Southend have scored 26 goals in eleven league matches and kept one clean sheet. That remains the awkward starting point for Saturday, however much attacking football there is to enjoy. AFC Fylde come to Roots Hall with an away record that makes this a demanding test of what Kieron Dyer changed at Eastleigh.
There was something worth keeping from Wednesday. Harry Taylor and Anthony Hartigan came into the side. Ryan Colclough supplied Promise Omochere’s opener, and Southend held that lead until the 89th minute. The missed chances and Temi Eweka’s back-post equaliser left the frustration recorded in my Eastleigh report: an improved performance had still failed to secure a winnable match.
Fylde have earned respect on the road
Southend won the clubs’ last meeting 2-0 at Roots Hall on 28 January 2025. Fylde now return after a National League North title under Craig Mahon, whose side scored 112 league goals last season. Promotion-season top scorer Danny Ormerod left for Peterborough in August, yet the side has continued to find goals in the division above. Fylde have scored 21 in eleven games, with responsibility extending well beyond one forward.
Their results also need reading beyond the latest score. Tuesday’s 2-0 home defeat by Carlisle followed another home loss to Altrincham, but Fylde have won five of six away league matches, scoring 14 and conceding seven. Their last four trips have brought wins at Solihull Moors, Yeovil, Harrogate and Boston. Only five of their 20 points have come at home.
Luca Thomas leads their league scoring with six, and Harvey Broad has four from a left-sided defensive role. Broad is on loan from Coventry, and Boston’s report lists him at left-back. If Vontae Daley-Campbell starts on Southend’s right, Broad’s forward runs could give him an opponent to track from deeper, as well as the forward already on his side. Support from the player ahead of Daley-Campbell would be important.
The movement behind the numbers
The 4-1 win at Yeovil gives a useful picture of those attacking routes. Broad broke forward on the left to help create Greg Olley’s opener. Millar Matthews-Lewis then played Thomas behind the defence for the second, and both Thomas and Olley finished with two goals. Olley’s later run took him clear to round the goalkeeper. Those sequences ask different questions of Southend: who follows the wide runner, and who stays aware of a midfielder moving beyond the player on the ball? Getting drawn towards possession could leave the more dangerous run elsewhere.
At Boston on 26 September, Fylde won a tighter contest. Danny Mayor, who joined Paul Sturrock’s Southend on loan from Sheffield Wednesday in February 2013, scored from around 20 yards. Goalkeeper Zac Jones then made important saves, with Corey Whelan also blocking a chance. Boston defender Jake Rooney was sent off late, after the home side had created several chances. That 1-0 result shows a side able to win through an individual finish and good defending under pressure, as well as the fluent attacks in the Yeovil report.
Carlisle exposed the risk in Fylde’s approach when Mayor lost possession near his own penalty area and Jack Ellis scored. Afterwards, Mahon defended his wish to have players take risks and build from the back, while crediting Carlisle’s pressing and defending. Fylde still created chances, including a saved Thomas effort and a late opportunity for Jack Morris.
That commitment to playing out offers Southend an opening if they can coordinate their pressure. The first player closing the ball would need team-mates blocking the next pass, because a lone chase can leave room for Fylde to play through. Before Eastleigh, Dyer described them as a side with a similar approach to Southend and a desire to dominate possession. Saturday could reward the team that makes better decisions when the ball changes hands, particularly with Broad’s width and Thomas’s runs waiting beyond the initial challenge.
Keeping the useful parts of Wednesday
Dan Cox is available after his red card against Belgium brought an early return from Wales Under-21 duty, as Dyer confirmed in Chris Phillips’s report for the Echo. Joe Duncan made his Under-21 debut in that game and is due to remain in camp for Austria on Tuesday 6 October. Jack Sims has started Southend’s last two matches, with Finley Woodham an unused substitute at Eastleigh.
I read Hartigan replacing Oli Coker as a deliberate balance change in my Eastleigh report. I got that wrong: Dyer has explained that he rested Coker because of an ongoing issue. Coker also started on the bench against Tamworth on 15 September. Dyer expects him to be ready for Saturday.
Colclough’s fitness matters because his ability to turn a regain into a chance could help against Fylde’s short build-up. Friday’s Echo update says the former Fylde player is among those needing late checks after the illness at Eastleigh. Harry Cardwell returned from the bench after his calf problem, giving Dyer another option up front.
A lead to protect
Southend have won three and lost two at Roots Hall, scoring and conceding ten. Fylde’s travelling record makes another open afternoon a risk even with Southend’s attacking quality.
Third-placed Southend have 21 points, with fifth-placed Fylde on 20. A win would put Southend four points ahead of Saturday’s visitors; defeat would allow Fylde above them.
The clearest test of progress may come when Fylde get past the first challenge and Broad or Olley carries on into the area. Southend have to follow that movement through to the delivery, especially if they are protecting a lead. At Eastleigh, one back-post header cost them two points.
The TSP predictions
These calls come from Tuesday’s Barrow reaction podcast, published before Eastleigh, with Katie’s prediction supplied separately.
Southend’s score is listed first, regardless of venue.
| Contributor | Prediction |
|---|---|
| Sensei Phil | 1-2 |
| Charlie | 3-1 |
| Chris B | 2-2 |
| Katie | 1-1 |
Charlie is the most positive, while Sensei Phil’s call respects the difficulty of Fylde’s away form. I called 2-2, expecting Southend to find another late recovery.
Match details
Southend United v AFC Fylde. Enterprise National League, Roots Hall, Saturday 3 October 2026, 3pm BST.
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