Post-Match Thread and Ratings Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Southend United

[Cricko]

It sounded like we deserved a point at least today and all the players gave 100%. SCP seemed to set the team up well throughout the game.

We had them on the rack for most of the second half, but a 1-0 loss is no bad thing against the league leaders.

A few months back we would of got stuffed.

 

[Ex-Member1]

Brave effort, unlucky Blues. Augers well for next season. COYBB

 

[Dubai]

Set up to lose 1-0.

Don’t think we ever really looked like scoring.

If your are gonna play 2 wingers and one forward...that forward needs to be able to hold up ball (Fortune) win a header (lapado) or be a little bit quick (Robinson)...**** choice picking Cox.

 

[Hawkwell Blue]

A few months back we would of got stuffed.

Or even last Friday!

 

[Shrimpergonzo]

If your are gonna play 2 wingers and one forward...that forward needs to be able ...... win a header (lapado) .......

Have you seen Ladapo play? He wouldn't win a header against Jack Payne!

 

[AndyT]

Their message board, for anyone interested :-

https://www.brfcs.com/mb/index.php?/forums/forum/4-football-messageboard/

In fairness, I think they felt they dodged a bullet today.

 

[RHB]

We started the first half playing the quick one touch passing that brings a smile to your face when they get it right, they nearly did this time but not quite. Nevertheless Blackburn were left chasing shadows at times and if you were a neutral you may wonder who was top of the league and who was 11th. Packing the midfield with Timlin, Yearwood and Mantom definitely made us competitive but having Coxy as the lone front man was always going to be tricky, and so it proved. He offered up his normal high work rate and at times he reminded me of a very angry wasp the way he buzzed around. McLaughlin started off as he finished against the Gills, weaving between defenders but as the half went on he faded a bit.
There were two moments in that half which had me off my seat, the first was a bursting run from Demi who surged towards goal and let fly, just a bit high. The second was a mouth watering stop from Oxley. I thought it had goal written all over it, as, I suspect, did the Blackburn crowd. Oxley had other ideas and dived low to his left and blocked the shot. Half time and no goals but Southend gave every bit as good as they got.

The second half was more of a defensive exercise as Blackburn started the half at pace and went for us, but we held firm until Danny Graham scored for them on the 59th minute. Followers of Southend would not have been surprised in we had folded at that point , but if anything it was 'get stuck in lads' and Blackburn just didn't have things their own way at all. I had hoped that Kightly would rip them a new one today but he tried just a little bit too hard and held the ball just a little bit too long on too many occasions. Robinson came on for Yearwood in an attempt to find an equaliser and eventually Kightly and McLaughlin were subbed in the 82nd minute replaced by Fortune and Harrison. You really couldn't say that Chris Powell didn't try everything to get back into this game and the team almost laid siege to the Blackburn goal with several very close goal mouth scrapes, but the equaliser just didn't happen. We deserved a point and I was proud of our performance. Well played the team and Mr Powell. There were too many good performances today for the MoM to be obvious so I will refrain.

 

[Evening Echo]

Match report: Blackburn Rovers 1, Southend United 0

DANNY Graham’s second half header saw Southend United slip to a 1-0 defeat at table-topping Blackburn Rovers this afternoon.

More...

 

[Another Surrey Shrimper]

9am train from Euston to Manchester Piccadilly. Couple of Spurs fans going to Stoke for a 3pm kick off are on the beers at 9am, wonder how much of the game they will be aware of.


Homelessness in Manchester is shocking. I thought that a few weeks ago for the postponed Oldham match but strikes me instantly again. Raining. Few people wear waterproofs, it's like if they don't acknowledge it's raining then it doesn't exist.


I made a trip to the legendary Eastern Bloc Records. It's a cafe. Well, most of it is, just a tiny loft space of a shop now. The guy in there is friendly but it doesn't feel like a pilgrimage.


Half n half scarves on sale for the Manchester derby. It's a bit like when Bob Marley got the two prominent Jamaican politicians to link hands on stage - yeah?


Train to Bolton goes past the Hacienda apartments. I wonder if the residents make regular trips to the Eastern Bloc cafe.


At Bolton waiting for the Blackburn train (end of the line is Clitheroe - that feels quite exotic) someone let's off fireworks for a full 5 mins. At 1 in the afternoon. Sounds like it's coming from the Pets At Home megastore car park. Don't think they sell actual pets though so probs no harm done. Blackburn train is one of those trains that is more like a bus. Goes through somewhere called Hall-i'-th'-Wood. That's actually how it is written!


Seen the word raffle written down and ponder on how much better phonically‪ a falafel raffle is to a meat raffle.‬


‪Strange big green circular sculpture on the side of the big church (cathedral?) in Blackburn.‬


‪30 min walk to the ground - Blackburn is like Romford with canals.‬


‪The ground is big but nothing special. 3 big stands and one that is presumably a lot older and is just one tier. That makes it much less impressive and imposing.‬


‪Minute applause for Ray Wilkins.‬


‪Great acoustics in the away end and the Shrimpers are noisy. Home fans very quiet other than when they wanted but didn't get a penalty.‬


‪That's a big build up to....not very much at all. For the majority of the first half both teams use similar tactics - long ball to no one and short ball to no one.‬


‪Blackburn do not look like a team at the top of the league and we don't raise our game to exploit that.‬


‪They seem to have a bit more possession but do very little with it. If anything we look more likely (but not very likely) to score.‬


‪After 25 mins Blackburn had managed 2 decent crosses - one McLaughlin dealt with, the other slightly over hit and a foul was given against the forward anyway.‬


‪Great solo effort from Demetriou after 35 mins that went just over.‬


‪Payne looked like a luxury player who was not very luxurious.‬


‪A fright right at the end of the first half came to nothing partly due to Oxley reading the danger well and partly due to their strikers' incompetence.‬


‪Pick of the bunch for me was McLaughlin both defensively and in attack.‬


‪Second half. They came out with more of a sense of urgency and we replied with a sense of panic. I don't know why as they still lacked quality, but carved out a couple of chances that Oxley dealt with calmly.‬


‪17 mins into the second and what I think was probably a badly hit cross (could have been a well hit shot to be fair) hit the post and went in. 1-0 and there is some noise from the sparsely filled home stands.‬


‪Robinson on for Yearwood and we look more attacking straight away. Not long after Fortune is on too - one forward becomes three.Then it gets interesting and starts to feel like a cup final as we throw the kitchen sink at them and both sets of fans mirror the tension.‬


‪88 minutes and our best move as it's passed around the right wing looking for an opening and eventually Robinson playing in Cox who was bundled off the ball and should have had a penalty but shouldn't have stopped to wait for a penalty.‬


‪92 minutes and various chances as the ball pings around the area and could, must, doesn't hit the back of the net.‬


‪Blackburn were poor. Why did we lose? Because we didn't start with the team who scored 4 first half goals earlier in the week and instead had one lone striker. We were on fire for the last ten minutes but we played the wrong tactics for 80 minutes.‬


‪On the way out some tools start fighting. I see one kid get bundled to the ground and arrested. Then after my 30 minute walk to the train station I saw the meat wagon roll up and the kid gets let out. Stick him in a cell to learn his lesson don't just give him a lift to the station.‬

 

[Another Surrey Shrimper]

Anyone know the away attendance?

 

[Member]

9am train from Euston to Manchester Piccadilly. Couple of Spurs fans going to Stoke for a 3pm kick off are on the beers at 9am, wonder how much of the game they will be aware of.


Homelessness in Manchester is shocking. I thought that a few weeks ago for the postponed Oldham match but strikes me instantly again. Raining. Few people wear waterproofs, it's like if they don't acknowledge it's raining then it doesn't exist.


I made a trip to the legendary Eastern Bloc Records. It's a cafe. Well, most of it is, just a tiny loft space of a shop now. The guy in there is friendly but it doesn't feel like a pilgrimage.


Half n half scarves on sale for the Manchester derby. It's a bit like when Bob Marley got the two prominent Jamaican politicians to link hands on stage - yeah?


Train to Bolton goes past the Hacienda apartments. I wonder if the residents make regular trips to the Eastern Bloc cafe.


At Bolton waiting for the Blackburn train (end of the line is Clitheroe - that feels quite exotic) someone let's off fireworks for a full 5 mins. At 1 in the afternoon. Sounds like it's coming from the Pets At Home megastore car park. Don't think they sell actual pets though so probs no harm done. Blackburn train is one of those trains that is more like a bus. Goes through somewhere called Hall-i'-th'-Wood. That's actually how it is written!


Seen the word raffle written down and ponder on how much better phonically‪ a falafel raffle is to a meat raffle.‬


‪Strange big green circular sculpture on the side of the big church (cathedral?) in Blackburn.‬


‪30 min walk to the ground - Blackburn is like Romford with canals.‬


‪The ground is big but nothing special. 3 big stands and one that is presumably a lot older and is just one tier. That makes it much less impressive and imposing.‬


‪Minute applause for Ray Wilkins.‬


‪Great acoustics in the away end and the Shrimpers are noisy. Home fans very quiet other than when they wanted but didn't get a penalty.‬


‪That's a big build up to....not very much at all. For the majority of the first half both teams use similar tactics - long ball to no one and short ball to no one.‬


‪Blackburn do not look like a team at the top of the league and we don't raise our game to exploit that.‬


‪They seem to have a bit more possession but do very little with it. If anything we look more likely (but not very likely) to score.‬


‪After 25 mins Blackburn had managed 2 decent crosses - one McLaughlin dealt with, the other slightly over hit and a foul was given against the forward anyway.‬


‪Great solo effort from Demetriou after 35 mins that went just over.‬


‪Payne looked like a luxury player who was not very luxurious.‬


‪A fright right at the end of the first half came to nothing partly due to Oxley reading the danger well and partly due to their strikers' incompetence.‬


‪Pick of the bunch for me was McLaughlin both defensively and in attack.‬


‪Second half. They came out with more of a sense of urgency and we replied with a sense of panic. I don't know why as they still lacked quality, but carved out a couple of chances that Oxley dealt with calmly.‬


‪17 mins into the second and what I think was probably a badly hit cross (could have been a well hit shot to be fair) hit the post and went in. 1-0 and there is some noise from the sparsely filled home stands.‬


‪Robinson on for Yearwood and we look more attacking straight away. Not long after Fortune is on too - one forward becomes three.Then it gets interesting and starts to feel like a cup final as we throw the kitchen sink at them and both sets of fans mirror the tension.‬


‪88 minutes and our best move as it's passed around the right wing looking for an opening and eventually Robinson playing in Cox who was bundled off the ball and should have had a penalty but shouldn't have stopped to wait for a penalty.‬


‪92 minutes and various chances as the ball pings around the area and could, must, doesn't hit the back of the net.‬


‪Blackburn were poor. Why did we lose? Because we didn't start with the team who scored 4 first half goals earlier in the week and instead had one lone striker. We were on fire for the last ten minutes but we played the wrong tactics for 80 minutes.‬


‪On the way out some tools start fighting. I see one kid get bundled to the ground and arrested. Then after my 30 minute walk to the train station I saw the meat wagon roll up and the kid gets let out. Stick him in a cell to learn his lesson don't just give him a lift to the station.‬

Completely agree with all this. It was my son's first game and my 40th ground so was a nice trip out and relatively mild weather fortunately. I thought the ground was impressive but the crowd was very quiet. First half was poor by both teams, second half both teams stepped up a bit and their goal was coming a bit. Frustrating we couldn't bundle something in at the end and but oh well. Blackburn fans on the way out seemed to think they were pretty fortunate to win, and idiots fighting meant some conversations with my son in the car - he thinks they're all going to jail so probably won't let him know they got a free lift to the train station. Apologies to the people sat near us who witnessed him down a Fruit Shoot and then have to get up and down 3 times as he required trips to the loo.

Also saw Oxley walking past the car as we queued to leave, he had an ice pack on his hand, hopefully precautionary,

 

[AndyT]

Anyone know the away attendance?

674, I believe.

 

[Another Surrey Shrimper]

674, I believe.

yeah, ta, just seen on the club's twitter:

This afternoon's attendance is 13,186, 674 of which have come from Southend. Thank you #Blues fans for your tremendous support!

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Well, I beg to differ! What game were some of you watching?

The first game of the season against Blackburn was a cracker ........... and this was good as well. True - not much in terms of goal mouth action but still a highly competitive, combative and entertaining game. In fact the best away game I've been to this season despite the result.

Good performances all round against a team top of the table and playing at home - I think people are underestimating quite how hard and well the team worked. Not only did we not get a stuffing (as witnessed at Rotherham, Wigan and Doncaster for example) but almost everybody agrees we deserved at least a draw.

And although the set up was theoretically 4-5-1 it was more usual that one central midfielder (mainly Tims) was playing forward of his colleagues ......... so not so negative at all. And we had the best chance of the game (Demi's ) in the 1st half and the Blackburn goal lived a charmed life in injury time. A possible penalty (I wouldn't have given it) and the ball pinging around the box ........... no wonder the Blackburn fans were whistling for the referee to bring the game to an end as soon as possible.

And I think the fact that 674 people made more noise than 12,500 Blackburn supporters is worthy of note ..... you don't keep up that sort of support when your team is playing poorly. :smile:

I'm off to suck a throat lozenge ........bye.

 

[HertfordshireBlue]

First half 4-5-1, why?

 

[Barling Magna]

First half 4-5-1, why?

SCP playing safe. He was wary of Blackburn but once they lost their main threat when Dack was injured he could (should?) have changed tactics.

 

[rigsby]

First half 4-5-1, why?

So that we are not 2 or 3 down by half time.

 

[Fitz]

Set up to lose 1-0.

Don’t think we ever really looked like scoring.

If your are gonna play 2 wingers and one forward...that forward needs to be able to hold up ball (Fortune) win a header (lapado) or be a little bit quick (Robinson)...**** choice picking Cox.

Win a header Lapado, you are having a laugh, the guy can't time a jump to save his life!

 

[shrimperjon]

Just home after another long trip up north

desperately unlucky defeat against a well organised but not great Blackburn side. Thought we set up a bit defensively but the three in the middle Dru, Timo and Mantom were excellent. Blackburn created very little and the best chance of the first half fell to Demi who failed to hit the target when clean through. Turner excellant again and white handled the awkward Graham well.

Second half Blackburn started the better and put us under pressure without really troubling Oxley, and a lapse in concentration ultimately cost us the game as Graham nodded in at the back post. SCP made positive changes and Harrison, Theo and MAF making a huge difference and all of a sudden we took control of the game. How we didn't equalise I will never know, how we never got a penalty I will never know, Cox blatantly pushed shoved, tripped you name it, but nothing given.

Overall a a really good day and although the result was not what we wanted, the team gave us everything and we should be proud of them. The fans all 674 of us were brilliant, none stop singing and backing. The reaction at the end towards the players summed up what we thought of their performance. My only criticism was maybe playing Cox up top on his own was not the best option. Player wise, Turner and white played well, Macca never stopped trying, the middle three worked their socks off with Mantom in particular excellent, would love to sign him in the summer. Kightly was a bit off colour but again worked hard. Theo played well and caused them a lot of problems when he came on

so a good day, disappointing result, but the boys did the club proud. Onto oxford next week!

 

[Freedom for Tooting]

SCP playing safe. He was wary of Blackburn but once they lost their main threat when Dack was injured he could (should?) have changed tactics.

PowelloutNOW#

(I actually have no idea what # means)

As someone I was speaking to said Powell is known for negative and boring football. Replace him now with George Cowley. He did well with CI5 and may even be able to sign Bodie and Doyle. And Collins and Shaw. No way Powell will get that sort of quality, even if he was Jesus in the 1970s. Franco Zefferilli was a good artistic director and centre back but Robert Powell was never Seria A quality.
SORT IT OUR RON.