Post-Match Thread and Ratings Cambridge Utd 0-0 Southend Utd

[Maroon Blue]

Oxley 7
Bwomono 8
White 8
Hobson 7
Clifford 7
Dieng 7
Ferguson 7
ANG 8 MOTM
Taylor 7
Akinola 7
Acquah 7

RHF 6
Goodship 6

Really solid performance, probably better than Tuesday. Ox had far less to do. JW back to his best, thought Elvis had a much better game also but ANG shaded MOTM, Cambridge could not get near him. A bit more cutting edge up top and we would be play off form for rest of season. But it is all built on solid keeper, back 4 and a much more robust midfield. Just final piece of jigsaw for MM to sort and our crosses and corners which were not great. UTB

 

[Boreham Blue]

Great point away from home. Shows just how far we’ve come that a lot of us are annoyed that we didn’t take all three points against the league leaders!

Oxley - Only one real save to make and did that superbly. Seemed to get off his line well and claim crosses.

Elvis - Another solid performance from him. Got forward well and defended well.
White - Just a classic White performance. Hard to believe there was any debate as to whether his contract should be extended!
Hobson - Back at home in a back 4. Back to the player we had in December. Very pleased with the progress he’s made
Clifford - What a player we have on our hands here. Earlier in the season I thought he looked a little shaky still but is no longer the case. Would be top of my list to get tied down to a longer deal.

Ferguson - Looks to be a solid player. Nothing flashy but does the nitty gritty stuff and we all know what a shot he has on him.
Dieng - Personally, I never got the criticism that he received. The ultimate utility player for us.
K. Taylor - Pitches right now probably don’t quite suit his style of play but still some great touches and passes and worked hard. We are a better team with him in the side.

ANG - Every time he gets the ball I get a little excited. Seems to have the skills to deal with pretty much every situation. Some excellent turns and touches today. Felt like we could create whenever he touched the ball.
Acquah - I’ve been vocal against the criticisms aimed towards him. I don’t condone abusing any player that is currently playing for our team. I thought he had one of his best games for us today. Held the ball up well under lots of pressure. Looks to be learning from the more experienced pros we now have in the side.
Akinola - As with ANG, lots of great touches, held the ball up well as well. Hopefully the injury is not too serious but would imagine he may be missing for next Saturday due to the concussion protocola.

RHF - Difficult for him to get fully involved today. Still showed some good touches and runs.
Goodship - Not enough time to really see him again but good to see him back from injury. One good run which was only stopped due to them making a tactical foul to stop us breaking.

No ratings or MOM as I thought everyone stuck to their tasks today. This result is down to the team effort.

With the likes of; Lennon, Ralph, Egbri, McCormack, Olayinka to come back into the side. Plus the additions (hopefully of Ranger, Holmes and Simpson) we look a world away from the squad that was named in that horrific opening day defeat.

My final thought (as I have rambled on a bit and my glass is now empty) is that whilst it is frustrating not to be scoring ,
many goals at the moment. Scoring goals doesn’t guarantee you points. Keeping clean sheets guarantees you at least one point every game.

COYB ???

Plus Mellis who I think could be an important addition for us

 

[Boreham Blue]

Looking at the table and the way Col U have been going, overtaking them might not be out of the question

 

[Byford1994]

Plus Mellis who I think could be an important addition for us

I knew I’d forget someone!

 

[OllieSteph44]

Looking at the table and the way Col U have been going, overtaking them might not be out of the question

I agree with this. There’s always a team that plummet and in this league where it’s relentless physical battles and game after game after game, any team that hits a slump will find it hard to get out and Col U are that team at the moment.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

MM has got it right in the last two games. I think the main frustration for a lot of people is the persistence with a 5 at the back that could have cost us many important points. If we played like we did today in those games we lost, I think we would have enough points to start looking up the table.

Let's hope the management team have learnt their lesson and they stick to simple, pragmatic football.

This was my issue with MM; most of us on here could see 5 at the back wasn't working (players just didn't look comfortable) yet he still persisted with it. A few of us could see that Hart isn't a great defender, but still be left Clifford on the bench. We'll never know if MM would have brought Clifford back in the side, if it hadn't been for Hart's injury.

Anyway, he has changed it now, and the last 2 games have shown some good positives. Shame we just can't take our chances, but that's been a problem all season.

Hopefully now we are back to being solid, we can start improving at the other end of the pitch.

 

[Chairman Trigg]

Solid performance helped by a back four and competitive midfield.If only we could find that elusive striker which our league will status will need

 

[damien]

Ay John White by the way. Watched the game without commentary today and that man looked and sounded like he would have died out there for the club today to come home with a point or 3. What a performance and what a fantastic man and football player to have at the club. Long may he pull on the shirt and long may he have an involvement with our club. Top man

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

Yet still some people will still suggest the formation doesn't make a difference!!

I never want to see us go 5 at the back again (unless we are defending a lead with minutes to go!!) and Clifford has to start at left back whenever fit. Far better defender than Hart.

Best defender out of all the left back options for me too. The other 2 let far too many crosses come in

 

[Maidstone Shrimper]

Really encouraging performance today. We weren’t in awe of Cambridge and MM employed quite attacking tactics which I think caught the opposition by surprise. The whole team played well and there were many stand out positives for me.
Emile made himself a real nuisance for the whole game, occupying two defenders, holding the ball up and some good lay-offs. Ferguson did the dirty work in front of the defence well … without winding the ref up! ANG had one of his best games, great ball skills and worked his socks off tracking back. Just wonder if he hadn’t gone to ground far too easily early in the game he might have got that penalty. Both full backs were good defensively and moving forward. Elvis seemed to be getting his crosses in much earlier without the usual extra touch or looking to play it back. Another cracking performance from Dieng, he put his foot in to win the ball so many times, and another excellent game by Oxley. John White outstanding at the back.
Keeping a clean sheet …. deservedly … against the top of the table side is fantastic. I really hope that Ranger and Holmes show they can add something to this team and we sign them. But if MM/Ron think their fitness/attitude means they won’t contribute enough or if contract demands are too high then I’m not going to criticise that. Relegation with our current squad is by no means certain.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

Best defender out of all the left back options for me too. The other 2 let far too many crosses come in

Clifford doesn't get as forward as much Hart, but you don't always have to. I actually thought Hart played well left midfield and I would be happy to see him play there if needed.

 

[Strykr]

We weren’t in awe of Cambridge and MM employed quite attacking tactics which I think caught the opposition by surprise.

Thats exactly what i liked. We tried to play our game, not be terrified from the kick off and set out for a draw or play 5 at the back etc.

If we had a single player who could get a shot on target we'd be comfortably mid table minimum.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Someone better than me will remember how many chances we've created in the last two games from open play.
Three/four? That's over 180+. We aren't going to escape relegation with draws as good as this one was.

We've taken four points from the last two games. That's exactly how you escape from relegation.

 

[Southend schoolboy]

Fantastic performance, just lacked the cutting edge. Absolutely no doubt that the players are right up for this, and I’m still optimistic we can stay up. If we do stay up, we are building a squad that can really mix it in this league, taking 4 points off the big boys this week.

Oxley 8 - gets his fair share of criticism, but had been one of our best players this season.

Elvis 6 - better today, just not sure where the Elvis of old has gone. Not sure the shocking pitches suit his game.

Hobson 7 - wins an awful lot, not blessed with heaps of talent but very effective at what he does.

White 7 - exactly the same as Hobson

Clifford 8 - quality, think Hart needs some time out as he has looked less than convincing as of late. Clifford offers the wand of a left peg as well as a calmness that we often lack.

Ferguson 8 - again, calmness personified. Could argue sometimes a little too Laissez Faire but broke the game up well and never looked troubled.

Taylor 5 - one of his poorer performances to date. Huffed and puffed but final ball was missing. Still a huge addition in there.

Dieng 6 - Love Tim, works his socks off and does his fair share of dirty work. Slightly quieter today than usual.

ANG 8.5 (MOM) - hasn’t been many players at the blues since Francis Laurent who I can think of, with that much raw ability. Let down by his decision making / execution in the final 3rd. Quality player.

Emile 7 - Made my opinions known during the game at what can only be described as shameful on behalf of some of our ‘supporters’. We are 23rd in league 2, expecting a young kid to play like zlatan. It’s often clear by the comments who actually understands / has played the game. He held it up well today and brought our attackers into the game. He also occupies the back well and causes issues. Whilst he might not win every flick his sheer presence makes it difficult. Also worked his nuts off for the 90. Good stuff Emile, keep it up.

Akinola 7 - usual industrious self, nothing came off in the final 3rd.

Subs

Reeco - not seen the same RFH since his debut, useful to have off the bench

goodship - could he finally become the fox in the box we know he can be? I hope so

MM - got it right today. Slightly concerning that it took him so long to realise a back 5 didn’t work.

really positive week for the blues, just need to keep this momentum. With Macca to come back, and potentially a couple of players to come in, we can do this.

UTB

 

[Streaky]

Best defender out of all the left back options for me too. The other 2 let far too many crosses come in

Looks a decent prospect just needs to work on his crossing which was poor today.

 

[Evening Echo]

SOUTHEND United boss Mark Molesley praised his side after this afternoon’s 0-0 draw at League Two leaders Cambridge United.

Read more on this story


Help with Echo links

 

[Maroon Blue]

It really is weird that we were all holding out for a big points haul from them 3 consecutive home games in January before the so called tougher fixtures. Yet we get far more reward from the following 3 consecutive away games?

 

[Floval Flyer]

Superb team performance.

Can’t help but think that if we had or will soon get Holmes or Ranger in the team we’ll start nicking goals. Thought we shaded it as the better side, we were more creative, it just lack the ruthlessness to put the ball in the net.

 

[Barry.C]

I also thought Kyle Taylor wasnt at his best today and was that why he was subbed, Very skillful player but surprisingly shy of tackling, prefers to keep plenty of space and move away from the action to receive and create but not getting stuck in as much as when he first came ?

 

[kevst183]

John White on BBC Essex.

What did JW say?