Post-Match Thread and Ratings Oxford United 0 - 2 Southend United

[Juggler90]

Just home. How many times have we sat there and said we outplayed a team but they just seemed to be able to put the ball in the back of the net but we couldn't? Tonight...that's what Oxford are saying.

Was listening to BBC Oxford as we came away and their reporters were saying that as well as being a bogey team for them, we are not an easy team to beat and just seemed to have that knack of grinding out a win. I note a previous comment said that's what teams that get promoted do. I think that has crossed most of our minds.

Thought everybody was average or below average tonight except for Ferdinand and Thomson who I think if we end up going up, should take a huge proportion of the credit. They look excellent together - really solid. Seemed a real togetherness with the players tonight after the goals and at the final whistle.

Great away following. Hope we can take even more to Peterborough in a massive game.

UTB

 

[manor15]

Just got back, wow what a result!! First half was one of the worst 45 minutes I've seen us produce all season. I'd be surprised if we managed to string more than two or three passes together, everything was hoofed up into the air, the midfield was all over the shop. They had two superb chances, a free header at a corner where they hit the post, and seconds later a chance when the ball came in and their man was unmarked and smashed it over. If they scored either of those, it would have been game over.

Second half we improved but not a lot until the hour mark when we had a spell of being on top and out of nowhere, just after they swapped a midfielder for a striker, Fortune pops up with a superb header from great play by Timlin and Demetriou. After that it was backs to the wall stuff, a few counter attacks and corners and the lads up front did superbly well defending from the front. Have to say that we looked very tired out there, but these are the kind of wins that we need if we are to be in the play-offs. May seem over the top but this could really have been a season defining game to come back from being dominated to win away at an in-form team.

Smith 6 Didn't really have too many saves to make, their poor finishing meant that when they did get through it rarely ended up at Ted. His kicking really needs some work.
Demetriou 6 If this was a rating for going forward, he'd get a 7 or an 8. Unfortunately, he was woeful defensively. Time and time again he was skinned, even when it was Timlin rather than McGlashan in front of him. Whilst it's important to press and get forward, at 1-0 up he was at times in the diagonal opposite area of the field to where he should be.
Thompson 8 MOTM What a brilliant performance. Won every single header, threw himself at everything. Has a brilliant partnership with Ferdinand and he gets more commanding with every game.
Ferdinand 8 As above, so calm and composed and really leads the back line well.
Coker 7 Got forward well when possible and, unlike Demetriou, accepted that he'd have to sit deeper and do more defending than attacking with McGlashan/Robinson/Wordsworth in front of him.
McGlashan 7 Flashes of brilliance and some awful moments. Give him the ball to run at someone one on one and he's superb, put in two dangerous crosses through doing exactly that. Tracking back, covering in the middle, etc, not so good. Right decision to start him given his form as a sub but can see why he may not fit our current system.
Leonard 7 Very disappointing first half but was effectively doing the workload of McGlashan and Wordsworth as well as his own. More influential in the second period and started to boss the midfield later on.
Wordsworth 6 Looked exhausted, the pressing was gone and he seemed far too relaxed when tracking back. Not sure if that was down to him being lazier than usual or just that it is so much more noticeable without Atkinson for cover.
Timlin 7 Good display, showed all of his experience and discipline deciding when to get forward and when to stay back and had much more of an impact on the right.
Cox 6 May seem harsh but he just looked exhausted. Was shocked that it was McGlashan who came off as by that point Cox already looked past it, he battled hard but had little success. Put in a real shift.
Fortune 6 Again, could be harsh, but I think that is the first time I've seen him dominated by a centre back like theirs did. Struggled to win anything in the air, but took his goal brilliantly and chased everything as he always does.

Subs
Robinson 7 Got at them with pace, even if most of his job was just to chase down the loose ends, and his header was well taken too.
Ranger 5 There were times when he didn't look like a professional footballer. Threw himself up in the air but not sure if he won a single header. Was clear that he was rusty and it may take some time before he's back to his best.
O'Neill 7 Came on to steady the ship for the last few and did exactly that. Well taken corner for Robinson's goal.

Support was superb, even when the performance certainly wasn't.

Today was a case of daylight robbery as there is no chance at all that we deserved the three points and would have left feeling very lucky to have had one based on the performance alone. Oxford reminded me a lot of us last season in that they had five or six chances to score and didn't, but lost because we had two and scored two.

One final point - that performance really showed how important Will Atkinson is to this team. The midfield was a mess for the first 20 or so minutes in particular and the next few games will be a real test without him. I wouldn't have thought of it before but O'Neill may be the best option in there given his defensive abilities but trust PB to make the right call.

Brilliant result and even sweeter that it came from a far from brilliant performance.

 

[Dubai]

A nice result to wake up to. My pre-booked flight back on the 19th May is starting to look tasty.

How much are pints in the green man again and is Piggot available on loan?

 

[Crowstone Crevette]

Great result. Well done to the players, coaches and travelling fans

That's a good point 'cos without them most of the fans and all of the players wouldn't have made it. :smile:

 

[Kevin Hogg]

PROMOTION is ON!

 

[Mr Browns Ghost]

ill put my hands up and admit I called that wrong. I really thought after Saturday our bubble may have burst. Another tricky night with an in form team, but boy they showed me I was wrong! well played

 

[duncan bulgaria]

I think last night was a massive win for us , it would of been easy to walk away with 0 points after these 2 tricky away games but credit to the lads .
With the teams we have to play in the run in I'd expect us to finish in play offs and hopefully avoid Millwall who are bang in form

 

[dannypav]

Well done Blues and three points from two tough away games is very good , but there is a tough home game on Saturday against an in form side , so still lots of work to do for play offs

 

[Shrimpersfan]

We've got a rather decent team haven't we!

 

[rigsby]

As some have already said it was a game of 2 halves. On about the 20 minute mark we were looking sloppy going forward with plenty of balls ballooned in the air. We were losing the headers and worryingly the second ball. With the loss of Will they looked to be targeting our right hand side and pushed the dangerous Maguire as wide and high as possible and he was backed up with a very tricky wing back. We countered that by switching McL and Timlin for more protection.

To be fair you have to stay in the match at that stage and that's exactly what we did with some good defending. Some Oxford fans were happy to point out that we are very strong at the back and Anton and my MOM Thommo stood the test. Ted was obviously the busier keeper but was never really tested, although they did hit the post from a header that was then cleared off the line and Maguire went close with a free kick.

The change actually started before half time when we started to come into the game and we finished stronger in the last 10. Admittedly in the break we were struggling to think where our goal would come from so would have taken the draw at that stage.

Second half we did look a lot better and finally got some quality with that Demi cross and good finish by MAF. The move started with a high clearance which Cox had to take down 30 yards into our half. Unlike our whole team in the first half, he took it down with a real good touch and turned to start the move. So it was just the sort of away goal you need at this sort of game.

They did have a go but again with good defending I felt confident that we could hold out. Thommo saved a certain goal with a header at the far, whilst having to out muscle not one but two 2 Oxford players.

Ranger didn't exactly look sharp but timed his run perfectly to stay onside to burst down the right after a good through ball. Probably should have got a shot away but at least he forced the corner. What good header from Theo. Haven't see the highlights yet, as Sky just annoys me but the corner looked a case of less is more. By that I mean with most of our players hanging back on the edge of the box, it created some room for Theo to actually move and attack the ball. Take note PB especially on the long throws when even if we do win a flick the 'bus queue' as I call it has already formed in a nice static line directly behind the throw rather than attacking the space from deeper.

With just over a minute left of added time Ted came out and made save almost identical to the late one at Millwall. Saved us all a squeaky last minute of play. Not a classic but I'll always take a win over nice passing but no end product. Its the type of win that gives the players a real confidence boost and some belief in their season.

So book your tickets for Saturday which won't be as easy as some think. Edinburgh likes to come and watch us and has beaten us twice all ready at RH this season. Big home game before 2 away so come along your support is needed.

 

[BILLERICAY BLUE]

Rochdale, Fleetwood, Scunthorpe, Millwall and Oxford.

I think we'd have taken 10 points from those 5 games, had we been offered them before the start.

Shame about Saturday, as could and probably should have been at least a point.

From the run of 8 games (6 away) that started from Millwall, we've got 3 from 2. If we can get 13 from the other 6, we'll have done really well.

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

Seem to have those ingredients or all the pieces of the puzzle for a really good team. Mix of youth and experience, grafters plus the skillful players, strength and pace up top with real guile and leadership, and most importantly good options off the bench.

 

[londonblue]

I was particularly impressed with Simon Cox's tweet after the game:

Was that before or after the game?

 

[RHB]

Follow up tweet:

Sorry guys shift not ****

 

[Bromley Blue]

I was particularly impressed with Simon Cox's tweet after the game:

Was that before or after the game?

Maybe it was like Jason Puncheon and happened during the game.

I wasn't there last night but sounds like most of the side went missing in the first half so can't rule it out.

 

[Napster]

For all those on social media please download Instagram and follow the lads: Nile Ranger, McGlashan and Fortune's video stories are good fun to watch - last night had Theo, Nouble and Amos doing the obligatory song in front of the players - such good team spirit at the moment. (didnt know what Amos sang but Nouble sang Easy and Theo sang Three Little Birds by Bob Marley.

 

[monkwell]

Strange kind of a game. The first half was among the very worst performances I have ever seen home or away. We challenged for nothing. We won no second balls. We never achieved three passes in succession. We were slower, softer and weaker. The performance had all the hallmarks of a team destined to lose – passes were going straight out of play, every 50:50 was lost etc. I think Atkinson’s movement was sorely missed. If the shot they had that hit the post and was cleared off the line had gone in, I think the game would have been very different. I’d dragged a car full down from Cardiff – A Welshman, Scot, German, English and Yank, some who had never been to a game and they were pretty ****ed off with my ruining their valentine’s day on the promise of free flowing football when half time came. The only one to come out of the first half with any credit was Ferdinand who looked assured and mopped up numerous errors by others at the back.

Credit to Brown for his team talk. Did the trick. All the action was at the Southend fans’ end again in the second. We started challenging and stringing passes together. There was much more urgency and impressive movement off the ball. We were still a shadow of our peak a couple of weeks ago but the composure was there. Less hoofing and more ball control from everyone. The goals were well worked – both excellent crosses, both poor marking. We only had one other shot on target (topped over the bar), in the first half. We deserved the win, but it was not a good performance in my opinion.

Smith 7 – didn’t have much to do, but made all the saves you would expect him to. Some dodgy kicking, but dealt with tons of moderately awkward back passes well.
Coker 5 – worst I’ve seen him play in a long time. Got skinned a couple of times and didn’t manage a single decent cross. Showed some energy but that was about it.
Ferdinand 8.5 – MOTM No panic, calm distribution, great positional play and won the majority of balls that came his way
Thompson 7 – More hoofing than I expect from him, but industrious and largely reliable at the back
Demetriou 7.5 – Dodgy in the first half – did little but lose the ball. Great cross for Fortune and a real nuisance all second half
Wordsworth 6 – Occasional good link up play but a bit weak and annoyingly languid (but that’s his way)
Timlin 5 – Very poor indeed, as bad as he was at Millwall. Nothing seemed to go for him, misplaced passes, crosses hitting the first man, easily dispossessed
McGlashan 7 – Good work rate, rarely beat people but came out of the first half with a bit of credit and I was surprised when he came off.
Leonard 7.5 – Pretty dependable, few dodgy passes but movement and creativity improved in the second half.
Fortune 7 – Good goal and held the ball up well at times but frustrating for much of the match. Ironic he scored with a header as he seems totally unwilling to challenge in the air. Time and again defender easily won long balls in to him.
Cox 6.5 – Pretty anonymous first half but much better movement second half, without much end product.

Subs
Robinson 7 – Good goal but there were at least two occasions where his pace should have led to a decent chance, but he was outmuscled.
Ranger 6.5 - not on for long but showed willing (and rustiness)
O’Neill 6.5 – For the assist, other than that he looked v rusty

PB 8 – some team talk at half time
Officials 5 – dreadful as usual, some blatent corners and throws were give the wrong way and the linos were guessing on offsides
TBV 8 – pretty good all things considered. Quiet toward the end of first half but that’s to be expected. Loved the reception Ranger got! 422 is not bad for a Tuesday night and we easily outsung Oxford.

 

[Maldon Shrimper]

Play badly against a good team and nick a win shows the team spirit we currently have.Another 3 points agianst the Cobblers sets up nicely for another difficult away trip at Peterboro.

 

[IloveShrimp]

Pleased to see attacking intent with the subs rather than sitting back and "hold what we have" :thumbsup:

Personally I think that we now defend from the front more as Ted is in goal. More of ‘keep the ball away from him as much as possible’..... Just my opinion.

 

[Barling Magna]

Just seen the extended highlights on Blues Player. There isn't much action from the Oxford goalmouth! Two goals and one overhead kick...... and that's about it. Attack after attack by Oxford and chance after chance; although we may not have performed well it was quite a feat to maintain a clean sheet against so much pressure.

Fortune's goal is well worth seeing. He was heavily involved in the build-up, brushing Oxford players aside and then heading with a nonchalance that oozes class.