Apart from the trouble i thought our performace

[GregStarz]

Was brilliant today, played the ball around really well and actually played decent football !!

I thought Oxford were very lucky 2 shots 2 goals but on a whole (even though we lost) i was pretty proud of our performace today

 

[SUFC Employee]

By the sounds of it the players thought they could just walk it, which is ironic considering Tilly specifically stated that they couldn't on the website. Having said that, in the second half we were much better or so I heard.

 

[GregStarz]

To be honest its probably the best passing game of football i have seen Southend play all season..

 

[yobbo_shrimper]

I thought that we over played,not direct enough,Second harf more positive.

 

[Taunton_Shrimp]

we lacked pace when attacking in the 1st half and dudders didnt win a header all game, playing 4 central midfielders across the midfield didnt help at times as we didnt have any natural width and therefor had to keep going backwards and sideways when we should have pushed on.

Good performance 2nd half though and i though we deserved a draw.

 

[GregStarz]

Maher must learn to play the through ball and Eastwood must learn to make forward runs in on goal.

 

[SUFC Employee]

We had nothing to lose having gone 2-0 down so I think we should have launched out comeback attack alot earlier.

 

[KrustyTheKray]

Quote[/b] (SUFC4EVER @ April 23 2005,19:26)]Maher must learn to play the through ball and Eastwood must learn to make forward runs in on goal.

Drop Maher and play Bentley and McCormack in the middle for the next two games.

But that will never happen will it!!!

Maher is soooo overated!!!

 

[SUFC Employee]

Well I've been saying play McCormack since I first saw him against Bristol

 

[Guest]

dudders was sh#t got play grey

 

[bas blue]

imo we wernt hitting the forwards quick enough. in the first half the passing was pleasant on the eye but gave oxford the chance to get ten men behind the ball

 

[Kris]

Quote[/b] (SUFC4EVER @ April 23 2005,19:17)]Was brilliant today, played the ball around really well and actually played decent football !!

I thought Oxford were very lucky 2 shots 2 goals but on a whole (even though we lost) i was pretty proud of our performace today

Hmmm, thought we were actually pretty dreadful first half. We very nearly scored inside two minutes when a brilliant multi-passing move ended with a cross from Freddy from the left which Guttridge spooned over the bar. Had that gone in I think we would have gone on to win comfortably but as it was after that, our football looked clueless. Petts and McCormack on the wings didn't work and all our attacks were soaked up far too easily, though Freddy did have a shot well saved by Tardif at 1-0.

Second half, with nothing to lose, we were much more purposeful and Wayne Gray was really lively when he came on - he has to start next Saturday to give us more variation. After Freddy pulled a goal back we had chances to equalise - Spinner headed narrowly wide and from where we were it looked like it had gone in; Tardif also saved brilliantly from Freddy from close range after Gray had spun his marker and crossed from the left.

Ultimately we lost it in the first half and I can see why Oxford are a 'first half team' - they were terrible in the second half and were definitely there for the taking. Unfortunately it was a case of too little too late.

Thank God the rest of the results went in our favour - I believe we can win promotion if we beat Yeovil and Swansea fail to win. However, we're going to have to play a lot better than we did today in seven days' time for us to be in with a chance.

Ratings:
Flavs - don't recall him actually having to make a save. Had no chance with either goals. 6/10
Jupp - defensively OK but frustratingly inconsistent in possession. 6/10
Nicolau - played OK but got sucked infield for their first goal, which came from a right-wing cross. 6/10
Barrett - very solid as usual and made his trademark storming runs forward as we tried to save the game. 7/10
Prior - decent performance and was inches away from scoring an equaliser 7/10
Pettefer - his usual all-action display and protected Nicky well but occasionally too ponderous in possession 6/10
Maher - I'm a huge Kev fan but today his radar was well off beam. 5/10
Guttridge - showed glimpses of class and used the ball well. Think we'll see his full potential next season when fully match fit. 7/10
McCormack - didn't look happy at all on the right in the first half, though was much better when he moved in-field in the second half. 6/10
Dudfield - very quiet, though service to him was pretty abysmal so he shouldn't shoulder all of the blame. 5/10
Eastwood - like Dudfield, had to feed off scraps but always looked dangerous when he did get the ball. Nice to see him back on the scoresheet. 7/10

Gray (for Dudfield) - gave us far more potency up front. 7/10
Gower (for Nicolau) - a few good runs in his 10-minute cameo but is he ready to be recalled? 6/10

 

[yobbo_shrimper]

Tilson should have took dudders off at half and brought on grey ,and dudders needs to practice ariel balls .
********* off to cry now**************8

 

[MikeInNewbury]

Quote[/b] (Kris @ April 23 2005,20:43)]Hmmm, thought we were actually pretty dreadful first half. We very nearly scored inside two minutes when a brilliant multi-passing move ended with a cross from Freddy from the left which Guttridge spooned over the bar. Had that gone in I think we would have gone on to win comfortably but as it was after that, our football looked clueless.

I have to agree. If the opening attempt had gone in the back of the net, as I think we all expected as it came in, then we'd have switched into cruise mode and cleaned up. But he was leaning backwards, so over the bar from 5 yards was always favourite.
We really should force teams to take  route 1, 'cos if we let them down the wings to get a cross in, we seem to be vunerable. Their first was definitely due to the midfielders following up. A well taken opportunity.
The first half was a bit dismal, livened only by the bundle reported elsewhere on Chit-Chat.
When Wayne came on in the second half, things suddenly picked up. The football flowed better and we seemed to have more commitment. Gower then came on but after his first run to the line followed by a cross, he just kept doing the same thing again, and again.
Tooo predictable. That seems to be our downfall. We play well and the guys always seem to know where each other are, but then we repeat the plays, ad nauseum. Kev needs a partner who can hold the ball up and feed it as well, so that we have some variety in the play. Because once a team recognise the plays, it becomes a simple task to make them fizzle out, which is what seemed to happened today.

 

[Guest]

We are lucky to be in 2nd place as Swansea lost while Yeovil & sCunthrope draw, has all of them won, we would be ****ing our-self on joint 4th. If we beat Yeovil next week & Scunthrope & Swansea fail to win, we are up - we can do it, Come On Everybody, Let be Hav'ing it! Get behind the boys & we will soon be over the white line & start planning our future match Vs Nott'm Forest next year.

 

[Jonesy tap-in]

Quote[/b] (SUFC4EVER @ April 23 2005,19:26)]Maher must learn to play the through ball and Eastwood must learn to make forward runs in on goal.

Just wasn't possible today though. They defended deep, had an anchorman in front of the back four and we were generally too narrow. Maher is also usually the deepest of our midfield. Throughballs of that nature weren't really an option as there wasn't really any where to play them to and as that area of the pitch was too crowded.

Eastwood, i think, is more effective when he drops off (usually with gray making the runs), where he can pick up the ball and either lay it off or run at defenders. When i first saw him play that's what most impressed me about him, not his ability to get on to through balls. That's not really his forte.