The Bulls make the epic cross-country journey to Southend for a rare Friday night fixture.
The two sides met in September for Simon Davey's second last home game in charge. The resulting 3-1 defeat was the third straight at Edgar Street for the under-fire manager, but he did at least manage to get his side to score against the Shrimpers. The Bulls hadn't done that in the six previous meetings, conceding ten goals without reply going back to April 1986 for the last time the Bulls netted. It's another five years before that when the Bulls last won at Roots Hall, with a 1981 FA Cup win on New Years Day.
The Shrimpers were late starters in assembling a squad thanks to their tax issues, but the wily old head of Paul Sturrock has done a reasonable job of keeping them within distance of a play-off spot that was unlikely in July. However their aspirations are waning after collecting just two points from the last five games to be seven points off the pace, and just eight above the Bulls having played two games more. Irishman Barry Corr heads the scoring list with 16 in all competitions, but no-one else has even half that total.
The Bulls travel to Roots Hall looking for a sixth straight away win, with the last three of those have also seen the Bulls defence record clean sheets. New signing Steve Leslie is likely to line up in the left wing position that, by quick estimation, has already seen at least seven different players tried out in that spot this season. The Bulls will be looking for better luck in front of goal than in recent matches. Their last three games have seen only two goals, both scored from distance with closer range efforts proving fruitless.
Southend United vs Hereford United, Roots Hall, Friday 18th March, 7.45pm.