Richard_Cadette
The Realist
... and what a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon it was too!
I thought the first half performance was the best 45 minutes football Southend have played for a long, long time... certainly the best this season. They were 1st to every ball, never allowed Crewe a second on the ball, were a yard quicker all over the park, and after doing all the ugly things well, it then allowed them to play some scintilating football. The move in the first half which resulted in about 3-4 minutes of uninterrupted posession with a shot being saved by the keeper was just wonderful to watch.
Both goals in the first half were very well taken, proper finishes, and barring the penalty, I cannot remember Crewe having any attack of note. They were dismal in fairness, but a lot of that has to go down to how well we played, and the effect we had on them.
I said at half time the only way we won't win this is if we get over confident, and a touch complacent - not sure we were quite as bad as that, but we were certainly sloppy in the second half, and our performance level dropped right off. Crewe, being the home team, were always going to have a 'spell' at some point, but we could have handled it better IMO. That said, despite the non existent marking at a set piece (It's almost getting funny now!!) we still created enough chances to have won by a cricket score, and the goal to seal it was an absolute gem. Superb skill and then pass by Jimmy and a lethal finish by Barney. After that, it was just a case of waiting for the whistle, Crewe were spent.
Special mentions have to go to the following...
Flavs - A lot has been said in the debate about him and Collis, and whilst this is not necessarily a deciding factot, without him today, we may well have only got a point from a game we completely dominated. 2 great saves, and given the importance of them, he knows how to deal with the pressure. A better stopper of shots in this division? I'm yet to see one i'm afraid.
Macca - Difficult to pick one person out of the whole team who was man of the match, but if pushed, I think he would have to just edge out Jimmy and Barney. His work rate was immense, his never say die attitude literally won us our second goal, and he was in a different class in midfield to anyone else out there today. Absolutely superb performance, and in my eyes, is becoming possibly the most important cog in our wheels!
Jimmy - Have never been sure of him since he signed, but today, he showed what he could do... and how!! Terrific performance up front alongside Barney today, always a threat, and his passing was both confident, and incisive... the skill and pass for our third goal was top notch, bourne from a team at a higher level such as Charlton.
Barney - 2 'goalscorers' finishes today, and on top of that, did some very impressive work outside of the box as well. No doubt for me that Tilly has unearthed that 20-25 goal a season striker we were looking for, and if we can keep him fit, he's going to be a huge asset to this club.
I could have run through the whole team, but just wanted to pick those 4 out as the stand out players today.
The turnout and noise from the fans today was also 10 out of 10. Excellent volume levels, and I was a little taken aback at the numbers who travelled today. Not sure of the official figure, but it was certainly impressive for what was nothing like a local derby.
... and just to top it off, I was on Comply or Die at 10/1 for the National!! Day's like this don't come around too often!!
RC Junior, now 4 months old, is still yet to see us lose. He is 10 games undefeated, so seeing as he is down for the remaining 5 games, don't be surprised if we don't need the play offs!!
I thought the first half performance was the best 45 minutes football Southend have played for a long, long time... certainly the best this season. They were 1st to every ball, never allowed Crewe a second on the ball, were a yard quicker all over the park, and after doing all the ugly things well, it then allowed them to play some scintilating football. The move in the first half which resulted in about 3-4 minutes of uninterrupted posession with a shot being saved by the keeper was just wonderful to watch.
Both goals in the first half were very well taken, proper finishes, and barring the penalty, I cannot remember Crewe having any attack of note. They were dismal in fairness, but a lot of that has to go down to how well we played, and the effect we had on them.
I said at half time the only way we won't win this is if we get over confident, and a touch complacent - not sure we were quite as bad as that, but we were certainly sloppy in the second half, and our performance level dropped right off. Crewe, being the home team, were always going to have a 'spell' at some point, but we could have handled it better IMO. That said, despite the non existent marking at a set piece (It's almost getting funny now!!) we still created enough chances to have won by a cricket score, and the goal to seal it was an absolute gem. Superb skill and then pass by Jimmy and a lethal finish by Barney. After that, it was just a case of waiting for the whistle, Crewe were spent.
Special mentions have to go to the following...
Flavs - A lot has been said in the debate about him and Collis, and whilst this is not necessarily a deciding factot, without him today, we may well have only got a point from a game we completely dominated. 2 great saves, and given the importance of them, he knows how to deal with the pressure. A better stopper of shots in this division? I'm yet to see one i'm afraid.
Macca - Difficult to pick one person out of the whole team who was man of the match, but if pushed, I think he would have to just edge out Jimmy and Barney. His work rate was immense, his never say die attitude literally won us our second goal, and he was in a different class in midfield to anyone else out there today. Absolutely superb performance, and in my eyes, is becoming possibly the most important cog in our wheels!
Jimmy - Have never been sure of him since he signed, but today, he showed what he could do... and how!! Terrific performance up front alongside Barney today, always a threat, and his passing was both confident, and incisive... the skill and pass for our third goal was top notch, bourne from a team at a higher level such as Charlton.
Barney - 2 'goalscorers' finishes today, and on top of that, did some very impressive work outside of the box as well. No doubt for me that Tilly has unearthed that 20-25 goal a season striker we were looking for, and if we can keep him fit, he's going to be a huge asset to this club.
I could have run through the whole team, but just wanted to pick those 4 out as the stand out players today.
The turnout and noise from the fans today was also 10 out of 10. Excellent volume levels, and I was a little taken aback at the numbers who travelled today. Not sure of the official figure, but it was certainly impressive for what was nothing like a local derby.
... and just to top it off, I was on Comply or Die at 10/1 for the National!! Day's like this don't come around too often!!
RC Junior, now 4 months old, is still yet to see us lose. He is 10 games undefeated, so seeing as he is down for the remaining 5 games, don't be surprised if we don't need the play offs!!
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