Post-Match Thread and Ratings Stevenage 4-2 Southend United

[Bolton Shrimper]

Sounds like managerial failure again. Inconsistency creeping in when it matters most that it should not. Based on the away games I've seen, Payne is a must start.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Such a shame that we have no impact player on the bench like Kennedy. All our 3 subs had no impact at all. Please drop Lenny, PB, he will come back better for it. If he's not giving the ball away, he's now giving away a silly penalty when we are 2-1 up and comfortable.

 

[Danshrimper]

On the way back from another disappointing game:

Bentley 6- Maybe could have done better with the 1st goal? And if he wasn't fit enough to take his kicks surely he shouldn't have been risked today?
White 5- Ok, struggled to control Dave Martin.
Bolger 5- Unpredictable, certainly doesn't fill you with confidence. Good goal kicks though.
Barrett 6- Great to see him back, best defender by far today.
Coker 4- Weak link defensively today, directly at fault for the 4th goal.
Worrall 7- A good performance, with a good assist, looked to me as though he faked an injury to win the penalty, not complaining as it got us a goal, might have been genuinely hurt but was strange to see a penalty given to someone already on the floor.
Deegan 6- Solid, should have returned to the side earlier than today.
Leonard 5- Gave away the penalty but other than that seemed to have improved a bit.
Timlin 6- Decision to take him off cost us the game IMO. He didn't stop running and was important going forward and defensively.
Corr 5- Okay, scored a penalty and that was it.
Pigott 7- Really good finish. Him and Worrall the only players to trouble their defence.

Subs:Hurst 5- Meh. Awful decision to put him on for Timlin.
Cassidy 5- Really good turn to get a chance 6 yards out.. Kicked it straight at the keeper.
Shaq- No time to make any impact.

Extremely disappointing and weak performance, we didn't look like a side going for automatic promotion.

 

[Muttley]

There will be plenty of opinions on here no doubt
For me Brown got it wrong from the off
Thompson & Prosser should have been in front of Bolger, and a good shout Barrett

Stevenage are the worse team we have played apart from Cheltenham, both home and away
Again an extremely disappointong day had by all

 

[Austin the Shrimper]

Nows the time for brown to face reality. The first choice CBs are Prosser and Thomson. Next on line is Williams. Barrett is too old and too slow. Love the guy but throw the rose-tinted everybody. Bringing him back was divisive and complicates. Coker and White are fine. Leonard should always sit in front of the back four. Timlin and Worell are always must starts then pick two from the other mids. Piggott is the only breath of fresh air recently. Use Clifford to clean the toilets as all he ever does is scrub along doing bugger all in the goal scoring department. Corr, then Shaq, to partner Piggott. It's pretty obvious what the first team should be and to start old man Barrett and Bolger who is Ryman at best is beyond baffling. Grrrrhhhh.

sorry.. But what are you going on about? Clifford is on loan at Barnet. And others who were at game said Barrett was ok.. Did u go today?

 

[cerbera45]

Amazing how one 18-year old who has played only four professional games can make such a difference when he came on; earned the penalty, scored the third goal and, following another lightning run, crossed for the fourth. Stevenage have stumbled upon a pearl in Ben Kennedy. Couldn't he have waited until next week to play such a blinder.....?

also scored 2 last Saturday

 

[amsemp]

Very frustrating. Sounds like we did enough to win the game and didn't play too badly but just couldn't see it over the line. Brown was criticised for his clean sheet mentality and too many 0-0 and 1-0's, but either of those results would have been better than today. Back to the drawing board, think Brown needs to have a good think about who his best 11 is, starting with centre backs.

On to the next one, still in the mix.

 

[sufclee]

Biggest problem in my opinion is that we are around 3/4 of the way through the season and PB still doesn't seem to know his best eleven with no consistent partnerships anywhere on the pitch!

 

[Tampa Blue]

Biggest problem in my opinion is that we are around 3/4 of the way through the season and PB still doesn't seem to know his best eleven with no consistent partnerships anywhere on the pitch!

Best summary of the season in one simple statement!

 

[5scoops]

Too many changes not needed, pb panic pick. I think we are better with payne in team . move on to next game

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

Look, I wasn't there, so I know nothing. Sounded as though our defence handled the threat of Stevenage (which wasn't much), reasonably well...............until the entry and pace of Kennedy and Zola...........then we were cruelly exposed. Am I anywhere near the mark?

 

[Fairport]

An optimist would say we are still well placed to challenge for a promotion place. A pessimist would wonder how we are in our fifth season in this division and losing to the likes of Accrington Stanley and Stevenage. Take your pick.

 

[Barling Magna]

Don't equate Accrington and Stevenage. Stevenage have just been relegated to League Two after three seasons in League One. Accrington will never get into League One.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Biggest problem in my opinion is that we are around 3/4 of the way through the season and PB still doesn't seem to know his best eleven with no consistent partnerships anywhere on the pitch!

It's worse than that as it is three-quarters of the way through his third season.

You'd have thought by now he'd have learnt of the importance of Timlin and Corr, yet a week after moaning about the inexperience in the side at 2-2 he subs our most experienced and arguably best midfielder and attacker.

Why was Ted Smith starting last week but third choice today?

Why is the dependable Luke Prosser fifth choice centre-back?

 

[meerkat54]

Think the past two results have shown our abilities will only get us to the play offs. We have had too many chances to capitalise on others results and we haven't. Notice it's getting close with the chance of us missing out on the play off's, now that would be devastating.

Quite a good overview of last couple of games, on the few occasions ive seen the blues we have only looked an average league 2 side and I believe our position is as good as its going to get this season. I do hope we can make play off`s , but at the moment its still along way off with a lot of games to go. Finally well done to all supporters that made the journey to Stevenage , you did your bit but shame the team let us down.

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

It's worse than that as it is three-quarters of the way through his third season.

You'd have thought by now he'd have learnt of the importance of Timlin and Corr, yet a week after moaning about the inexperience in the side at 2-2 he subs our most experienced and arguably best midfielder and attacker.

Why was Ted Smith starting last week but third choice today?

Why is the dependable Luke Prosser fifth choice centre-back?

Because he doesn't know what he's doing? Seems as though, at the end, our subs completely unbalanced the side.

 

[Ex-Member1]

Tenerife is sad but blue tonight. Have faith, we will turn this around. Move on people.COYBB

 

[Uncle Leo]

That pitch was a real shocker wasn't it?

 

[Another Surrey Shrimper]

Morning out doing politics in Croydon then a tram, train, tube, train and long walk for an afternoon out doing football in Stevenage.


The town is bizarrely boxy - every building is square, a load of boxes stacked up and used as buildings.


The ground is similarly practical - 4 stands all of a similar shape, all stand alone so that the weather will have easy access from each corner. Not attractive in any way but functional with a big square of grass in the middle and decent views of it, so job done. The quality of the grass on the green square is not good news though. We are the first to witness a new 8 foot tall bear mascot - I love a 1st - Torquay new terrace being unveiled on a visit there is always a special memory, ahem. His friends the 8 foot tall moles seem to have been digging up the pitch it seems though and it has a big impact on the game.


The team has been picked for strength to counter the Stevenage rugby tactics which are very evident throughout the game. Very little of note happens in the first half, to the extent that one of the stewards falls asleep. A White cross sticks out as having potential and a good corner or two but little else. Bolger seemed the pick of the defence at that point but things were going to change.


Best ball into the box in the first half is a cross from David Martin - oh, he doesn't play for us any more. That went out for a throw which took forever to take and led to a cross which their forward failed to get his head on but as it swung across the goalmouth it hit a dodgy bounce and left Bentley stranded and flew in. Moles 1 Southend 0. The final 15 minutes of the first half was meh.




Second half began with a much greater sense of urgency. 8 mins in and a Timlin pinpoint pass to Worrall led to a great cross across the goalmouth and a Piggott volley - liquid football - true delight to see, 1-1


The officials got nearly every decision wrong - they gave a handball against Piggott after the ball hit his chest from and angle the Ref clearly could not see. Two minutes later he evened that up and went to far the other way by giving a penalty to David Worrall who was rolling around clutching his shin despite their player having not touch him - the Ref making a big decision from an incident that again he could not see. Corr's penalty was clinical. Moles 1 Southend 1 Ref 1.


Poor lighting leads to poor visibility so I don't really know how their penalty came about but I can see it is cleanly hit. A draw would have felt like a fair result. Then we fell apart. Allowed to run straight through our defence twice in the last 10 minutes and it's a 4-2 game despite looking nothing like one.


Hail stones on the 30 minute walk to the station round things off nicely.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Use Clifford to clean the toilets as all he ever does is scrub along doing bugger all in the goal scoring department.

Scored for Barnet today.