This article is part of the ‘League Preview’ series, in which every day we take a detailed look at one of Aldershot Town’s 23 prospective opponents for the upcoming National League season.
Today’s focus is a club who have faced Aldershot a staggering 95 times in 93 years. 2024/25 National League play-off finalists, Southend United.
Relegated from Football League in 2021, ‘the Shrimpers’ will be entering their fifth successive non-league season. This could have all been different, however, as the Blues found themselves on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller at Wembley in May, losing 3-2 to Oldham Athletic in extra-time. With prior wins against Rochdale and Forest Green, they became the first team in National League history to reach the play-off final after finishing seventh.
Tasked with returning the side to their usual EFL berth is long-standing manager Kevin Maher. Having joined the side in October 2021, he is the second-longest-serving manager in the division, behind only Altrincham’s Phil Parkinson.
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Where is Southend?
The city of Southend-on-sea is situated on the southernmost coast of Essex, with a seafront facing the Thames Estuary. With a population of roughly 181,000, it is the largest settlement in the county. Approximately 94 miles from the EBB Stadium, this 2h 9m journey will mark Aldershot’s ninth-closest away trip of the upcoming league season.
The Shrimpers are one of four professional teams in Essex, alongside sixth-tier Chelmsford City, National League peers Braintree Town, and League Two Colchester United. Despite playing the furthest away of the three, due to the pair’s usually consistent status as Football League clubs, it is Colchester who lay claim as the Blues’ most heated derby, although London-based Leyton Orient are also fierce rivals. Outside of the city itself, Southend currently serves as the closest place to see fifth-tier football or higher in the towns of Billericay (~34,000 pop), Canvey Island (38,000), and most notably, Basildon (107,000).
Southend play their home matches at Roots Hall. Built in 1952, and opened three years later, the ground has been the uninterrupted home of the Shrimpers since 1955. With a capacity of 12,392, it is among the largest grounds in this season’s National League. The ground’s record attendance was set at a now unbeatable 31,033 in 1979, as the Blues held reigning European champions Liverpool to a 0-0 draw.
Southend finished the 2024/25 season with an average league attendance of 7,339, the highest in last year’s division, and second only to incoming Carlisle United among teams competing this campaign.
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Recent history and club highlights
A common theme amongst former Football League clubs in this year’s national league, Southend’s National League berth came courtesy of two quick-fire relegations. The timing of the Shrimpers’ demotions were particularly unfortunate, however, with the club beginning the Covid 19 lockdown with third-tier status; they would be a non-league side by the pandemic’s end.
2024/25 – National League (7th)
2023/24 – National League (9th)
2022/23 – National League (8th)
2021/22 – National League (13th)
2020/21 – League Two (23rd, Relegated)
2019/20 – League One (22nd, Relegated)
2018/19 – League One (19th)
2017/18 – League One (10th)
2016/17 – League One (7th)
2015/16 – League One (14th)
Having fallen short in their maiden two seasons at step-one, the Shrimpers snuck into the play-offs by the narrowest of margins last term. Visiting 8th place Gateshead on the final day with just one point separating them, Kevin Maher’s side held the Heed to a goalless draw.
Their 68 points represented the lowest figure to secure a play-off berth in a 46 game National League season. Despite this, subsequent victories against Rochdale and Forest Green via extra-time and penalties respectively earned the Blues an unlikely spot in last season’s play-off final, which despite leading as late as the 109th minute, they would lose 3-2 to Oldham Athletic in front of 52,115 at Wembley Stadium.
Southend’s record league placement is 12th in the Division Two, achieved in 1991/92, their first campaign of a six year stint in the second-tier. It was during this era that the Blues signed a young Stan Collymore, the future Liverpool and England forward scored 18 goals in a solitary season with the Blues.
The club’s most memorable performance in cup competition may belong to their 2006/07 League Cup run. Wins against Bournemouth, Brighton and Leeds in the first three rounds saw the side earn a home tie against Manchester United. In what would remain one of the most surprising losses of the Ferguson era, Freddie Eastwood would score the only goal in a 1-0 victory at Roots Hall. In the quarter finals, extra-time would be required at White Hart Lane as Tottenham Hotspur narrowly avoided similar blushes.
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Pre-season, incoming transfers and other news
At time of writing, Southend have made 4 first team signings.
| Player | Pos. | Age | Arriving from… | Highest level played |
| Sam Austin | LM | 28 | Notts County | League Two (Notts County) |
| Harry Boyes | LB | 23 | Sheffield United | League One (Wycombe) |
| Ben Goodliffe | CB | 26 | Colchester Utd. | League Two (Sutton) |
| Slavi Spasov | CF | 23 | Slough Town | League One (Oxford) |
In what seems to be a matter of quality over quantity,the Shrimpers have acquired a quartet of exciting talents, all possessing football league experience. Forward-thinking wing-back Harry Boyes scored an impressive eight times for Sheffield United U21s last season, and finally leaves the Blades permanently after six loan spells in five years, most notably playing a vital role in Solihull Moors’ run to the 2021/22 play-off final. Also no stranger to scoring from the back is Ben Goodliffe, who picked up three goals in just 650 minutes for Colchester last term.
Adding to the forward line is Bulgarian striker Slavi Spasov. The 23-year old scored 18 goals in all competitions for sixth-tier Slough Town last season, and appears more than ready to return to a professional level.
Southend’s current pre-season schedule, which has recently seen the Blues defeat third-tier AFC Wimbledon, is as follows:
Cardiff City 3-0 Southend United (12/07)
Bishop’s Stortford 1-2 Southend United (19/07)
Southend United 0-2 Luton Town (22/07)
Southend United 1-0 AFC Wimbledon (26/07)
Slough Town 0-0 Southend United (29/07)
Southend United vs Charlton Athletic (02/07)
After preparations conclude with a brief return of Charlie Kelman to Roots Hall, Southend are scheduled to begin their league campaign with a bumper away day against Gateshead on Saturday, 9th August.
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When will Aldershot and Southend play each other?
Following the release of the National League fixture list, the Shots will travel to Roots Hall on Saturday, 4th October, while Tommy Widdrington’s men will host the Shrimpers on Wednesday, 11th February.
The Shots and Southend have a significantly deep-rooted history, sharing 37 seasons in the Football League between 1932 and 1990. However, considering only the lineage of the phoenix club, the two finally met once more in August 2010, where a solitary Marvin Morgan goal secured Aldershot Town’s first victory of the League Two season.
North Hampshire has been something of a bogey location for the Blues, having won just one game in seven at the EBB Stadium this century.
Games played: 14
Aldershot wins: 7
Southend wins: 3
Draws: 4
Aggregate score: 17-14
Record Shots victory: 2-0 (2012)
Record Southend victory: 4-1 (2024)
The sides last met in February, where second-half strikes from Noor Husin and Gus Scott-Morriss proved enough to claim all three points in Essex, with a late Cameron Hargeaves strike proving too little, too late.
