Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 3-3 Portsmouth FC

[Barling Magna]

Absolutely nothing to do with today’s game I know, but thought it was worth sharing, something I’ve mentioned on here several times in the past, my favourite all-time-ever shout was from a guy in the upper tier, who screamed out “hope your car breaks down on the way home ref and you miss the England game”.

England were playing at 17:30, in a pointless friendly IIRC.

Talk about harsh.

My second all-time-favourite came from someone in the East Stand (Dagenham Kev possibly?) Iwhen we went 2-0 up after 15 minutes, which lead to him shouting... “sort it out Sturrock”.

Southend fans. Simultaneously the best, and weirdest in the world.

Also nothing to do with yesterday's amazing game, but my favourite chant from fans was when one of our players hacked down an Exeter player and then stood over him threateningly. The Exeter fans sang "You're not, you're not, YOU'RE NOT VERY NICE."

Quality.

 

[Sammy Shrimper]

Spare a thought for the for the old boy who sits just to the right near the back of the greens.

He was hunched over struggling up the stairs with his carrier bag and walking stick, looking surprised there were so many people in his way. After all he had arrived at his normal time of 2:15.

I know Sky don't give a toss but would be nice if the club could contact/ring some of the old timers in future.

Hopefully yesterday someone's mentioned to him that the Barnsley KO is also 12.30 ?

 

[Bratislava Blue]

Ok this my take on our 3-3 escape...

I was making apologies after 30 minutes to my Russian work colleague. I had decided to introduce the Blues to him due to me having to leave the comfort of my sofa and relocate myself in a pub. Our midfield once again was off the pace. Our ability to defend against an attacking formation was woeful. Then out of nowhere we get a first half consolation goal.

I still felt that the second half was not going to produce much different. Was I proved wrong? Partially. I'm not convinced that the second half performance was based a rousing team talk at half time. The post match interview of Powells still showed a lack of energy and enthusiasm. Portsmouth didn't react to conceding that late first half goal and that installed the confidence that we need to turn it around.

The stand out performance for me was Klass. Obviously the Cox hat trick makes him the obvious choice for the MOTM however Klass showed that if played in the right position he has got the ability to shine. I thought he was unjustifiably substituted on Tuesday. Powell needs to show what his got and drop Mantom, hand over armband to a player whose current performances justify it as his at the moment doesn't. I'm not going to suggest the obvious one after todays performance by Cox.

Next weekends game is massive. We've not been able to play 2 games back to back this season where we can say that the performances are something to be proud of. Our record at Accrington is awful. I want to start hearing an enthusiastic and positive talking Powell.

Maybe then my belief in his attributes will start to change..

UTB!

 

[meerkat54]

Don't it feel good on a Sunday morning after a great result. We need more feel good factor. Well done team and all the loyal supporters that turned up. Cox is top draw at this level, an great to see the kids coming through the ranks. More happy days please.

 

[Rayleigh boy]

Ok this my take on our 3-3 escape...

I was making apologies after 30 minutes to my Russian work colleague. I had decided to introduce the Blues to him due to me having to leave the comfort of my sofa and relocate myself in a pub. Our midfield once again was off the pace. Our ability to defend against an attacking formation was woeful. Then out of nowhere we get a first half consolation goal.

I still felt that the second half was not going to produce much different. Was I proved wrong? Partially. I'm not convinced that the second half performance was based a rousing team talk at half time. The post match interview of Powells still showed a lack of energy and enthusiasm. Portsmouth didn't react to conceding that late first half goal and that installed the confidence that we need to turn it around.

The stand out performance for me was Klass. Obviously the Cox hat trick makes him the obvious choice for the MOTM however Klass showed that if played in the right position he has got the ability to shine. I thought he was unjustifiably substituted on Tuesday. Powell needs to show what his got and drop Mantom, hand over armband to a player whose current performances justify it as his at the moment doesn't. I'm not going to suggest the obvious one after todays performance by Cox.

Next weekends game is massive. We've not been able to play 2 games back to back this season where we can say that the performances are something to be proud of. Our record at Accrington is awful. I want to start hearing an enthusiastic and positive talking Powell.

Maybe then my belief in his attributes will start to change..

UTB!

in Simon Cox post match interview he praises the manager for being brave and making a change - early

I actually think Humphries and Mantom got taken off for a lack of bottle and belief for the fightback ..

post match Powell would have been exhausted - he was so involved in the match - he couldn't watch the pen - his goal celebrations were controlled but fierce ...

the changes he made were very high risk and paid off -

 

[Rayleigh boy]

Don't it feel good on a Sunday morning after a great result. We need more feel good factor. Well done team and all the loyal supporters that turned up. Cox is top draw at this level, an great to see the kids coming through the ranks. More happy days please.

it really does ....

 

[Bratislava Blue]

The game is televised live her in Australia so hoping we make a game of it.

in Simon Cox post match interview he praises the manager for being brave and making a change - early

I actually think Humphries and Mantom got taken off for a lack of bottle and belief for the fightback ..

post match Powell would have been exhausted - he was so involved in the match - he couldn't watch the pen - his goal celebrations were controlled but fierce ...

the changes he made were very high risk and paid off -

Humphreys was made due to an injury. If it had been due to lack of belief do you think that they were the only 2. It would not have been only these 2 players. There was also the majority of the viewing public that had the same thoughts and feelings.

As for Powell not watching the penalty. How can you say he was involved when he turned his back on the penalty? His appearance in the post match interviews has got nothing to do with exhaustion. It was consistent with all of his recent interviews.. He's tired of seeing the same inept performances that his teams have been putting in. Any other manager would have spoken more upbeat about the comeback.. Not our Chis Powell though ..

 

[Voice of Reason]

Humphries had a dead leg. End of

 

[southendkid]

Humphreys was made due to an injury. If it had been due to lack of belief do you think that they were the only 2. It would not have been only these 2 players. There was also the majority of the viewing public that had the same thoughts and feelings.

As for Powell not watching the penalty. How can you say he was involved when he turned his back on the penalty? His appearance in the post match interviews has got nothing to do with exhaustion. It was consistent with all of his recent interviews.. He's tired of seeing the same inept performances that his teams have been putting in. Any other manager would have spoken more upbeat about the comeback.. Not our Chis Powell though ..

Plenty of managers don't watch penalties, it's just a superstition some people have. It's not a sign that Powell doesn't care as you are claiming.

 

[Andy_S]

Well, what a strange game that was......

Weirdly, I didn't think we were actually *that* bad in the first half, other than some catastrophic defending that handed them all three goals. This collection of players seem to severely struggle in recovering some kind of shape when a player gets caught up field, as perfectly shown for the first goal. Hart got caught and all of a sudden the two central midfielders are trotting back one behind the other, Turner gets suckered into no mans land and Bwomono ends up in line with the left post. Madness. Bishop could've probably done better, but I think he had one eye on whether Elvis was going to take his head off. The second goal was poor from our right back and he got skinned far too easily, but then Mantom's "effort" to get something on the ball was nothing short of appalling. As for the third, I have no idea where Hart was going. In fact if you watch it back, we're so narrow as a team it's criminal. Then it's some kind of Chuckle Brothers moment from the two centre backs. To me, to you. At 3-0 down I turned round to look at Ron, with a face looking like someone had just said to him "the new ground's taking a while isn't it", just as he took his glasses off and put them away, literally suggesting he'd seen enough.

As is very much apparent, Michael Klass was almost as much to thank for yesterday as Simon Cox. The maturity, calmness and confidence he showed was way above his experience, consistently going to the back four, taking the ball from them and trying to start attacks. He essentially did exactly what Sam Mantom should be doing.

I also thought that Dieng, who I have been very critical of recently, stepped his game up. The experiment of putting him up top in recent times really hadn't worked, but yesterday he got closer to Cox, won many headers and generally made himself a bit of a nuisance. That was key to us and the way we were plugging away.

----------

Bishop 6.5: Probably could've done better with the first, but made one important save at the beginning of the second half and made a couple of good claims from corners when we were under pressure.

Bwomono 6.5: In the first half he was once again a weak link and they targeted him, as most opposition seem to do now, but I'll give him credit, he was much improved in the second half. He stood firmer and I think showed a bit more awareness of when he should and shouldn't go forward, which always appears as a big weakness of his.

Turner 6: In the first half he really struggled to deal with Hawkins, but in the second he kept him far quieter and got more of a measure of him.

Moore 6.5: Not one of his finest displays and he'll be disappointed with his part in the third goal, but he as usual gave a whole hearted performance.

Hart 6: He's a strange one and he very much reminds me of Scott Malone in the style he plays. Malone, I thought, was a huge disappointment and I'm still very surprised that he's gone on to have the career he's had. Whether Hart goes on and does similar we'll see, but it's clear that somewhere in there there's some ability, but defensively he seems very naive. As per Elvis, he did improve in the second half.

McLaughlin 5.5: I thought he really struggled and failed to stamp as much authority on things as we desperately need from him. As I've said before though, I really think that we need to stick with him through the lack of form, as even yesterday he still showed glimpses of giving us a spark.

Dieng 6.5: Improved from recent weeks and the reverse ball for the equaliser was very much out of character. He gave much more to the cause and made himself a nuisance.

Mantom 5: Hmm.

Kightly 5.5: Won the penalty and tried to press, but he didn't have any joy going forward. I wouldn't be surprised if he's been playing with a slight groin injury and yesterday was a case of it becoming a bit worse rather than it being a new problem.

Humphrys /: Was barely involved in his short time on the pitch.

Cox 9: I tweeted in the first half 'Simon Cox FC'. Little did I realise the way things would go in the second! It wasn't just his 110% effort or his goals yesterday, but it was the movement the touches all over the pitch that set him apart from everyone. The third was absolutely brilliant and very much had the feel of that winner he scored at the end of a home game with Rochdale a couple of years back.

Subs:

Klass 7.5: Cool, calm, confident. Passed it around nicely and dictated play. An extremely encouraging performance.

Hutchinson 5.5: Not much really came off for him, almost as if he was trying too hard.

Wabo /: I found it quite bold that Powell went for him over Kelman, but I thought he did alright. His movement and pace definitely gave Portsmouth something to think about. I really hope he pushes on and we see more of his potential.

 

[shrimpled]

Not to be picky here with anyone and their ratings, but what more would a player have to do to get 10/10? An awful lot have Cox as a 9.

 

[Barry.C]

I made up for it by giving 20 if that helps overall

 

[Kris]

So should I go to the game or take advantage of it being live on Sky? Hmmm. I was conflicted ... until I realised that I am a STH and don't have Sky. A day pass costs in the region of £8 and I can get a day return from Stratford to Westcliff with a Disabled Railcard for just under £9 so there was only one winner. The pub.

Only kidding. A change of tactics today. That's right, no trip to Wet Spam needed so I just strolled to Stratford station, knowing that with no laundry to drop off - me and my other half decided to postpone that until Sunday - I had the luxury of not even having to go through the old shopping centre, where you get passively high and get confronted by nutjobs, and instead take an alternative and quiet route going via the back of the bus station.

Stratford station is quite busy and vibrant, with all its transport connections, and unlike Wet Spam DOES have toilet facilities (without boasting about it). Unfortunately they are terrible and quite scary so I only ever go if I have less than five minutes of battery left.

A pleasant journey, as always with C2C, and it's 12 pm. I needed a hot drink, though, as I'd developed sniffles on the train. Thankfully a nearby cafe offered a hot chocolate to take away so within a couple of minutes I felt better - until I found myself spilling some of it everywhere. I'd forgotten that you can't walk briskly while holding a hot drink, so found myself going down the gears like, say, Dru to Dieng.

I looked at the scoreboard. Still 0-0, good stuff. Oh, hang on, the game hasn't started yet. I was quite excited as I'd seen the line-up - 4-4-2, with two out-and-out wingers - so clearly SCP had bowed down to the tactical geniuses on here.

Prior to the game I thought we were in with a chance as a live game can sometimes bring the best out of players whether in or out of form. And I was right: Portsmouth's players were loving it. Ours were timid and frankly petrified.

In fairness we actually started OK, Macca producing a comfortable save with a curler and Humphrys causing a few problems but one attack down our left later and it's 1-0 to the visitors. Heads dropped, hearts dropped, composure crashed. Every time Pompey attacked, usually down the flanks, they looked like they were going to score with our defence in pinball mode; scuffs, miskicks, thin air, etc. A fine strike for their second goal and chaos for number three, with a disallowed effort sandwiched in between.

Meanwhile, Humphrys was nastily chopped down as he squeezed past a couple of challenges and though he tried to carry on, he looked too much in pain to continue; it was the right decision to take him off. On comes a midfielder, much to the crowd's dismay. And then, all is calm for a few minutes and hang on, what is this? A fine cross from the much-maligned Hart and Cox executes a fine header at the back post. Brilliant, particularly as I predicted a 3-1 defeat in the prediction league with Cox as the first scorer. Yay! Hang on, blimey, nearly 3-2! Turner should probably have done better when a set-piece arrived at his feet but he curled it wide. Great game for the neutral, I suspect.

Lord knows what SCP made of the first 45 but I'm guessing he used some naughty words in the dressing room, possibly words even more appalling than Steve and Evans. Whatever, we started the second half well, with Pompey seemingly willing to let us have the ball and hit us on the counter, which nearly worked on one occasion but for a fantastic save by Bishop.

Slowly, slowly, we began pushing Pompey back. Not in a massively threatening manner but hey, we actually had some possession and sometimes, contrary to what many think, a good spell of possession makes the opposition start thinking, even if that means occasionally having to go back and sideways. Gradually we began getting into dangerous areas and a couple of rash challenges later we have a penalty. Coxy sends the keeper the wrong way. Oh god, 3-2. Donny, Peterborough, Plymouth, close but no cigar or whatever the phrase is. It's going to be torture again isn't it?

Then another spell of possession. Moans all around that we were being too ponderous - probably the same moaners who lament hoofball - and I actually snapped and shouted out that we were keeping the ball so be effing patient. And sure enough, a few seconds later a truly wonderful reverse pass by the mercurial Dieng and a composed finish by Cox. A euphoric moment and I don't think I've bounced around like I did since THAT goal at Wembley.

The difference, of course, was that there was still time for a winner, and with Pompey suddenly waking up and winning a couple of corners that we just about dealt with, the final whistle was a huge relief.

It was so surreal; grinning faces around me all shaking their heads in disbelief. I was doing the same.

Ratings...

Bishop: Becoming a hugely promising keeper. Confident, not afraid to come for crosses and one hell of a save to prevent Pompey going 4-1 up.

Back four: Nightmare starts for Hart and Elvis but both improved as the game went on, and a great cross by the former for Cox's first goal. Moore was the standout as usual while creaky bones Turner did ok.

Midfield: Poor Mantom has become the latest escape goat (Dave Gorman reference there). He wasn't great but he's a good player just going through a bad spell. Dieng annoys me: talented but strolled through the game. Fantastic assist for the equaliser but otherwise anonymous. If we had our full squad available he would be better as an impact sub, as would Kites and Macca, who were poor.

Up front: Some suggestions that Humphrys was subbed for tactical reasons? Really? Like I mentioned earlier he looked injured to me and hobbled off. As for Cox, bloody hell what a performance that was; arguably the best individual performance by a Southend player in a long, long time.

Subs: Klass was superb. While others were scared of the ball, he was calm and composed. Will hopefully kick on from there. First time I've seen Hutchinson and was impressed. A nice touch and hopefully will develop into a first-teamer soon. Too late for Wabo to be assessed.

SCP: Blameless today. Picked the team that many fans would have done and when that didn't work wasn't afraid to change to the unpopular 4-5-1, which did work. Perhaps that's an insight into why were 'overly cautious' against Luton. They would have smashed us if we'd set up like we initially did.

The opposition: As godawful as we were in the opening 30 minutes, Pompey should take credit for opening us up the way they did. However, when our comeback started they looked nervous and that may explain why they are going through a dodgy spell. Looks like they will have to settle for the play-offs.

The ref: Can't complain, got most decisions right I think.

Overall: A terrific point, especially given the circumstances. Let's hope we can kick on from here but Accrington are no mugs - still the best footballing side (or aesthetically pleasing) I have seen this season - so we need to contain them and pick them off on the counter like we did at RH.

What a game and further proof that football is, and will always be, the best sport in the world.

 

[RHB]

Jeez, You've worn me out reading that @Kris..

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

Cox has to be a shoe-in for Player of the Year. I mean, the simple fact he's been fit for most of the season puts him in the top 5... We needed someone to step up and show character yesterday and boy did he do that. Hopefully some of our fans might appreciate him a bit more now.

 

[The Big Dady]

Hat trick hero Cox riding the crest of a wave
3-0 and you Coxed it up.​

 

[Bratislava Blue]

Plenty of managers don't watch penalties, it's just a superstition some people have. It's not a sign that Powell doesn't care as you are claiming.

Read my post again. I did not say that Powell doesn't care. Additionally have you seen Powell turn his back when weve had othet penalties this season? So its got nothing to do with superstition. I put it down to belief and confidence. Why else wouldn't he want to witness the coneback? This lack of beluef and confidence is evident in his interviews also.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Steve Bruce apparantly couldn't watch penalties either. I'm sure some on here have watched them through their fingers or behind a pillow - I know I did at the World Cup.

 

[united we stand]

I haven't read everyones comments yet, but what a difference some confidence makes. Right at the end Pompey got a free kick in a dangerous area. Turner and at least two others were shouting their heads off at our players to get into position to defend the free kick. Turner (I think) also got a great block in just before/after. Those things simply didn't happen earlier in the match.

At 3-1 I actually joked to my mate it would be 3-3 Cox hat trick with a penalty to earn the point. Couldn’t believe it when it happened , even if I got the order wrong.

Hart defensively it is difficult to defend his performance BUT going forward he created more opportunities than our two wingers combined.

Mantom, I give him (big) credit for never hiding, but yesterday he was awful . This is a match report and i am rating him on the match, not on past performances. He is being blamed for the 2nd, but after the Hart/ Dieng **** pot attempts to tackle in the build up to the first, it was the guy Mantom should have tracked back that scored.

I have no idea what he is like as a person, but if taking away the captaincy takes pressure off him and allows to focus on himself then it’s 100% the right thing to do. Not knee jerk, have thought this for a while.

Apart from that I agree with most other people’s points. Klass was brilliant and surelymust start.

One last thought, with our injury record who would have thought that another injury would result in us having to make a sub that ( in my opinion) turned the match. Perhaps our luck is changing ?

 

[ms brush]

Coxy was on fire yesterday!! What a player, all 3 goals were quality. Consistently MOM, and has to be odds on for POTY.

Interesting game yesterday. We started well, we crumbled when they scored totally against the run of play, and that could have so easily been 4,5,6... after the third went in, my Dad said he was leaving at half time - a man who has never left a game early in almost 60 years! My Pompey supporting uncle was with us, and he said he thought it was a fluke, and they were likely to sit back. Then Simon Cox popped up with a fabulous header, suddenly its game on! Needless to say, we stayed!

Our defence for about 25 minutes yesterday was laughable. WTF? Taylor Moore has a huge future, and hopefully he is learning loads from being in such a shabby back line. I love Turner, his vision is fabulous and he is always in the right place - unfortunately these days, his brain is still in the right place and his legs are taking 5 minutes to catch up! Both Elvis and Hart are still learning, both very good going forward, but are still boys in a mans game. Both too easily muscled off the ball, leaving them, and our defence in a shambles. As things stand though, we have no options. Good to see Lennon and Keirnan on the bench, but realistically neither are fully fit and wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes. I suspect we are some weeks from them coming into the fray, no news on Demitriou yet, John White is still out and no Coker or Hendrie for months.

Good to see Kightly put in a decent shift, but again, I suspect that the groin has been causing problems for a while - hence sidelines and poor recent form. Mantom was having a mare - good player, but something not right there.

More positive - Dieng! Good show yesterday. Klass, was exactly that, class! Good to see young Norman out there too.

And then the mighty Simon Cox!!

Had to laugh at one very downcast Pompey fan on the way out, signing to no one in particular "3-0 and we f**d it up". All credit to Portsmouth though, they are a decent side. We should never have gone 3-0 down, but boy, what a comeback!!