sufcintheprem
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I thought I may as well put my thoughts on the game up as I've barely been on since the game.
As I mentioned before this match, the form of the home team compared with that of the away team and the relative league standings pointed only one way: Away win. Sure enough, the form book wasn't thrown out of the window in spite of an action packed 90 minutes which was as relentless as the backing of Comply or Die. No Southend fan could have any regrets about missing the National though as the entertainment served up by the Shrimpers was out of the top drawer even if Crewe seemed more concerned about Cloudy Lane than they did about overcast Gresty Road.
Southend started brightly from the kick off with a lot of energy and relentless pressure on the ball but could never have expected to break through so early and so easily. Hesitancy in the Crewe defence let in Barnard who poked past Roberts in the Crewe goal. Rather than sitting back on the lead (take note people saying negative tactics cost us), we pushed on and looked more like the home team. Just as we seemed to be easing up a bit, McCormack's excellent pressure forced a mistake from the defender and he fed Walker who just about managed to score. McCormack's effort to close the man down was superb but in truth he should have never been allowed to get anywhere near the man.
Once again, Southend continued to force Crewe in to mistakes and dominate possession. McCormack was forcing them to play the ball early and Bailey was on top of them any time they got it right. Hard to imagine any midfield living with them on that form and their only outlets were to fire it out wide in hope that their wide men might make a difference or go long to try and utilise Maynard's movement. It was the latter which worked for them. Maynard ghosted away from Clarke to open up a free run on goal and Clarke was late gifting Crewe a penalty. Laurel and Hardy defending had almost allowed Crewe back in after the harshly booed Morgan missed a free header att he back post and this was hardly vintage stuff from Clarke. I guess that this is symptomatic of a team struggling for form but Roberts' penalty lacked conviction and having picked the right side, Flahavan managed to get two hands on the penalty and push it away from danger. It was hard to tell which team was more stunned by the incident but the rest of the half was quite subdued.
Southend deserved to be in front by the margin having dominated the half but you don't always get what you deserve and Crewe could easily have been level had they been more clinical. The other notable point of the half was a 5 minute spell of possession being greeted with "Ole" from the travelling fans which was only prevented from being a goal by an excellent save after Walker tried to put the Cambiasso finish to our Argentinian move.
The second half, my buddies and I agreed, would be all about killing the first ten minutes, getting the National result and a third goal and going home thoroughly contented. The first, Southend achieved without too much hassle, the second was made frustratingly difficult by BBC inadequacy and the third was far from easy either. Presumably spurred in to life by something happening in Aintree, Crewe suddenly realised that they were allowed to play football and some of them were actually quite good at it. Lunt was getting fead at every opportunity while Southend continued to play their style and the result was an excellent contest between two passing teams.
The main reason for our inability to challenge for automatics this season has been a lack of organisation leading to a brittle defence and sadly the second penalty decision illustrated this. Crewe got in to our penalty box far too easily and Francis appeared to throw a player to the ground as he was lining up a shot. Roberts out, Lunt in, different side but same result. This was hit with more authority but again Flahavan's agility made his save easier and the away fans celebrated apparent invincibility. The strangest thing, from my view, was that twice we had prevented goalscoring opportunities with the last man and yet somehow didn't even seem to incur a booking. Perhaps we should apply for this ref every week.
Crewe didn't let this upset them and continued to apply pressure. When Mulgrew gave away a soft free kick on Crewe's right, the ball was whipped in and Maynard, not properly tracked, got in front of everyone to nod home. This was certainly the point to get twitchy - surely we couldn't fail to win after this performance? There wasn't long to wait before celebrations could begin. Walker appeared to be having a Yakubu moment as he held off two Crewe players facing his own goal but full credit for holdign the ball up, turning two men and firing a great ball in to the path of Barnard. Barnard doesn't have the look of an accomplished figure but it's becoming clearer that he has a talent for beating the keeper rather than picking out corners. Great touch to stop it in his path, second touch drew the 'keeper and third slid the ball in to the corner. From there, the contest was over.
Overall, it was a very entertaining game which allowed us to showcase just how well we can keep and use the ball. The midfield were outstanding and both strikers underlined how predatory they can be. The defence remains a worry though. Crewe have been far from full of goals at home and yet broke through so easily at times. It's too late to be thinking about changing anything now but I'm worried that our promotion hopes will be decided on whether our defence can give us a chance. On the subject of playoffs, surely the most ardent pessimist will concede that a win at home to Brighton will see us in the playoffs and victory over Northampton will see us set up a tie with either Donny or Forest.
Ratings:
Flahavan - 9 - The rest of his performance was competent to good but his two saves may have earned us two points here MOTM
Mulgrew - 7 - Retained the ball really well and always keen to get forwards perhaps lacked the vigour of last week.
Francis - 7 - Much the same as Mulgrew. Didn't stand out but used the ball well and penalty aside, defended as well as could be expected for someone continually one-on-one.
Barrett - 7.5 - Never a concern when Maynard was up against him but understanding between him and Clarke still lacking.
Clarke - 5.5 - Solid aerially but what were you thinking for the penalty, Peter? Lucky to even be on pitch at half time and could have cost us the match.
Gower - 7.5 - Always looking for the ball as he buzzed from one wing to the other and was central to our best passing moves. Seemed to work harder than normal.
Black - 6.5 - Didn't have much impact on the game but was a useful outlet at times. Looks like Francis is going to have to get used to defending on his own.
Bailey - 8.5 - This was one of my friend's first viewing of Bailey and as I do to everyone, I told him to try and spot a time where an opponent gets past him. It happened once. Like Gower, pivotal to our best moves.
McCormack - 8 - Must have covered every blade of grass and unmercifully flattened most of it. Another unblemished disciplinary performance which seems to indicate a growing maturity to his game.
Barnard - 8.5 - Never gave Crewe a mintues rest winning free-kicks, harrying defenders, oh, and scoring two goals with accomplished finishes.
Walker - 8 - Like his strike partner, hard-working but without causing as many problems. Fantastic work to set up Barnard's second though.
Subs;
All not enough time although Moussa and Grant almost got an assist to their name only to be let down by wasteful finishing. Struggling to work out where MacDonald fits in to our plans now.
As I mentioned before this match, the form of the home team compared with that of the away team and the relative league standings pointed only one way: Away win. Sure enough, the form book wasn't thrown out of the window in spite of an action packed 90 minutes which was as relentless as the backing of Comply or Die. No Southend fan could have any regrets about missing the National though as the entertainment served up by the Shrimpers was out of the top drawer even if Crewe seemed more concerned about Cloudy Lane than they did about overcast Gresty Road.
Southend started brightly from the kick off with a lot of energy and relentless pressure on the ball but could never have expected to break through so early and so easily. Hesitancy in the Crewe defence let in Barnard who poked past Roberts in the Crewe goal. Rather than sitting back on the lead (take note people saying negative tactics cost us), we pushed on and looked more like the home team. Just as we seemed to be easing up a bit, McCormack's excellent pressure forced a mistake from the defender and he fed Walker who just about managed to score. McCormack's effort to close the man down was superb but in truth he should have never been allowed to get anywhere near the man.
Once again, Southend continued to force Crewe in to mistakes and dominate possession. McCormack was forcing them to play the ball early and Bailey was on top of them any time they got it right. Hard to imagine any midfield living with them on that form and their only outlets were to fire it out wide in hope that their wide men might make a difference or go long to try and utilise Maynard's movement. It was the latter which worked for them. Maynard ghosted away from Clarke to open up a free run on goal and Clarke was late gifting Crewe a penalty. Laurel and Hardy defending had almost allowed Crewe back in after the harshly booed Morgan missed a free header att he back post and this was hardly vintage stuff from Clarke. I guess that this is symptomatic of a team struggling for form but Roberts' penalty lacked conviction and having picked the right side, Flahavan managed to get two hands on the penalty and push it away from danger. It was hard to tell which team was more stunned by the incident but the rest of the half was quite subdued.
Southend deserved to be in front by the margin having dominated the half but you don't always get what you deserve and Crewe could easily have been level had they been more clinical. The other notable point of the half was a 5 minute spell of possession being greeted with "Ole" from the travelling fans which was only prevented from being a goal by an excellent save after Walker tried to put the Cambiasso finish to our Argentinian move.
The second half, my buddies and I agreed, would be all about killing the first ten minutes, getting the National result and a third goal and going home thoroughly contented. The first, Southend achieved without too much hassle, the second was made frustratingly difficult by BBC inadequacy and the third was far from easy either. Presumably spurred in to life by something happening in Aintree, Crewe suddenly realised that they were allowed to play football and some of them were actually quite good at it. Lunt was getting fead at every opportunity while Southend continued to play their style and the result was an excellent contest between two passing teams.
The main reason for our inability to challenge for automatics this season has been a lack of organisation leading to a brittle defence and sadly the second penalty decision illustrated this. Crewe got in to our penalty box far too easily and Francis appeared to throw a player to the ground as he was lining up a shot. Roberts out, Lunt in, different side but same result. This was hit with more authority but again Flahavan's agility made his save easier and the away fans celebrated apparent invincibility. The strangest thing, from my view, was that twice we had prevented goalscoring opportunities with the last man and yet somehow didn't even seem to incur a booking. Perhaps we should apply for this ref every week.
Crewe didn't let this upset them and continued to apply pressure. When Mulgrew gave away a soft free kick on Crewe's right, the ball was whipped in and Maynard, not properly tracked, got in front of everyone to nod home. This was certainly the point to get twitchy - surely we couldn't fail to win after this performance? There wasn't long to wait before celebrations could begin. Walker appeared to be having a Yakubu moment as he held off two Crewe players facing his own goal but full credit for holdign the ball up, turning two men and firing a great ball in to the path of Barnard. Barnard doesn't have the look of an accomplished figure but it's becoming clearer that he has a talent for beating the keeper rather than picking out corners. Great touch to stop it in his path, second touch drew the 'keeper and third slid the ball in to the corner. From there, the contest was over.
Overall, it was a very entertaining game which allowed us to showcase just how well we can keep and use the ball. The midfield were outstanding and both strikers underlined how predatory they can be. The defence remains a worry though. Crewe have been far from full of goals at home and yet broke through so easily at times. It's too late to be thinking about changing anything now but I'm worried that our promotion hopes will be decided on whether our defence can give us a chance. On the subject of playoffs, surely the most ardent pessimist will concede that a win at home to Brighton will see us in the playoffs and victory over Northampton will see us set up a tie with either Donny or Forest.
Ratings:
Flahavan - 9 - The rest of his performance was competent to good but his two saves may have earned us two points here MOTM
Mulgrew - 7 - Retained the ball really well and always keen to get forwards perhaps lacked the vigour of last week.
Francis - 7 - Much the same as Mulgrew. Didn't stand out but used the ball well and penalty aside, defended as well as could be expected for someone continually one-on-one.
Barrett - 7.5 - Never a concern when Maynard was up against him but understanding between him and Clarke still lacking.
Clarke - 5.5 - Solid aerially but what were you thinking for the penalty, Peter? Lucky to even be on pitch at half time and could have cost us the match.
Gower - 7.5 - Always looking for the ball as he buzzed from one wing to the other and was central to our best passing moves. Seemed to work harder than normal.
Black - 6.5 - Didn't have much impact on the game but was a useful outlet at times. Looks like Francis is going to have to get used to defending on his own.
Bailey - 8.5 - This was one of my friend's first viewing of Bailey and as I do to everyone, I told him to try and spot a time where an opponent gets past him. It happened once. Like Gower, pivotal to our best moves.
McCormack - 8 - Must have covered every blade of grass and unmercifully flattened most of it. Another unblemished disciplinary performance which seems to indicate a growing maturity to his game.
Barnard - 8.5 - Never gave Crewe a mintues rest winning free-kicks, harrying defenders, oh, and scoring two goals with accomplished finishes.
Walker - 8 - Like his strike partner, hard-working but without causing as many problems. Fantastic work to set up Barnard's second though.
Subs;
All not enough time although Moussa and Grant almost got an assist to their name only to be let down by wasteful finishing. Struggling to work out where MacDonald fits in to our plans now.
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