Post-Match Thread and Ratings Macclesfield Town 0, Southend United 2

[Evening Echo]

SOUTHEND United moved back to the top of the League Two table with a 2-0 triumph at Macclesfield Town this afternoon.

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[Pubey]

Just got in!

A car crash on the Peaks meant I got there 5 mins before kick off. It was shockingly my first game of the season, and it was great to see some of the new players and see how the squad have transformed since last season. It was a good and professional performance against a poor Macclesfield team. My prediction that we would win came through, and I thought from start to finish we were the better team, and perhaps should have been a bit more ruthless in the final third.

Ratings:

Daniels 7 - A very decent loanee. He commanded his box well and one reflex save (when the ball was perhaps going wide) was excellent. Very vocal and deserved the clean sheet.

Clohessy 6 - Typical Clohessy performance, tidy at the back and supporting well going forward

Barker 6 - Was pretty dominant in the air although their striker Boden caused him a few nervy moments

Phillips 6 - A quiet game for him, and was perhaps a little bit sluggish when the ball was in and around the box

Gilbert 6 - Improved from his performances I saw last season, he worked well going forward and was typically strong in defence

Ferdinand 6 - I thought he was very quiet in the first half, and the game bypassed him. In the second he got on the ball more, but I still felt that he didn't really influence the game much. Was in the right place at the right time for his goal.

Timlin mk II - 8 MOTM - I thought he was poor last season, but I can see why people have been raving about him this year. He bossed the midfield, winning tackles and interceptions and passed the ball around intelligently. Had a few half chances to score. Fingers crossed he continues to play well and we can keep hold of him if so, he showed real quality.

Kalala - 6 - He did a job, he's athletic and disciplined, however he didn't show much quality on the ball other than making 5 yard passes to Timlin. Maybe that's all Sturrock wants from him, and he obviously gives a platform to the midfield.

Mohsni - 7 - A typical Mohsni performance, all action and worked hard. Kept a lid on things until late in the 2nd half where he started to appear a little frustrated. Had a good volley that went a little wide, as well as a bicycle kick that was saved (I think). Was subbed off and went down the tunnel, maybe due to a knock he took.

Hall - 7 - Showed real quality on the ball, and his goal was an excellent finish. Sometimes I felt he was too eager to cross the ball when Dickinson wasn't offering a run (not necessarily his fault). But overall he was excellent.

Dickinson - 7 - Worked really hard and held the ball up well. Slower than I thought he'd be, but it was a tidy performance and set up Ryan Leonard for a shot at the end with a neat flick.

Sub:
Leonard - N/A - not much time on the pitch, but gave a good shout to Dickinson who flicked the ball to him, only for him to screw the shot narrowly wide.


Ref - wasn't popular with the home fans, but on the whole I thought he was ok.

WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!!:smile::smile::smile::smile::smile:

 

[Mr Plow]

To be fair to Macc they had quite a few attacking first teamers out today but I still feel we would've picked up the points regardless. Any idea how many Southend fans made the journey?

 

[Clarky_Blues]

I suspect 250-300 of us in attendance.

Comfortable win with Macc rarely threatening and we hardly got out of second gear. In fact they were poor and simply tried to slow us down. Hall had 2 markers on him most of the time. Timlin best player on pitch. Loved it when Vega the keeper was pushing and shoving Ferdinand before the corner came in and then it fell to Kane who smashed it home and just stood looking at the keeper!

Some great Halloween fancy dress outfits. Whoever it was with the ball and chain who just screamed at the Macc players had us in stitches. Great effort by all.

Say we are top of the league!

 

[McNasty]

Radio said about 200 Southend fans there today.

 

[Pubey]

I suspect there were 250-300 of us in attendance.

I'd go with that, about 250.

 

[ryansm05]

Daniels - 7

Clohessy - 6

Barker - 7

Phillips - 6

Gilbert - 6

Ferdinand - 6.5

Timlin - 8

Kalala - 6

Mohsni - 7

Hall - 8.5 MOM

Dickinson - 7

Very professional performance, Hall and Timlin very impressive as per!

 

[rlb999]

We were never really threatened by a Macclesfield side that never got going, and as such we did a very professional job today. I was advocating giving Bentley game time earlier this week, but to be fair Daniels looks a very sensible acquisition. Apart from that I though Ferdinand played much better than I've seen him do so far this season, and Dickinson deserves a mention for doing loads of work up front - I'd take him over a player like Alex Revell any day. As with pretty much every other team we've played, they couldn't cope with Hall or Mohsni for different reasons. Everyone else did their bit.

 

[Beefy]

Just got in!

A car crash on the Peaks meant I got there 5 mins before kick off. It was shockingly my first game of the season,

You beat me, buddy. Next Saturday will be my first game.

From reading this it sounds like Mohsni had a good game:

http://fansonline.net/macclesfieldtown/mb/view.php?id=71991

"We were awful today and despite having alot of injuries under performed in all areas, the southend No6 Mohsni could have beaten our lads on his own."

"today we came up against a very good side (their no.6 was immense)"

 

[Clarky_Blues]

A Macc fan on the way out said to us good luck in League One you are a very good side!

 

[Smiffy]

Mohnsi out for the Oxford game which is a shame.

 

[sufcwatcha1]

i thought that zombie was brilliant today arrrrghhhhhhh:dim:

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

The last nine league games:-

W 8 D 1 L 0 F 23 A 3

just enjoy!

 

[RobM]

..yet Man City get the publicity for a similar record!

 

[jtsouthend]

Good professional performance today without really working up too much of a sweat. Windy conditions didn't help their hoofball game but when we had it on the deck we looked good. Hall was all energy and tricks and took his goal well. Would have liked to have seen Leonard today as we had so many throw ins in dangerous positions...away from home especially it get's the ball in box so often that chances do come...saying that Mohsni played very well.Their keep really struggled with goal kicks and we were able to keep them hemmed in their half. Good support again from the fans...weathers changing now so must get the gloves out.Should be another tough game next week against Oxford, win that and things are really looking good.

 

[southendkid]

Expected Macclesfield to give us more trouble than they did, I thought by his standards Hall made the wrong choice a lot and didn't have his best game today (although by league 2 standard that still makes him brilliant,) Mohsni seems to have calmed down a lot, and should keep his place easily based on that performance. I hope we can somehow sign Timlin in January, easily MotM, never stops running and playing intelligent football. Daniels didn't have much to do, his kicking looks a bit shaky, but he showed good reflexes and made a good save near the end. Oxford will be a tougher test but it's hard to not feel optimistic after returning to the top of the league :happy:

 

[Lord Football]

Good solid performance today. Fair enough, Macclesfield had 4 or 5 out for various reasons, but thats not something that will bother us. Just look at the strength of our bench. Sturrock has the ability to rest players, rotate players without diminishing the standard of the team. And he can do that all over the park. I don't recall such a strong squad. There are no weak links either in the team he puts out or those he can replace with.

The game itself was fairly horrid at times, not helped by very gusty conditions; but we were head and shoulders above a side with a fantastic home record. At no time did anything but 3 points for us look to be the final outcome. Macclesfield rarely threatened, we dominated midfield completely, won every 50/50 and took two chances, but could have easily had a couple more. Once again a comfortable without really having to go through the gears.

A really good day out, and for those wondering who the zombie was, it was Andy Ward who was last seen hobbling to the Spread complete with the ball and chain.

 

[Hazey]

We really controlled the game today, we've improved so much since our last visit there. The zombie was hilarious!

 

[Lincoln Shrimp]

My first match of the season too. It was great to see how every one of the players contributed to this victory. Special mention to Liam Dickinson, who for me is an integral part of our side and how we play. He immediately chases down the channels to pick up the initial long ball from the back, and allows us to build from there. He has great feet for a big man and worked extremely hard for the team. Thought Kalala protected the back four superbly. He then passed it simply to either Timlin or Ferdinand to set up our next attack. Indeed I felt Ferdinand looked a lot stronger physically than when I saw him at Lincoln in March. He has added a maturity to his game too and grew into the game after a quiet opening 15 mins. Timlin was immense again...and looks like he is loving life with the blues. I actually thought that the only player to under perform was Phillips who seemed to struggle on the turn when the ball was pumped long over the top. Barker helped him out on more than one occasion as he struggled to position himself correctly. Hall was fantastic, and if he was a yard quicker he would be leaving in January for sure. Never had I experienced the feeling of watching a southend side and feeling so comfortable....almost knowing that we wouldn't concede or in the unlikely event we did...we had the tools to go down the other end and score a third. The final word must go to Bilel. The man just loves being on a football pitch. He looked so comfortable out on the right....and it was no surprise to see him almost open the scoring with a spectacular overhead kick.It feels great to be a southend supporter again. Providing we suffer no serious injuries to Key players, we must surely be heading back to league one. Oh, and how nice it was to see Tara Brady mixing with blues fans and supporting the team from the terraces. Nice touch.

 

[Pubey]

My first match of the season too. It was great to see how every one of the players contributed to this victory. Special mention to Liam Dickinson, who for me is an integral part of our side and how we play. He immediately chases down the channels to pick up the initial long ball from the back, and allows us to build from there. He has great feet for a big man and worked extremely hard for the team. Thought Kalala protected the back four superbly. He then passed it simply to either Timlin or Ferdinand to set up our next attack. Indeed I felt Ferdinand looked a lot stronger physically than when I saw him at Lincoln in March. He has added a maturity to his game too and grew into the game after a quiet opening 15 mins. Timlin was immense again...and looks like he is loving life with the blues. I actually thought that the only player to under perform was Phillips who seemed to struggle on the turn when the ball was pumped long over the top. Barker helped him out on more than one occasion as he struggled to position himself correctly. Hall was fantastic, and if he was a yard quicker he would be leaving in January for sure. Never had I experienced the feeling of watching a southend side and feeling so comfortable....almost knowing that we wouldn't concede or in the unlikely event we did...we had the tools to go down the other end and score a third. The final word must go to Bilel. The man just loves being on a football pitch. He looked so comfortable out on the right....and it was no surprise to see him almost open the scoring with a spectacular overhead kick.It feels great to be a southend supporter again. Providing we suffer no serious injuries to Key players, we must surely be heading back to league one. Oh, and how nice it was to see Tara Brady mixing with blues fans and supporting the team from the terraces. Nice touch.

agree 100% with this, in particular about Phillips and Dickinson. Just to add about Dickinson, I thought the only problem was that he did such good work down the channels in winning and distributing the ball, that when it did get to Timlin or Hall he hadn't got back into the central position and Hall in particular was eager to put the cross in, which often meant he wasn't able to be a threat in the box. Nit-picking though, to be honest.