Southend (4-4-2): Flahavan; Francis, Prior, Barrett, Hammell; Gower (Hunt, 86), Maher, Gutteridge (Clarke, 90), Campbell-Ryce (Paynter, 71); Eastwood, Bradbury. Subs (Not Used): Collis, Lawson.
City (4-4-2): Simonsen; Hoefkens, Duberry, Hill, Higginbottom; Chadwick (Sigurdsson, 61), Russell, Brammer, Sweeney (Eustace, 68); Sibibe, Pericard. Subs (Not Used): Pulis, Dickinson, Duggan.
A contentious penalty, two players in hospital and a strike force in desperate need of some goals. Just a run-of-the-mill return for boss Tony Pulis then?
Life, as they say, is never dull in the Potteries and that rang truer than usual at Roots Hall on Saturday.
Freddy Eastwood's penalty settled the points but with Luke Chadwick stretchered off the pitch with dehydration, and a suspected broken wrist for Peter Sweeney, put an end to a desperate day in Essex.
But it could have all been so different as the Potters could have got the season off to a dream start through an unlikely source.
Sweeney, signed by boss Tony Pulis before his departure last summer, found himself on the end of a Carl Hoefkens throw but could only head straight at 'keeper Darryl Flahavan after just three minutes.
Vincent Pericard, on his debut for the club, fired the rebound wide of the post in what had been a promising move for the City.
But as ever with the Potters, a positive start soon turned sour. Skipper Michael Duberry allowed the ball to bounce over his head hoping that 'keeper Steve Simonsen would be the recipient.
Lee Bradbury was first to the loose ball though and when he went bundling over the top of the former Everton man, referee Mick Russell only had one thought in his mind.
City players and fans alike felt aggrieved, and in fairness, if the incident had have happened at the other end, the visitors might not have got the decision.
Despite being booked, Simonsen could have no complaints about the quality of the spot kick as Freddy Eastwood kept his cool and sent him the wrong way.
The goal was totally against the run of play and harsh on the City players eager to impress both the new manager and the 1200 strong following from the Potteries.
Sweeney was showing signs of the form that earned him the move to the Britannia Stadium last year but added another injury to his recent growing list after 20 minutes.
The former Millwall man had to receive treatment for a rather gruesome looking injury - believed to be a broken wrist. But after leaving the field to apply bandaging to his right arm, the former Scotland Under 21 international was thrown back into the fray.
Jamal Campbell Ryce was giving Danny Higginbottom a tough time, and an untimely slip almost led to the second goal.
The former Rotherham winger laying off Mark Gower, who saw his header ricochet wide.
Sidibe was a strong presence in the City front line, but after finding himself in a number of goalscoring positions, the big striker failed to deliver and the Potters headed into the break a goal down.
Other than his 13th minute spot kick, Eastwood proved to be rather quiet in the first 45 but soon came alive in the second half.
Two dipping efforts had Simonsen scrambling across his goal, but a 2-0 lead would have been unjust.
City, with Pulis' half time team talk still ringing in their ears, could and should have taken the lead in the opening minutes.
But yet again, the final finish from Pericard and then Sidibe was not up to scratch when it was needed.
Carl Hoefkens was proving industrious on the right and a mazy run on the 50 minute mark looked like coming off for the Belgian when he jinked past two players.
But the final ball lacked the quality of so many of his delivery's last season.
Chadwick then had to be stretchered off the field - wearing an oxygen mask - after the heat appeared to get to the wide man.
But concerned faces among the watching Potters fans soon turned to smiles as John Eustace made his long awaited return to action.
Substitute Sigurdsson had a couple of pops at goal - as did Sidibe - but the unfortunate truth was that City never looked close to scoring at that was a worry.
The performance and result provided a timely reminder about what a certain Sam Bangoura was brought to the club to do last season.
Sweeney impressed, as did Hoefkens and to a certain extent Simonsen. But a lack of punch in the attack left many more questions than answers ahead the Derby and Birmingham home games.
But don't despair. Cast your mind back to the opening day last season when both Reading and Watford lost their opening games. Look what happened to them...
Nick Clowes
