mcshrimper
Guest
Match report from yesterday’s game.
Collis – seemed very confident and was communicating well with the back four but had no chance with the goal which went in off the post from Guy’s excellent strike. Collis’ handling was good throughout as was his distribution.
Collis pulled off a fantastic reflex save to deny Hughes and also had to be on his toes to collect an under-hit back pass from Sodje with Opoka bearing down on him – luckily the resulting free-kick was hit high and wide.
From what I saw, Collis will be a genuine challenge for Flavs this season, no doubt.
Wilson – was generally comfortable throughout the game and won most of his headers and a fair few tackles. Didn’t really notice too much of Che but he didn’t appear to do much wrong.
Sodje – it was lovely to see Efe back after his injury but it wasn’t a vintage performance. He made some useful tackles and his usual trademark clearing headers however made two mistakes which could have easily cost goals. The first was when he was robbed trying to shepherd the ball out to touch, which resulted in Lawson (of all people!) making a fantastic last ditch save when Guy (I think) was one-on-one with Collis. The second was his poor back pass as mentioned above.
There were a few other ‘dodgy moments’ involving Efe but also some excellent covering tackles, which would indicate that psychologically Efe is over his injury.
To be fair and to put this performance into perspective he hasn’t played in ages and was playing with Clark and Collis for the first time. IMO Efe will need a few weeks to get himself fit and ready for Championship football.
Clarke – a decent performance by our new signing. Communicated well with the team and showed good positioning. Clarke often opted to hit long balls from the back (the Southend style of old) to try and hit the front two, which rarely paid off. Maybe shorter passing would have kept possession and given the team a chance to build from the back.
During the game, Clarke managed to annoy Hughes and Wilson (who was a dirty bugger for most of the game) and a few others which culminated in a bit of ‘hand-bags’ on the touch line (in front of the dug-out). Clarke was guiding a ball out under pressure from a couple of Col Ewe players when Hughes come flying through taking player, ball and bits of dugout. Luckily Clarke was not injured and jumped up to confront Hughes. Inevitably, most of the players and coaching staff become involved with a bit of pushing and pointing etc. It only lasted a couple of minutes and resulted in the ref, Mr G Ward having a chat with Clarke/Hughes.
Arguably, this incident, and a few other dodgy tackles on Clarke (one of which resulted in a booking) was due to his effectiveness (positioning, skill, strength etc.).
Clarke made some excellent tackles and clearing headers which were made easier by his positioning and pace. Clark and Sodje managed to contain the lump that is Iwelumo for most of the game.
For me Clark certainly done enough to warrant his inclusion in the first team - Prior must be on borrowed time.
Hunt – similar to Che really. Done his job well defensively and got forward to support the attack when given the opportunity. A solid right back, but to be honest probably won’t get much of a look-in with the first team as Francis is a more skilful player who is better at getting forward.
Lawson – played very well and showed some good strength on the ball. Lawson has really developed from last season. He linked up well with Cowley and Smith and also Hooper.
Lawson was involved in some nice intricate passing, particularly during the first half and also made a fantastic saving tackle to prevent a likely goal. He also managed a decent shot which flew just wide of the target.
A useful player to have as a back-up striker/winger, but it will probably take another season before he is ready to play regularly in the first team.
Smith – in all honesty I had forgotten how skilful and industrious Jay is on the ball. I had also forgotten his fantastic vision with his longer passing which enabled him to find Hooper and Paynter on a number of occasions.
It’s nice to have a player like Jay in the team, and it would be nice if he got more first team action. But, as mentioned on more than one occasion at the minute we need a strong, box-to-box player who can break up play and gain possession. Whilst Jay was able to put the foot in and win the ball, which he was able to do, this part of his game doesn’t come naturally to him.
Cowley – a nice, tidy little player who seemed to form a decent partnership with Smith in the centre mid position. Cowley is the type of player that nips around the park, picking pockets, and links the play up well. Another young player with good technique. On the downside, he is very small (shorter than Smith I think), and physically underdeveloped. On occasions he was knocked off the ball too easily. Cowley has good short range passing however did not appear able to make an incisive pass forward, instead opting for a sideward pass.
A good little player who could be one for the future if he can beef up a bit and improve his strength.
Cole – made a few good runs in the first half, utilising his pace to good effect. Cole could have scored a cracking goal after some good interplay by Cowley and Smith set him free down the left. After beating his defender, the ball bounced up onto Cole’s right foot and the shot flew over the crossbar.
Went down with the customary ankle injury during the second half but after a bit of treatment was fine.
I would continue to start with Gower, but would be tempted to bring Cole on midway through the second half to test tired legs.
Paynter – very strong and made some excellent runs, pulling defenders with him and making space, which unfortunately wasn’t used to good effect. Paynter is the sort of player who will chase lost causes and put himself about a bit. Managed to put a decent cross in from the right which warranted a goal.
Paynter didn’t really have many shots on goal (I’m not sure if he had any to be honest) but I get the impression that his game is more focused on bringing others into play. Paynter held the ball up well and proved to be a pain in the backside for both centre backs.
I don’t doubt that Paynter will be a good signing, but he may possibly need to be content with coming off the bench for the first part of this season. I don’t feel that Paynter will ever be a prolific striker due to his style of play, and I feel he will need time and be given patience by fans.
Hooper – in the first few minutes Hooper had a great chance to open the scoring. He latched onto a decent pass from Smith and run some 30 yards, showing great strength (for an 18 year old) and pace – his shot brought a decent save from the Ewes keeper, Gerkin.
Throughout the game Hooper looked very comfortable and always wanted the ball. As Tilly has said Hooper knows where the goal is and this was clearly evident on yesterday’s performance.
Hooper’s movement and work-rate was also good to watch and like Paynter managed to pull defenders out of position.
It would be interesting to see how Hooper would cope with Championship football but IMO, this season would be too soon.
At 18 I don’t see any good reason why Hooper can’t be as good as Freddy.
Chioma – Chioma came on in the second half and played on the left wing. He played OK and seemed to have good pace. Chioma showed that he also had some decent close control which he used to make some space for himself in the opposition box, however his shot was wide of the target. In fairness he was perhaps trying to impress too much and opted on a few occasions to go on mazy runs, taking on too many players which often resulted in losing possession. Chioma did manage to get one or two crosses in of reasonable quality.
Maybe worth another look.
Overall the team played very well, particularly in the first half and was fuelled by the industry of Smith and Cowley in centre mid producing some nice football, and linking up very well with other players. I wouldn’t say the result was a fair reflection of the game – maybe a draw would have been.
Positives to draw from this game would be the performances of Collis, Smith, Lawson and Hooper. Another would be Sodje’s appearance – hopefully he can quickly get himself fit and get rid of the rustiness.
All in all a good match, which was made better by free admission.
Collis – seemed very confident and was communicating well with the back four but had no chance with the goal which went in off the post from Guy’s excellent strike. Collis’ handling was good throughout as was his distribution.
Collis pulled off a fantastic reflex save to deny Hughes and also had to be on his toes to collect an under-hit back pass from Sodje with Opoka bearing down on him – luckily the resulting free-kick was hit high and wide.
From what I saw, Collis will be a genuine challenge for Flavs this season, no doubt.
Wilson – was generally comfortable throughout the game and won most of his headers and a fair few tackles. Didn’t really notice too much of Che but he didn’t appear to do much wrong.
Sodje – it was lovely to see Efe back after his injury but it wasn’t a vintage performance. He made some useful tackles and his usual trademark clearing headers however made two mistakes which could have easily cost goals. The first was when he was robbed trying to shepherd the ball out to touch, which resulted in Lawson (of all people!) making a fantastic last ditch save when Guy (I think) was one-on-one with Collis. The second was his poor back pass as mentioned above.
There were a few other ‘dodgy moments’ involving Efe but also some excellent covering tackles, which would indicate that psychologically Efe is over his injury.
To be fair and to put this performance into perspective he hasn’t played in ages and was playing with Clark and Collis for the first time. IMO Efe will need a few weeks to get himself fit and ready for Championship football.
Clarke – a decent performance by our new signing. Communicated well with the team and showed good positioning. Clarke often opted to hit long balls from the back (the Southend style of old) to try and hit the front two, which rarely paid off. Maybe shorter passing would have kept possession and given the team a chance to build from the back.
During the game, Clarke managed to annoy Hughes and Wilson (who was a dirty bugger for most of the game) and a few others which culminated in a bit of ‘hand-bags’ on the touch line (in front of the dug-out). Clarke was guiding a ball out under pressure from a couple of Col Ewe players when Hughes come flying through taking player, ball and bits of dugout. Luckily Clarke was not injured and jumped up to confront Hughes. Inevitably, most of the players and coaching staff become involved with a bit of pushing and pointing etc. It only lasted a couple of minutes and resulted in the ref, Mr G Ward having a chat with Clarke/Hughes.
Arguably, this incident, and a few other dodgy tackles on Clarke (one of which resulted in a booking) was due to his effectiveness (positioning, skill, strength etc.).
Clarke made some excellent tackles and clearing headers which were made easier by his positioning and pace. Clark and Sodje managed to contain the lump that is Iwelumo for most of the game.
For me Clark certainly done enough to warrant his inclusion in the first team - Prior must be on borrowed time.
Hunt – similar to Che really. Done his job well defensively and got forward to support the attack when given the opportunity. A solid right back, but to be honest probably won’t get much of a look-in with the first team as Francis is a more skilful player who is better at getting forward.
Lawson – played very well and showed some good strength on the ball. Lawson has really developed from last season. He linked up well with Cowley and Smith and also Hooper.
Lawson was involved in some nice intricate passing, particularly during the first half and also made a fantastic saving tackle to prevent a likely goal. He also managed a decent shot which flew just wide of the target.
A useful player to have as a back-up striker/winger, but it will probably take another season before he is ready to play regularly in the first team.
Smith – in all honesty I had forgotten how skilful and industrious Jay is on the ball. I had also forgotten his fantastic vision with his longer passing which enabled him to find Hooper and Paynter on a number of occasions.
It’s nice to have a player like Jay in the team, and it would be nice if he got more first team action. But, as mentioned on more than one occasion at the minute we need a strong, box-to-box player who can break up play and gain possession. Whilst Jay was able to put the foot in and win the ball, which he was able to do, this part of his game doesn’t come naturally to him.
Cowley – a nice, tidy little player who seemed to form a decent partnership with Smith in the centre mid position. Cowley is the type of player that nips around the park, picking pockets, and links the play up well. Another young player with good technique. On the downside, he is very small (shorter than Smith I think), and physically underdeveloped. On occasions he was knocked off the ball too easily. Cowley has good short range passing however did not appear able to make an incisive pass forward, instead opting for a sideward pass.
A good little player who could be one for the future if he can beef up a bit and improve his strength.
Cole – made a few good runs in the first half, utilising his pace to good effect. Cole could have scored a cracking goal after some good interplay by Cowley and Smith set him free down the left. After beating his defender, the ball bounced up onto Cole’s right foot and the shot flew over the crossbar.
Went down with the customary ankle injury during the second half but after a bit of treatment was fine.
I would continue to start with Gower, but would be tempted to bring Cole on midway through the second half to test tired legs.
Paynter – very strong and made some excellent runs, pulling defenders with him and making space, which unfortunately wasn’t used to good effect. Paynter is the sort of player who will chase lost causes and put himself about a bit. Managed to put a decent cross in from the right which warranted a goal.
Paynter didn’t really have many shots on goal (I’m not sure if he had any to be honest) but I get the impression that his game is more focused on bringing others into play. Paynter held the ball up well and proved to be a pain in the backside for both centre backs.
I don’t doubt that Paynter will be a good signing, but he may possibly need to be content with coming off the bench for the first part of this season. I don’t feel that Paynter will ever be a prolific striker due to his style of play, and I feel he will need time and be given patience by fans.
Hooper – in the first few minutes Hooper had a great chance to open the scoring. He latched onto a decent pass from Smith and run some 30 yards, showing great strength (for an 18 year old) and pace – his shot brought a decent save from the Ewes keeper, Gerkin.
Throughout the game Hooper looked very comfortable and always wanted the ball. As Tilly has said Hooper knows where the goal is and this was clearly evident on yesterday’s performance.
Hooper’s movement and work-rate was also good to watch and like Paynter managed to pull defenders out of position.
It would be interesting to see how Hooper would cope with Championship football but IMO, this season would be too soon.
At 18 I don’t see any good reason why Hooper can’t be as good as Freddy.
Chioma – Chioma came on in the second half and played on the left wing. He played OK and seemed to have good pace. Chioma showed that he also had some decent close control which he used to make some space for himself in the opposition box, however his shot was wide of the target. In fairness he was perhaps trying to impress too much and opted on a few occasions to go on mazy runs, taking on too many players which often resulted in losing possession. Chioma did manage to get one or two crosses in of reasonable quality.
Maybe worth another look.
Overall the team played very well, particularly in the first half and was fuelled by the industry of Smith and Cowley in centre mid producing some nice football, and linking up very well with other players. I wouldn’t say the result was a fair reflection of the game – maybe a draw would have been.
Positives to draw from this game would be the performances of Collis, Smith, Lawson and Hooper. Another would be Sodje’s appearance – hopefully he can quickly get himself fit and get rid of the rustiness.
All in all a good match, which was made better by free admission.
