond that pressure needs to arrive before the receiver is surrounded: Hartigan’s early release and Oldaker’s ability to turn offer ways to find Daley-Campbell running into the space they have left. Hurst’s concern about turnovers gives him a reason to keep more players behind the ball instead. If Boston sit deep, Southend need the full-backs’ width, with Kyle McAdam stretching the left as Daley-Campbell does the right, rather than trying to force everything through the middle; Gateshead showed what both flanks can supply.
Repeating Fylde’s energy does not necessarily mean repeating its press. Dyer described the man-to-man approach as unusually demanding and said it was unlikely to become a regular tactic. I want the urgency retained, with enough control to keep Southend’s shape when the first attempt to win the ball fails.
Cursons scored after just 46 seconds at Forest Green, running onto Connor Teale’s header, and later won and converted a penalty. Southend have kept one clean sheet in twelve league games. That is a reason to take Boston’s threat seriously even if Southend have most of the ball, particularly when the full-backs have gone forward and a clearance becomes a pass to the striker.
The cost at the top
Southend are third with 24 points from twelve games. Boreham Wood lead on 32, with Harrogate second on 25. The 3-1 win over Fylde stopped the damage after the Barrow defeat and Eastleigh draw, but did not close the eight-point gap to first place. Boston are twentieth with twelve points from twelve matches, from three wins and three draws against six defeats.
Four regular calls, all for Southend
Charlie called Fylde’s 3-1 result exactly, after getting Eastleigh’s 1-1 right. My 2-2 was wrong in the direction I preferred. Charlie also expects four at Boston, without the Boston goal; Sensei Phil and Katie have gone for three and a clean sheet.
Southend’s score is listed first, regardless of venue.
| Contributor | Prediction |
|---|---|
| Sensei Phil | 3-0 |
| Charlie | 4-0 |
| Chris B | 4-1 |
| Katie | 3-0 |
Guest Sean also called a 4-0 Southend win on this week’s podcast. I am keeping my 4-1 call. It needs Southend to turn the openings into goals while they have the energy to create them, and to handle a Boston side with good reason to make the game uncomfortable. Colclough’s absence makes the choice of replacement matter; the improvement against Fylde needs to survive that change.
Fixture details
Match: Boston United v Southend United. Competition: Enterprise National League. Date: Saturday 10 October 2026. Kick-off: 3pm BST.
Venue: Jakemans Community Stadium, Pilgrim Way, Wyberton, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 7NE.
Away support: Southend’s allocation is sold out, as confirmed at Dyer’s pre-match press conference.
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