CHERRIES 1 SOUTHEND 3

REFEREE Paul Melin took centre stage as luckless Cherries crashed out of the Carling Cup at the first hurdle in controversial fashion last night.

With an absorbing tie delicately poised at 1-1, Melin reduced the clash to a farce when he awarded the Shrimpers a dubious penalty 10 minutes into the second half.

The bumbling Surrey-based official inexplicably penalised Callum Hart for handling Mark Gower's cross, his appalling decision proving a major turning point.

Lethal marksman Freddy Eastwood made the most of the referee's incompetence when he converted the resultant spot kick to make it 2-1.

And Eastwood rubbed salt into Cherries' wounds when he put the tie out of their reach with his second and the Shrimpers' third 12 minutes later. It was the first time in nine years the Blues had reached the second round.

Earlier, Mark Gower's 34th-minute thunderbolt had been cancelled out by Steve Fletcher's 47th-minute cushioned volley.

As expected, Cherries boss O'Driscoll made two changes to his starting line-up with Neil Moss and Josh Gowling drafted in for Gareth Stewart and Eddie Howe.

Gowling was handed his first start for almost 10 months after recovering from a serious knee injury, while Moss came in for only his third start in a year.

Moss was given an early confidence booster when he clutched Jamal Campbell-Ryce's deflected cross under pressure from Blues striker James Lawson.

Gowling was instrumental as Cherries created the first opportunity after eight minutes, his sweeping crossfield pass finding Callum Hart on the left flank.

And after Hart had slipped the ball inside to James Hayter, his rasping drive flew inches wide of Darryl Flahavan's right-hand post.

Moss raced off his line to save bravely at the feet of Eastwood before the Shrimpers dangerman failed to make contact with Lawson's cross at the far post.

Gower's deflected shot was snaffled by Moss and Lawson missed a great chance to open the scoring when he planted a free header wide of the target from eight yards.

An open and entertaining first period continued as Peter Clarke's last-ditch challenge denied Stephen Cooke following a slick move by Cherries.

The deadlock was finally broken when Gower opened the scoring with a stunning strike after letting fly from the edge of the 18-yard box after 34 minutes.

The midfielder was allowed to run unchecked across the top of the box and feinted to shoot a couple of times before drilling a right-foot effort past Moss.

Cherries went close to levelling on the stroke of half-time when Cooke worked the ball on to his left foot, only to fire narrowly wide after creating the opening.

The hosts were quickly on the attack at the start of the second half with Leon Best lifting a left-foot shot over the top following another patient build up.

And Cherries got back on level terms just two minutes after the restart when Fletcher nipped in front of his marker to meet Stephen Purches's cross with a crisp volley.

The Shrimpers regained the lead in highly controversial circumstances when Eastwood stepped up to convert a hotly-disputed 55th-minute penalty.

To the amazement of everybody in the ground - including, it seemed, his own linesman - referee Melin pointed to the spot after Gower's cross had struck Hart.

The Cherries defender was attempting to close down Gower when the midfielder scooped the ball up towards his opponent's chest.

And although Hart clearly had his arms by his side, the official deemed the Welshman had handled intentionally, much to the chagrin of the home supporters.

As Cherries looked for an immediate response, Foley sent an angled drive dipping just the wrong side of the crossbar after latching on to Hayter's clever knockdown.

Disaster struck for Cherries when Eastwood extended Southend's lead with a well taken individual goal after 67 minutes.

The 22-year-old striker charged down Gowling's attempted clearance and raced clear before rounding Moss and tapping the ball into an empty net.

A triple substitution after 75 minutes saw Hart, Foley and Cooke replaced by Conal Platt, Warren Cummings and Danny Hollands.

And despite pressing forward and creating a couple of late half-chances, Cherries were forced to bow out with Melin's penalty decision proving crucial.