Posh, carrying momentum from a triumphant campaign and more fancied than the cutest member of Girls Aloud (particularly by the bookmakers, the one species certain to be totally unaffected by the credit crunch), were supposed to sweep the rest of League One aside on a glorious march to a second successive promotion.

Goals wouldn't be a problem as the fab three remained in place and for 15 minutes the script was slavishly followed.

George Boyd was at his bamboozling best as Posh hogged possession with a brand of passing football so neat and inventive, the watching Mr and Mrs Sir Alex Ferguson must have been glowing with pride.

But then strange things started to happen. Boyd, a player not known for the ferocity of his tackling, became the first Posh player to be cautioned this season, Craig Mackail-Smith was caught offside so often the assistant referee may well be reporting a case of RSI this morning, and despite their complete control, no clear-cut chances were forthcoming.


Match facts:
Southend 1
Clarke (76 mins)
Posh 0
Referee: Dean Whitestone (Northampton) 7.
Attendance: 8,665 (1,468 Posh)

Yellow cards: Posh – Boyd (foul), Lee (dissent), Williams (foul).

Player ratings:
Joe Lewis
Handled the ball well, distribution from hands excellent 7

Russell Martin
A very competent debut, solid defensively in particular 7

Craig Morgan
As reliable as we've come to expect, commanding 7

Chris Westwood
STAR MAN - Excellent reading of the game, composed in possession 8

Tom Williams
Battled well at the back, struggled with his passing at times 6

Chris Whelpdale
One super cross first half and one fine headed effort late on 6

Charlie Lee
A mixed bag of strong runs, powerful tackles and fouls 7

Dean Keates
Worked his socks off, inconsistent set- pieces 6

George Boyd
Started in dazzling form, but disappeared after break 6

Aaron Mclean
Quiet by his standards, but still had the only Posh shot on target 6

Craig Mackail-Smith
Occupied the assistant referee more than the Southend defenders 5

Substitues:
Sergio Torres: (for Whelpdale, 81 mins).
Scott Rendell: (not used).
Shane Blackett: (not used)
Micah Hyde: (not used)
Mark Tyler: (not used)
---------------------------


Crucially the pub-team defenders found in Accrington and Brentford last season were not on view at Roots Hall.

Adam Barrett and Peter Clarke may look like a couple of bouncers from the roughest of Southend pubs, but they are formidable centre-backs and gave Aaron Mclean and Mackail-Smith a sharp pointer towards what they can expect this season.

Mclean did slice one half-chance wide from 12 yards, but it took him 67 minutes to force Southend keeper Steve Mildenhall into action, and Mackail-Smith was inches away from reaching a superbly drilled cross from Chris Whelpdale.

But other than that only Charlie Lee's long-range shooting offered hope.

Whelpdale had been preferred to the more exotic skills of Sergio Torres on the right wing, while Lee and Dean Keates won the four-way battle to play at the heart of midfield and Tommy Williams was at left-back rather than Shane Blackett.

Defensively Posh were excellent throughout with Chris Westwood at his imperious best at centre-back, but Southend's strong finish to the half proved a portent of things to come, even if they were hardly helped by the statuesque figure of 39 year-old Paul Furlong in their forward line.

Joe Lewis only had to field one hopeful shot from Nicky Bailey in the opening 45 minutes and despite the home side's post-interval control (helped by an irritating Posh habit of conceding possession immediately after winning it), he was similarly untroubled until conceding the only goal of the match 14 minutes from time.