Pressure ramps up as Gateshead crash to heavy defeat against Southend United

The pressure continued to increase on Gateshead manager Lee Cattermole after his side shipped six goals in the first-half of their home defeat against National League rivals Southend United.

The Heed went into the game looking to improve on a record of just one win in their opening eight games under the former Sunderland and Middlesbrough captain - but they found themselves blown out of the water by a devastating performance from a visiting side under the watch of former Newcastle United winger Kieron Dyer.

Sam Austin led the way for the Shrimpers as he plundered his way to a hat-trick, Harry Cardwell struck a brace and Kyle McAdam also found the net as Dyer’s men hit a half dozen by the time the half-time whistle had been blown. That was met by an understandably angry response from the International Stadium faithful on an sobering afternoon that ended with Cattermole’s men sitting at the bottom of the National League table.

There was the merest of consolations for the Heed when David Eguaibor netted his first goal for the club in the afternoon - but that was nowhere near enough to quell another angry response when the full-time whistle was blown. Cattermole described the defeat as a ‘really difficult afternoon’ and delivered his take on the reaction he and his players received as they slumped to the bottom of the table.

Speaking after the defeat, he told the club website: “Obviously, it’s an unacceptable result and very, very difficult circumstances for the players for obvious reasons. The atmosphere inside the ground was difficult and once we went a goal down, it became really difficult against a really strong Southend team, who are unbelievably clinical. They had seven shots in the first-half, six goals. I’ve seen us under pressure against teams and we stood there thinking how can we affect this, how can we help the players.

“But they were so clinical, the goals went in really quickly. Disappointing, but I asked the players at half-time to look after each other and stick in the game and they did that. We could have had a few goals in the second-half - but ultimately, it was a really, really difficult afternoon for the club.”

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