Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary of tonight's League Two playoff semi-final between Crewe Alexandra and Southend United.
Southend were top of the league when they defeated Steve Davis's side in February, but Paul Sturrock's men fell away, losing five of their next 10 matches.
They missed out on automatic promotion by just a point, while Crewe ended the season in seventh, but are unbeaten in their last 16 matches.
Southend, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last five - winning their last three - without conceding a single goal.
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So there we have it, Crewe will take a 1-0 lead into next week's playoff semi-final with Southend. The home side dominated the opening period, and took the lead just after the break when Dugdale headed past Belford. Southend certainly improved as the match developed, and had chances via Hall and Timlin, but it wasn't to be, and the match is delicately poised ahead of next Wednesday. Our full report of the match can be found here. Thanks for joining Sports Mole for the coverage.
FULL-TIME: Crewe 1-0 Southend
90 min+4: Chance! Another chance for Southend as Grant finds Timlin in the box, but he is crowded out by the Crewe defence.
90 min+3: Crewe have had the better of the additional time thus far as we approach the final three minutes.
90 min+1: Chance! What a chance for Crewe as Powell finds himself in the box, but Prosser makes a wonderful challenge to clear the danger.
90 min: We will play an additional four minutes at the end of the match.
89 min: Change for Crewe as Billy Bodin replaces Martin.
89 min: Southend remain on the attack in the final stages, but Crewe are still carrying a strong counter-attack threat.
88 min: Still the away side push for the equaliser in the latter stages, with little over two minutes of normal time remaining.
86 min: Chance! Wonderful opportunity for Southend as Hall strikes from the edge of the area, but Phillips just turns it wide with the ball heading for the bottom corner.
85 min: Leonard's long throw causes confusion in the Crewe box, but Phillips just hangs on with Eastwood and Hall hovering.
84 min: Change for Crewe as Leitch-Smith is replaced by Max Clayton.
84 min: It's nice work from Southend as Eastwood finds Hall on the right, Hall returns the favour, but the former Coventry City striker is just crowded out in the area.
82 min: Bit of a scramble in the Southend defence with Powell involved, but the away side manage to clear the danger.
81 min: Southend have undoubtedly been the better side in the past 10 minutes, but they remain 1-0 behind with little over 10 minutes to play.
79 min: Chance! What a chance for Southend as Hall finds Mohsni in the box, but he heads over from close range.
78 min: It's poor from Barker as he presents Leitch-Smith with a chance inside the box, but Clohessy makes the block. How good has he been tonight?
77 min: Change for Crewe as Murphy is replaced by Lee Bell.
76 min: No real threat for Crewe in the past 10 minutes or so, with Southend beginning to look dangerous on the attack.
75 min: It's a bit better from Southend who enjoy a spell with the ball as we approach the final 15 minutes.
73 min: Change for Southend as Eastwood is introduced in place of Harris.
71 min: Just as I say that, Southend have their clearest sight of goal as Mohsni finds Timlin in the box, but his effort is beaten away by Phillips.
70 min: Still Crewe pass the ball around in midfield, with Southend struggling for inspiration.
68 min: So nearly another for Crewe as Leitch-Smith evades Gilbert in the Southend box, but Clohessy just clears the danger. Southend need to offer a bit more in the latter stages of this match.
67 min: Change for Southend as Luke Prosser replaces Phillips.
66 min: Chance! Opportunity for Crewe to move into a 2-0 lead as Leitch-Smith advances on goal, but Belford produces a wonderful save to clear the danger.
65 min: Another shot from Hall drifts wide of the Crewe post. Still just the one shot on target for the Blues.
64 min: Bit of handbags between Belford and Leitch-Smith as the Crewe forward is called offside. Chance for Southend as Grant fires from distance, but it drifts wide.
62 min: It's poor from Timlin who plays the ball straight out of play instead of into the feet of Hall. Still no real constant threat from Southend.
60 min: Another cross is wasted for Southend as Gilbert plays it straight out of the play. Meanwhile, the Blues make their first change with Ryan Leonard replacing Ferdinand.
59 min: It's all gone a bit scrappy once more in the middle of the park with both sides unable to keep possession for an extended period.
57 min: Still no real attacking threat from Southend. I wonder how long it will be until we see Eastwood? As Crewe continue to threaten with a series of corners.
55 min: Crewe remain on the attack as they force a series of corners, and Dugdale heads just over.
53 min: It's all getting a bit lively with a series of challenges as Hall brings down Powell in midfield. This will suit Crewe with the crowd behind them.
51 min: It's the perfect start to the second half for Crewe, while Southend must steady themselves after the shock of an early goal.
Crewe take the lead early in the second period as Dugdale rises in the box to float his header over Belford.
49 min: GOAL! Crewe 1-0 Southend (Dugdale)
48 min: Chance for Southend to take the lead as Hall advances in the box, he is denied by Martin, before Harris was ruled offside.
47 min: Chance for the away side to float the ball into the Crewe box, but Harry Davis is on hand to clear the danger.
46 min: We are underway in the second period, with Southend currently occupying possession of the ball.
So there we have it, we remain 0-0 after 45 minutes of League One playoff football between Crewe and Southend. The home side have perhaps played the better football, but the Blues ended the half well, and might have taken the lead via a header from Ferdinand after 42 minutes. Our report of the opening half can be found here.
HALF-TIME: Crewe 0-0 Southend
45 min: We will play an additional two minutes at the end of the half.
45 min: It's Southend on the attack in the latter stages of the half, and Ferdinand might have done better when presented with the ball inside the area.
43 min: Chance for Murphy as he strikes from distance, but it's wide of the Southend post.
42 min: Chance! Opportunity for Southend as Sean Clohessy finds the head of Kane Ferdinand in the box, but his effort is high of the target. Should have done better.
41 min: It's more good work from Grant, who breaks up another Crewe attack. He has been putting out fires all over the pitch in these opening 41 minutes of play.
39 min: Really nice work from Harris who searches out Mohsni in the box, but it's good defending from Crewe as they clear the danger.
37 min: Penalty shout for Southend as Hall is felled in the box by Matt Tootle, but no decision is forthcoming.
37 min: It's really smart work from Moore who advances down the right, but Grant is on hand to break up the home side's attack. We are still waiting for our first real chance of the match.
35 min: Southend lose possession once more in the middle of the park, allowing Crewe to break forward.
33 min: Phillips is able to continue, however, as he makes his way off for treatment.
32 min: It's Crewe who continue on the attack with Southend simply unable to keep the ball. There are more problems for the Blues as Phillips hits the deck holding his shoulder.
30 min: It's really good work from Belford who clears the danger under his own crossbar, but the referee had already blown for a foul.
29 min: It's better from Southend as Harris finds Mohsni in the box, but he is just crowded out before he can pull the trigger. Crewe advance immediately down the other end, however, and force a corner.
27 min: Southend's best chance of the match as Michael Timlin steals the ball in midfield. His strike is impressive, but Phillips collects the danger.
26 min: Crewe remain on the attack as we approach the 30-minute mark in the match, but the away side continue to defend well.
25 min: There have been reports that Powell has been watched by Manchester United this season, and he certainly looks lively in the early stages.
23 min: More good work from Powell as he releases a shot from distance, but Belford palms the ball away.
22 min: It's smart work from the much-coveted Nick Powell, but Phillips is on hand to clear the danger. Although we haven't been treated to a real chance, the home side do look the more likely.
21 min: Crewe remain the side playing the better football, while Southend's main outlet has been the long ball thus far.
19 min: It's good work from Harris, who buys a free kick in a dangerous position. However, Hall's delivery is cleared by Adam Dugdale.
17 min: The match has gone ever so scrappy in the past few moments with Grant and Luke Murphy guilty of relinquishing possession for their respective sides.
15 min: No real chance for either side thus far, with both defences remaining tight. It might have fallen for AJ Leitch-Smith in the Southend box, but Belford collected the ball.
13 min: It's really smart work from Hall who comes inside Carl Martin, but his effort was blocked by Harry Davis. Bit better from Southend.
13 min: It's all been a bit wasteful for the away side in the early stages, with Harris struggling for support in the Crewe half.
11 min: It's the home side playing most of the early football this evening, but Southend look really well drilled in defence with Barker and Chris Phillips marshalling the back line.
9 min: The danger is cleared, however, with the quality of the corners certainly lacking thus far.
8 min: It's really good play from Crewe as Bryon Moore evades Peter Gilbert, but his cross his cleared by Barker. Corner to the home side.
7 min: It's a shaky clearance from Cameron Belford in the Southend goal as his kick falls short, but the Blues get away with it.
6 min: Crewe's first real spell of pressure as they force a couple of early corners, but the ball is cleared by Chris Barker. Real end-to-end stuff thus far.
4 min: It's poor from Crewe stopper Steve Phillips who lets the ball run out for a corner, but Ryan Hall's delivery was equally as disappointing.
3 min: Chance for Anthony Grant to find Neil Harris, but the former Chelsea man plays the ball straight out of play. Bright start this evening.
2 min: High-tempo start from both sides with Bilel Mohsni looking to come inside early on for Southend.
1 min: It's Crewe who get us underway. What an atmosphere we have inside the Alexandra Stadium; let's hope the match lives up to expectation.
17.25: Tonight's referee is Michael Naylor, and we are just five minutes from the action.
17.20 No place in the Southend side for on-loan Freddy Eastwood this evening, with Neil Harris gaining support from teenager Kane Ferdinand in attack.
17.15: We are just 15 minutes away from kickoff in the first leg of this semi-final encounter. Both teams are in good form, but who will be the happier come the end of the night?
Matt Law
