Post-Match Thread and Ratings Peterborough 1-2 Southend United

[A Century United]

The Posh Mad View

Match report of this afternoon's home defeat in the clash against Southend United

A nightmare moment from Peterborough defender Shane Blackett cost his side vital points in the promotion race and allowed Southend to leave London Road with a fifth win in their past six matches.

Blackett, making his first start since September, sliced a Franck Moussa cross into his own net after 63 minutes to hand the Shrimpers an advantage they never surrendered.

His howler was the defining moment of a match that promotion-chasing Posh dominated, yet they finished with nothing.

Darren Ferguson's men needed only six minutes to hit the front when Dean Keates made no mistake from the penalty spot, but they were pegged back by a sensational Jean Francois Christophe leveller against the run of play in the 24th minute.

The Frenchman guided a 15-yard overhead kick into the corner before the visitors' turnaround was completed by that moment for Blackett to forget.

Posh began brightly and it wasn't long before they hit the front with a helping hand from referee Alan Haines.

He pointed to the spot when George Boyd hit the ground under attention from Anthony Grant and Dorian Dervitte. Keates coolly converted from 12 yards before Posh failed to convert plenty of presentable chances to double their advantage.

Craig Mackail-Smith saw one effort blocked by Peter Clarke before scooping a second opportunity over.

The home side were stunned when Southend's first threatening passage of play resulted in Christophe's spectacular equaliser.

Posh still held the upper hand as Lee saw a deflected effort drop agonisingly wide before Tom Williams, back after a ten-week absence following a knee operation, stung the palms of Southend stopper Steve Mildenhall from range.

But an action-packed opening period was followed by a far less dramatic second half during which disaster struck for Blackett.

Then Theo Robinson was only inches from adding a late third for Southend with a blockbuster that ended up on the roof of the net.

Posh Ratings:

Mildenhal 7
Sankofa 6
Dervitte 6
Clarke 8
Barrett 6
Christophe 6
McCormack 7
Moussa 7
Grant 6
Barnard 6
Robinson 6

 

[Basildon Blue]

Mildenhall - 8
Sankofa - 7
Dervitte - 7
Clarke - 7.5
Barrett - 7.5
Grant -7.5
Macca - 8
Christophe - 8
Moussa - 7.5
Robinson - 8
Barnard -8

 

[palexander]

I've been highly critical of many things recently, but 9 points in a week and 5 wins in 6 speaks for itself.

I think today was better than Colchester as a performance. We looked sharper and though we rode our luck at times with the chances Posh created, we were more than in the game during the second half and whilst perhaps not deserving the win, fought more than hard enough for it.

I've also been critical of Barnard recently, but if he could stay fit and perform like that week in, week out, I'd have no complaints at all.

Final mention for the back 4 again, some shakey moments from Dorian today, but overall excellent and Clarke especially was immense again. He is playing like he feels 20ft tall at the moment.

Ratings:-

Mildy 8 - Solid handling, superb reaction save - though I think it was offside
Sankofa - 7 - Solid
Dorian - 7 - Not his best showing, seems to want too much time sometimes.
Clarke - 9 - Stopped everything that came his way and plays with such a swagger.
Barrett - 7 - I'm warming to Barrett as a left-back (if we get the right man ahead of him)
Grant - 6 - Passing was woeful, but put in a decent defensive shift. Does drift around though and Boyd exposed that first 20 mins.
JFC - 6 - Still out of form for me, but WHAT a goal!!
Macca - 7 - Much better, more the Macca of old. Covered the ground, though still shoddy with the ball at times.
Moussa - 7 - Did well again off the left and his driving run created the winner
Robinson - 7 - Really like the look of him - if his shot had gone in, would have been goal of the season. Always a threat.
Barnard - 8 - Close to a MoM. Linked well, clever passing, didnt really pose a threat to goal though which he must try more to do.

Overall, I think one massive decision cost Posh the game - after 20 mins, they switched Boyd to the right and that pretty much ended his involvement in the game. Until then, he was getting around our right side with ease.

Amazed Ferguson didnt move him back.

One last point, we listened to BBC Cambs on the way home and you think we (ok, I!) moan alot - fans were phoning in saying "drop Joe Lewis", "Makail-Smith is useless" (20+ goals BTW) and even "Darren Ferguson needs to play 4/5 games to get the team going".... unreal...

 

[Holy Joe]

Final mention for the back 4 again, some shakey moments from Dorian today, but overall excellent and Clarke especially was immense again. He is playing like he feels 20ft tall at the moment.

l...

Or playing like he is out of contract at end of the season?

 

[palexander]

Or playing like he is out of contract at end of the season?

Hmm... what have thought that would be a negative effect (i.e. not caring, trying not to get injured etc). I'd say the last month alongside Dorian is probably the best spell I've seen Clarke play for Southend...

 

[timeveritt]

Mildenhall - 7 - few important saves good from crossed
Sankofa - 7 - not as involved going forward as usual
Dervitte - 7 - Not his best but still pretty good
Clarke - 8 - solid. he was everywhere
Barrett - 7.5 - standard solid
Grant -7 - played better second half
Macca - 8 - another good game looking more solid
Christophe - 8 - what a goal
Moussa - 7.5 - not convinced with him on left but did ok
Robinson - 8 - always a threat linked up well with barney
Barnard -8 - everything good went through him

Great performance.

Ref - -5, lino - -10 couldnt get any decisions correct including corners or throwins

 

[timeveritt]

and how bad were there support!!!!

 

[canveyshrimper]

One last point, we listened to BBC Cambs on the way home and you think we (ok, I!) moan alot - fans were phoning in saying "drop Joe Lewis", "Makail-Smith is useless" (20+ goals BTW) and even "Darren Ferguson needs to play 4/5 games to get the team going".... unreal...

I'm moved to remember the Len Shackleton's autobiography where he included a piece on what directors of football clubs know about football, it was a blank page. Seems appropriate for those clowns. I wouldn't mind Mackail-Smith pulling on a Southend shirt.

 

[Lord Football]

Excellent performance today that grew in stature the longer the game went on. It's amazing what a bit of confidence can do for this team.

Looking at Peterborough's results, its clear they know how to do the business up front, but simiarly they leak a few goals. Having gone down to the most ridiculous penalty decision I can remember very early, I feared the worst. In fact, we could have easily been 4 down in the first quarter of an hour. Then Boyd was switched to the left and it gave us a chance to get going.

Christophe's goal, an over head kick, really took the stuffing out of them.

Second half we weathered an early storm and then got one of those lovely own goals that make it onto Xmas videos. Fantastic stuff. Mildly, who at last has won the crowd over, made a fantastic stop towards the end. But that was pretty much Peterborough mustered. Robinson had a rasper that just went over.

Never expected a win today and early doors it had "disaster" written on it, so to come away with 3 points was fantastic. We cannot fault the effort of anyone today, a really gritty gutsy display.

Oh, and thanks to Steve Mildenhall who gave Little LF and Little Stickyboys his gloves. Which are massive!!!

 

[Rayleigh boy]

very nice train from kings cross

anonymous midlands town ...

strange to be back on old terrace but plenty of room

loads of noisy shrimpers

Boyd throws himself down - ref buys it - what a joke ..... 1-0

but the boys didn't look shaken and got down to it - Posh frowards looked lively but then we get forward and JFC does an overhead which seemed to go in off the post ...

second half and we seemed to contain them better and frighten them when we got forward - barney playing deeper looking to get theo in -

Moussa looking for more glory getting forward - cross/shot deflected in - evened up the penalty that never was ....

and after that we seemed to shut up shop ...

mildy 8 - couple of good saves - distribution careless

sankofa 8 - osei is strong in the air and athletic

clarke 9 - so much better without ab screwing things up

dorian - 7 couple of errors but he has a pile of talent

ab 7 - when he settles down and plays left back he can do a good job

grant - 7 beginning to look like he really wants that shirt -

JFC - 8 - goooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal -

moussa 7 - is now learning how to pace his game so he can influence outcomes

robinson 8 - the guy has pace, a finish and natural athlecticism - and he works

barney - 8 - quality on the ball worked hard -


betsy - 6 -

francis - 7 - does what he does when on as sub -

support 9 - NON STOP

ref - useless - completely mugged for penalty decision

Tilson 10 - there was real confidence and balance about us today ...

 

[bigmolt]

and how bad were there support!!!!

And how good was our support ! ! Loved the new chant for Mildenhall. Lets keep it up for tues game against Millwall . Great day out. Great support for the lads, and a great result in the end, no thanks to the ref tho . Must have been the worst decision i have seen in 40 years of watching football giving that pen. The lino was just as bad too, some unbelievable decisions he made as well.

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

I'm moved to remember the Len Shackleton's autobiography where he included a piece on what directors of football clubs know about football, it was a blank page. Seems appropriate for those clowns. I wouldn't mind Mackail-Smith pulling on a Southend shirt.

it was ghosted by David Jack junior, the grandson of out first manager and son of one in the 1930s.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...ckletons-legacy-of-wit-and-wisdom-628935.html

 

[Basildon Blue]

and how bad were there support!!!!

I know, the only time they made any noise were when they scored. Our support was great. Loved the "the referee's, your only fan!" :)

 

[manor15]

Sounded like a great game, did we start badly? Sounded like they had a lot of chances early on.

 

[Basildon Blue]

Sounded like a great game, did we start badly? Sounded like they had a lot of chances early on.

Yes, the ref was bad but we weren't playing well until we scored. After that we played much better.

 

[Scamps]

Was a great day out and probably our best display this season... Everyone wanted that victory out there today and lets hope it continues... Our Support was awesome, good to see everyone singing and how it makes the boys feel... Bring on Millwall!!!

 

[The General]

A great day i must say. The penalty early doors was a joke but on another day they convert one of the 3 sitters they missed so i'd say them being 1 up early on was fair. Brilliant goal from Jeff to equalise (looking forward to seeing that on TV!) and his comments on BW summed up how everyone else felt as he seemed as shocked as everyone else, although apparently he does that kind of thing in training, although Tilly alludes to his heading and says that its a shame that its not as good in the penalty box! :D

The atmosphere in the 2nd half was the best i have experienced all season and the noise got louder and louder. With that came the goal and bar one, or two scares - and the 5 eventual added on minutes - we hung on in and got an excellent three points.

Bring on Milwall!

Kev

 

[bertiebigbanana]

My tuppence worth,
Most of our our players bar mildy & robinson appeared to be firing on only 3 cylinders first half hour.
Diabolical penalty decision. We was in the seats directly in front of the dive and that is all it was.
Chasing shadows for the first 20 minutes. Dorian was done at least 3 times in this period. They had us on the rack until jefs acrobatics took the wind out of thier sails.
2nd half, complete turn around. Most of our players decided to arrive and lo and behold we tore the initiative from there grasp and shoved it up thier backsides.
Flukey winner and in all honesty one of the only positive contributions i can recall moussa making. But i guess it was karma for thier penalty.

Ratings...

Mildy 8 Really looking like a top keeper now. Commanded the area
Sankofa 6 His play reminds me of che wilson, consistantly average
Clarke 8 Best of the defence, Pity this is probably the last season with us
Dotty 6 I would say his worst performance with us. Mis timed interceptions and got done for pace a number of times.
Barrett 7 Like dotty got done for pace a few times but unlike dotty has sufc running through his body like a stick of rock and adapted better.
Grant 8 Slow start but grew in influence and stature as the game went on...our most improved player.
Christophe 7 Poor game by his standard. But great goal by anyones standard!
Moussa 5 Dissapointing display from the moose. Poor distribution and positioning.
Robinson 9 Star of the side. Worked tirelessly for 90 minutes ever a threat. A top player who we are very lucky to have for the season.
Barney 9 the 9 is for his 2nd half display which was the best i have seen him play in a southend shirt. Controlled the long hoofs up from the rearguard with consumate skill and brought others in to play.

 

[Suffolk Blue]

Must have looked a different game from the seats as far as Moussa was concerned. I thought he looked very comfortable on the ball, and really up for the game (gets a 7 from me). I also view Sankofa's contribution a little more favourably (another 7); I'd call him solid but unspectacular (although tbh I'd take "consistently average" over some of the defensive performances we've seen over the last 2 or 3 years).

Other than that, I'd go along with BertieBigBanana's ratings and also add a big 9 for the support today - loud and proud guys. Would have given a 10 btw but the Mildy chant should have been a one-off joke (and was taken as such by Big Steve), seemed disrespectful to me and I can't imagine he'll enjoy hearing that every week.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Must have looked a different game from the seats as far as Moussa was concerned. I thought he looked very comfortable on the ball, and really up for the game

I was also in the seats and thought Moussa had a very good game as it goes, and it was never a penalty in a million years. Nice to be back at Peterboro after many years, nice programme notes from Mr Fry also, don't know who else read them?

Mildy - 8, this just can't be the same keeper we had at the start of the season, looks assured and confident
Sankofa - 6, kept being exposed by Grant drifting off, and didn't cope that well with Boro's attacking play, nothing glaringly bad but considering how he's been lately this wasn't one of his better performances
Dervite - 7, as BBB said, got done several times in the first half, much improved in the 2nd
Clarke - 8.5 (MotM), another great game, confidence is oozing from him atm, couple of clearances where he must have been aiming for overhead satellites, but, hey, that's Clarkey!
Barrett - 7.5, had a torrid time out on the wing but coped very well with the constant pressure and still went forward
Grant - 7, some lovely intelligent play and a great spoiler BUT kept drifting in far too far and leaving Sankofa exposed
Macca - 8, welcome back Mac! Now firing on all cylinders, had a VERY decent shot on goal too
Jeff - 6.5, made a lot of mistakes today but has to be all forgiven for that goal - brilliant! He tried one at RH the other week which nearly came off and I remember thinking then, he'll have one of those in the net soon.
Moussa - 8, now he's actually playing as a LW rather than playing as a CM out of position, I think he's improved tremendously, great game, some intelligent play and set up the "winner"!
Theo - 7.5, Boro knew where the danger man was and kept a close eye on him, great shot to almost make it 3 right at the end
Barney - 8, best game I've seen from Barney this season I think, used the space afforded by the close attention to Theo and ran and ran and ran all afternoon, dribbled, created chances - very unselfish play and considering he wasn't fully fit, he'd obviously worked hard on his stamina.

Subs: Franno for Barney and Betsy for Theo, both did what was necessary and it gave both forwards the chance for an ovation they richly deserved.

Support - 10 out of 10, absolutely amazing, well done to those on the terraces, seats were a little libraryish, but some of us joined in where I was. Unbelievably, a bloke in front of us got told to moderate his language in the 1st half or he'd have to leave - he was with a woman and a young kid, and I didn't notice anything particularly bad - but had to "zip it" myself after that somewhat!

Officials - 3, rubbish............again!