The Blues made it three draws in a row as they held promotion-seeking Rochdale to a dull stalemate at Roots Hall.

Goal-scoring opportunities were at a premium for both teams as the Shrimpers attempted to do the double over Dale this season, following a 1-0 win in December at Spotland.

Manager Rob Newman opted to play contract rebels Darryl Falahvan, Leon Cort and Kevin Maher, despite threatening to leave them out in the cold after they refused to sign new deals.

The trio were booed by some sections of the Roots Hall crowd, who saw their team move up two places to 12th in the Division Three standings. Rochdale drop a place to fifth.

Southend now face Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road on Tuesday night in a match re-arranged from New Year's Day.

The O's moved up one place to 21st in the table following today's 2-0 home win over Macclesfield.

Southend: Flahavan, Broad, Cort, Whelan, Searle, Thurgood, Selley, Maher, Barry-Murphy, Belgrave, Richards (Beard).

Published Saturday, March 9, 2002