Post-Match Thread and Ratings Accrington Stanley 1, Southend United 2

[Evening Echo]

A DEFLECTED second half strike from Ryan Hall guided Southend United to a 2-1 triumph at Accrington Stanley this afternoon.

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[Medway Blue]

I wasn't there but liked what I heard. It looks to me like good football and dominating of possession is being left for home matches. He is trying to sort an away day formation and an away day style of play and it worked today. If grinding out a win during difficult away games without dominating possession gets this club out of this league then I'm all for it.

 

[adwebb16]

I wasn't there but liked what I heard. It looks to me like good football and dominating of possession is being left for home matches. He is trying to sort an away day formation and an away day style of play and it worked today. If grinding out a win during difficult away games without dominating possession gets this club out of this league then I'm all for it.

I'm more than happy to see this at home games as well if that's the case?

 

[Bromley Blue]

I wasn't there but liked what I heard. It looks to me like good football and dominating of possession is being left for home matches. He is trying to sort an away day formation and an away day style of play and it worked today. If grinding out a win during difficult away games without dominating possession gets this club out of this league then I'm all for it.

I think the fact the team are still finding their form and fitness means we're not gonna be firing on all cylinders just yet. A win is a win at this stage of the season and I wouldnt expect us to start hitting form for a few weeks yet.

 

[Tinks]

A couple of wins under the belt will give the guys confidence.

Well done to all that travelled there today

 

[TrueBlue]

We took superb numbers today

 

[undercovershrimper]

is it just me or did we have to borroww black shorts and socks from accy today?

 

[Bluepen]

Just got back have to say any 3 points away from home especially against northerners makes it a fantastic day out.
Breifly Kala sat in front of defence like almost 5 at the back and my MOM by far. midfield with Kane ,Grant Hall and Leonard looked even more defensive with Dickinson solely up front initailly it worked and first attack got a pen converted very confidentally by Dickinson and for maybe 20 -25 mins could have no should have got 1-2 more but when that did not happen no more ideas
Stanley got back into it and then scored FIRST shot at goal just before half time Morris making a great first save but ball bounced in there favour to make it 1-1 .
After half time couldnt see how we would get second goal... Kane today was dissappointing and Leonard very much out of position switching with Hall at times but what do i know .
Harris came on for Leonard and we took up a better shape looking more dangerous Dickinson who had done all that could be asked of a lone striker got a flick on which Hall converted at first it looked like it had gone over but slight deflection spun it down just under bar .
Last 5-10 mins Dickinson of for Sawyer who was unlucky not to score after attacking the defence at pace but keeper took it of his toe shame it would have done his confidence no end of good
Macintyre got sent of after clash with Grant (i think) in 4 mins added time and something happened in tunnel at final whistle .Great 3 points 3rd in league.....
Think Crawley will be different kettle of fish on Tuesday, not gonna make no comment about midfield selection lets just say i was surprised !

 

[Pubey]

Just saw the goals, didn't look a pen, but good to see Dickinson off the mark. Poor goal to concede, Morris will be disappointed. Good flick on by Dickinson for a tidy finish by hall

Up the blues

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

is it just me or did we have to borroww black shorts and socks from accy today?

No, they were the shorts and socks for the away kit.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Just saw the goals, didn't look a pen, but good to see Dickinson off the mark. Poor goal to concede, Morris will be disappointed. Good flick on by Dickinson for a tidy finish by hall

Up the blues

Just watched in slow mo. Cert penalty.

 

[Angell Delight]

Just watched in slow mo. Cert penalty.

Stonewall penalty in my book.

 

[davidovolic]

Fantastic win, first time we've won our opening two league games since 1998, and I think we deserved it for the effort the players put in. We started like a house on fire and could have been 3 goals up after 10 minutes. We scored the penalty, then Leonard shot just over, Hall had a shot well saved and Ferdinand had a couple of attempts in the box both blocked, but after that the game went quiet. For the rest of the half not much happened, Accrington struggled to create any clear chances and we defended well, Sturrock's 4-5-1 formation worked well in nullifying the opposition. Then they scored out of nowhere with a rebound from a free-kick I think Morris should have done better with - he should have pushed it to the side or kept hold of it and it was an easy tap-in for Procter to score.

In the second half the game continued in the same vein, we had a few half chances but that was it, then Hall scored an excellent volley from just inside the box, right in the corner, no chance for the keeper. It came from a long goal kick by Morris which was headed down by Dickinson and then it fell nicely for Hall to finish - we didn't look like scoring to be fair and it was a genuine shock to see ourselves in the lead. Accrington mainly threatened with lots of crosses and balls into the box but Morris dealt with them well, and it wasn't until the last 10 minutes that they piled the pressure on. There was a goalmouth scramble leading to a low shot which Morris saved well, then he tipped a fierce shot onto the crossbar, and they headed over a good chance right near the end. As for their red card, I didn't see what happened exactly but I think their player was unhappy at Grant apparently exaggerating the foul on him and then there were some afters in the tunnel as the players went off.

In terms of individual performances, Hall was my man of the match, providing a great cross which lead to Leonard winning the penalty and then scoring a great goal himself. Morris played well apart from his error leading to their goal, Barker was solid as usual, Prosser again looked impressive and fair play to Dickinson for stepping up to take the penalty despite missing in midweek. Overall a hard-fought win and very satisfying to be third in the table :smile:

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

Definite pen, defender should have seen red, Leonard had a free header.

Great strike from Hall.

2 great saves from Morris towards the end.

Anyone know how many we had up there?

 

[OldBlueLady]

Anyone know how many we had up there?

From the Accy away thread Scott

:clap: Thankyou to those 270 Shrimper fans who made the long journey up :clap: No complaints about the result from us:winking: Good luck for the rest of the season..

 

[Pubey]

In realtime I didn't see much contact for the pen, but haven't seen the slo mo. Happy to be proven wrong!

 

[thorpebayshrimper]

Just got back have to say any 3 points away from home especially against northerners makes it a fantastic day out.
Breifly Kala sat in front of defence like almost 5 at the back and my MOM by far.

Re JPK, agree he did an excellent job. Gives us some real bite there, winning so many 50/50's and snubbing out numerous Accrington moves forward. Overall pleasing display but we need to sharpen up in front of the opposition goal. Crawley will be a much sterner challenge but you can see the confidence and belief beginning to build.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Just watched in slow mo. Cert penalty.

Agreed.That's what I saw too.

 

[mabasfc]

Anyone see what happed after the match had finish as the players went to the changing rooms???

 

[Maroon Blue]

Great away day, we would have lost this by the odd goal last season. Still make it difficult for ourselves by not being clinical in front of goal, should have been well clear after first 15-20 mins. Let them back in it, first shot, morris fumble, could not see much from the terrace, too many bodies in the way. Even the accy fans were singing, 1 shot, 1 goal. From their we managed to nick it from a goal kick and flick on to Hall, good finish and hang on at the end.

Morris 7 - Goal conceded probably could have done better, otherwise saved us at the end.
Clohessy 7 - Better than last Saturday, got forward well, decent crosses
Coughlan 7 - How he did this after 120 mins Tuesday, not a foot wrong, solid
Barker 7 - Again faultless after groin strain, steady at the back, no panics in backline until injury time
Prosser 7 - Really focussed, solid backline, always talking, whole back four organized
Leonard 7 - Excellent 55 mins, got forward, dangerous, tired towards end of stint
Grant 7 - Gave everything, up & down the pitch, very determined
Kalala 7.5 - Such a tidy player, cleans up in front of the back four
Ferdinand 7 - Ditto Grant, got forward more with Kalala covering
Hall 8 - MOTM - So dangerous, two footed causes panic in defences, super game
Dickinson 7.5 - Done a lot of work, won a lot of flick ons, although does have a languid style

Harris 6.5 - Helped Dickinson with the work load up top, without threatening too much
Sawyer 6.5 - Good run at end, wanted him to shoot when clean through
Gilbert 6 - Only on for a couple of minutes

There really was no weak links in the team today and I commend PS on his selection, would not have guessed it prior. An overall good team performance and we looked really dangerous early on with having a man over at the back post from the early quick breaks. Accrington though are a threadbare squad this year, having lost a lot of the play off team and with their low attendances cannot see them having the finances to compete this year. Think Tuesday will be a sterner test