Owen Mason has joined Southend United on loan from Mansfield Town until the end of the season. The 21-year-old gained notoriety only last month during the Stags FA Cup 2nd round game against Accrington Stanley.
Even after extra time there was nothing to separate the two sides. Mason would make himself the hero, saving three of Stanley’s four spot kicks.
Aside from that, all of his appearances this season have come in the EFL Trophy. Prior to this campaign, the Irishman had only made one appearance for Mansfield, a 4-2 league win over Peterborough United.
Mason has played in the National League before, spending three months of last season with Gateshead. This was his first loan in the fifth tier, having previously spent time on loan in the National League North and Ireland’s second division.
Owen Mason will be second choice at Roots Hall at least for the time being. The Shrimpers number one Collin Andeng-Ndi has kept 9 clean sheets in 20 National League matches this season.
However, earlier in the campaign he was dropped from the starting XI but managed to regain his place. Since then, backup goalkeeper Nick Hayes has been sold leaving Andeng-Ndi as Southend’s only shot stopper.
Kevin Maher’s time as manager of Southend has been defined by defensive solidity. During the 2023/24 season, Southend conceded the fewest goals in the division and only Rochdale have conceded fewer goals over the course of this campaign so far.
Whilst Andeng-Ndi is a young goalkeeper with plenty of upside, he does have a mistake in him. Mason will be hoping that he will be able to make his way into the starting XI before long.
The decision to loan Owen Mason out is a curious one on Mansfield’s part. Whilst Mason will get some much-needed experience, it will leave them with Liam Roberts as their only other senior goalkeeper.
So, you would assume that the Stags have a suitable replacement for Mason in mind.
