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

[Clarky176]

I think the first error was not having a plan B if one of our centre backs had to go off. Neither Lennon (who I assume is fit again as he was on the bench the other night) or Kyprianou were on the bench and CP didn't want to switch Dieng there, so we were forced to change from a formation that was working well to one that was ineffective.

For me, even given the subs we had, he could have brought Robinson on for White, and then shifted Dieng back to CB and Cox behind Hopper and Robinson where he's been so effective the last few games.

Poor choices by CP today, atrocious conditions and appalling set of officials made for a highly forgettable experience.

Let's hope they bounce back at the Gills next week, and also get a morale boosting Checkatrade win at Col Ewe on Tuesday.

Lennon wasn’t on the bench on Tuesday night

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Once again there was no shortage of effort from any of the players out on the field - ours and the Ox's.
The officiating standard was set in the first 30seconds when Mackie fouled (Turner?) late and deliberately and then kicked the ball away and mouthed the ref - any of which would have had a yellow if it had been later in the game.
We had no width and never got behind them nor did we get any good crosses in; partly because Ox seemed to have done their homework and seemed to be playing a 8 2 1 system & looking for a draw or nicking a set piece goal.
Cox was very unlucky not to have the woodwork get his shot into the net BUT our lack of shots, and lack of working of their GK is a large reason it was goalless; there were times it was ON to shoot but players hesitated, took an extra touch or passed sideways. Grr.
The three best players on the pitch;- Moore, Cox, Hopper.
Mackie ought to have gone red for the forearm slam on Moore, Robinson knew that and, rightly for them, took him straight off.
We huffed and puffed, the subs didn't work as hoped; maybe hindsight can say we should have started with width (Kites) or pace (Theo) but who knows.
The saturated, slick pitch held up really well.
The ref was very poor; the 4th official was trying to help him with the theft of 20 yards at each throw etc but gave up after an hour.
Oxford looked to be playing to keep Robinson in his role, they played to their strengths, literally, but have little goal threat form open play BUT might have nicked the points.
Poor game, quickly forgotten, on to BIG local rival games.
Mac L and Kyp have heavy colds which is why they were not in squad.
And hopefully JW's ham is a tweek not a tear.
UTB!

 

[Barling Magna]

An afternoon to forget. Of all the depressing things going on I was most disappointed by McCoulsky's performance, or lack of a performance. I believe that Norman Wabo, on the evidence I have seen when he played for us, is a better option.

Cox, Hopper and Robinson were a successful trio in our previous game so why change them for a match against lowly Oxford.....?

 

[OldBlueLady]

An afternoon to forget. Of all the depressing things going on I was most disappointed by McCoulsky's performance, or lack of a performance. I believe that Norman Wabo, on the evidence I have seen when he played for us, is a better option.

Cox, Hopper and Robinson were a successful trio in our previous game so why change them for a match against lowly Oxford.....?

Maybe a little harsh on McCoulsky, we certainly didn't play to his strengths, but when he was running chasing the ball, he did scare the life out of them. I'd have brought Theo on first anyway, I passed comment that I thought it was too hard a game for McCoulsky to try to get something out of.

 

[Chapperz]

At least we are still unbeaten. Sounded like a pretty poor game but still had a few good chances.

https://www.shrimperzone.com/zoneratings/ratings.php?fixture=14

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Worst set of officials I’ve ever seen. Got nothing right for either side all afternoon. West stand lino was waiting for the ref to give everything and then flag

What I also noticed with him and lino's in general is that when a player takes a throw in or free kick, the lino stands where the throw of free kick should be taken. The player then walks 5 to 10 yards forwards for a throw or moves the ball forward for the free kick. Rather than standing their ground, they move to keep up with the player, letting the player take the throw/kick from where they want unless the ref intervenes.

They are quick enough to raise their flag when they deem a foul has been committed or a player is offside, but when something very obvious happens right in front of their noses, they do nothing

 

[DistantBlue]

Very frustrating game.

Completely on top in 1st Half and dominating the midfield - a goal was an inevitability.

Then White’s injury.

I turned to the old man as Kightly came on and we switched to 4-4-2 “that’ll ruin our shape”. So it came to pass.

Hendrie and Bwomono on the bench, options there to keep to 3-5-2 but the switch to 4-4-2 seriously curtailed us.

Oxford are filth and the officials were an absolute disgrace. I’ve never seen so much unpunished shirt-pulling and and manhandling. I’m shocked it took them 72 minutes to end Hopper’s game, he spent the entire match until that point being victimised and abused right under the ref’s nose and he did nothing to stop it.

Good shifts from Cox, Yearwood (until we went 4-4-2) and MOM for me was Taylor Moore who I think is immense.[/

 

[DistantBlue]

The highlight of the 2nd half for me was when handbags broke out near the centre circle and the entire East Stand seemed to rise as one to beg Oxley to get back in his goal and not to come to the aid of his team mates??

 

[leroyjean]

I’m finding it strange that (unless I’ve missed it) no-one has said that Cox really should have converted that chance. Saying that hitting the woodwork is “unlucky” might work when the get is at a stretch or the chance is blink-and-you-miss-it, but he did have plenty of time, there was no tackle-threat, and the target was gaping. I do realise that people in West and possibly South couldn’t see quite how “unmissable” it was, but from East yellow it didn’t look at all as if luck was to blame. Cox is always worth the gate money, and was again yesterday, but he’d have scored in a 4th game on the trot, and we might all have been happier, if he hadn’t decided to lash the ball to kingdom come.

 

[Shrimper]

What I also noticed with him and lino's in general is that when a player takes a throw in or free kick, the lino stands where the throw of free kick should be taken. The player then walks 5 to 10 yards forwards for a throw or moves the ball forward for the free kick. Rather than standing their ground, they move to keep up with the player, letting the player take the throw/kick from where they want unless the ref intervenes.

They are quick enough to raise their flag when they deem a foul has been committed or a player is offside, but when something very obvious happens right in front of their noses, they do nothing

The most hilarious was when he gave a foul right at the end, the Oxford player went down like he had been shot and he bought it. We would have had a 3-on-2 in a good position too.

 

[Fairport]

What I also noticed with him and lino's in general is that when a player takes a throw in or free kick, the lino stands where the throw of free kick should be taken. The player then walks 5 to 10 yards forwards for a throw or moves the ball forward for the free kick. Rather than standing their ground, they move to keep up with the player, letting the player take the throw/kick from where they want unless the ref intervenes.

They are quick enough to raise their flag when they deem a foul has been committed or a player is offside, but when something very obvious happens right in front of their noses, they do nothing

Almost every throw in taker steals a few yards but it never has any impact on the outcome of a game, probably why the officials give a bit of leeway and therefore letting the game flow.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Poor game in poor conditions.

I don't think we had the right starting line-up to break down a team coming to Roots Hall for a point. We've played two wingers for much of the season which has left us open but when we needed to breakdown a poor team with limited ambitions we only had two attacking players in the line-up, one of whom likes to play deep. Hopper has thrived all season on crosses but without wingers in front of them to occupy the defence our wingbacks struggled to get in good deliveries and when we did cross there were too few players attacking it with no midfielders breaking ahead of the ball or making late runs anyway.

Whilst we dominated possession until White's injury we did little with it. We lacked pace to get behind Oxford, width to stretch them, or trickiness to beat a man. This was reminiscent of the Phil Brown era where we retained possession aimlessly rarely looking like penetrating. For the first time in a long time I thought we missed someone like Wordsworth who would drift forward - the 3-5-2 would suit him better than it suits our central midfielders - but then this could well have been one of the two in every three matches in which he was anonymous.

The positive is that we kept a clean sheet and Dru got 90 minutes under his belt. He remains a gem with his ability to put a team mate in a better position than he is but was limited by the lack of players getting forward to pick out. Hopper had an early chance on the break and we finally worked a man advantage for Cox when he hit the bar and should have scored but otherwise there was a real lack of creativity, incisiveness and goal threat.

Sadly Kightly's introduction didn't help - his confidence seems low and the conditions made it hard to run at the opposition (I don't think he has the legs to go past players any more either). I think Powell would rather play him away than at home to keep the crowd off his back. It was noticeable how if he misplayed a ball the crowd groaned but the next instant Coker did similar and there was no noise. It also limited Dru's influence by switching him out wide when we needed it most.

McCoulsky justified Powell's decision not to start him despite the clamour otherwise in recent weeks. I wonder if Wabo is likewise at Maidstone? Theo had too little time to make an impact when his pace would have stretched Oxford and given them something different to think about.

Taylor Moore was our pick of the players when few stood out for good or bad.

A frustrating afternoon in miserable conditions but a point is better than none.

 

[Evening Echo]

SOUTHEND United's players and fans have taken to Twitter to express their views on Saturday's 0-0 draw with Oxford United.

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[Evening Echo]

OXFORD United manager Karl Robinson felt his struggling side should have taken more than a point at Southend United.

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[Kris]

I got off the train at Westcliff. Those baking hot Saturday afternoons felt like an age ago and the journey began with the umbrella keeping the rain at bay but not the chilly wind, which blew the poor brolly left, right and upside down. As I approached the ground about 20 minutes later, I thought, this is going to be horrible, isn't it. There was a temporary reprieve as I entered the South Upper, looked down and realised we'd replaced those horrible net curtains. Anyway...

The 3-5-2 system has been a bit hit-and-miss so far but straight away it was obvious that this shape was the right one for this game. It wasn't the best start in the world but after the 10-minute mark we started to get a grip, with the highlight being a luscious through-ball by Cox to Hopper, who should have shot but instead slalomed his way back into Oxford traffic.

Our passing remained crisp and patient, albeit too irritatingly patient at times, but Cox had a pot shot that agonisingly hit both the crossbar and the far post before bouncing back into play. Sadly, as many others have said, that was as good as it got as White's injury forced a change of shape that, despite working on Tuesday, left us unbalanced and ineffective.

The second half was godawful and our performance deteriorated, albeit in parallel with the weather, with an Oxford winner looking the more likely. Kudos to Oxley for making another wonder save at the end.

Two points dropped? I would argue not bearing in mind the conditions, which I predicted would spoil the game. It suited Oxford more; they were IMO the dirtiest team I've seen since winning promotion and outbattled us for most of the second half albeit illegally in a football sense. I walked out of the ground relieved to be honest. Poor performance but I looked at the pitch surface on my way out and it made me realise why we largely played hoofball in the latter stages; it simply wasn't conducive to good passing football.

So, thoughts overall...

Oxley: Brilliant save at the end and bearing in mind he was barely tested at all prior to that made it all the more impressive.

Turner, White, Moore: The latter was excellent and White was solid as ever; hope he recovers soon. Turner was decent although nearly suffered another Peterborough (or Charlton?) moment when he was robbed of the ball while trying to shepherd it out of play, leading to a cross that was thankfully overhit.

Demi and Coker: Both enjoyed good moments going forward. The latter was a tad unlucky early on when he left an opponent on his arse in a great position but a defender just managed to get a foot in as he was about to shoot. Demi handled Holmes fairly well and his risky tactic of diving in rather than backing off paid off.

Dru, Mantom, Dieng: Great to see Dru back, forgotten just how athletic he is. Mantom faded in the second half although the ball largely bypassed him. Dieng had a fine game in midfield and I disagree with those who thought he should have moved into defence for that reason. In fact, had the result been the same you can bet your life that such a move would have been criticised.

Cox and Hopper: The latter was bruised and battered. Another brave performance although he made a couple of unusually bad decisions when he got into good areas. Cox remains our most talented and intelligent forward and was desperately unlucky not to score. The aforementioned pass to Hopper with the outside of his right boot should have been the assist of the season.

Kightly, Theo and McCoulsky: All terrible, sadly. The latter two, albeit not on for that long did nothing. Kites was worryingly poor. The conditions didn't suit him but from the minute he came on he looked like he was running through treacle and made no impact at all. By all accounts he was excellent as a sub on Tuesday, which makes me wonder whether he is still capable of playing more than once a week, even from the bench.

Powell: Hindsight United says he was wrong to change the shape and that's probably fair. Then again, the Kightly of Tuesday didn't show up.

The ref: I'll be brave and say I've seen worse. Let's face it, every week we have people on here saying that each ref was the 'worst they've ever seen'. He struggled badly in the last 20 minutes when the game was at its scrappiest but then even the best refs would have been challenged.

The umbrella: Survived the onslaught from the rain and wind on the way back to Westcliff as well. Good performance.

 

[Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset]

Ratings:

First team: Goy, Jones, Bellotti, Freeman, Cawston - all 10

Subs: came on in the bar later, Pountney, Banks, Clark - all 10

Ref: Crown, a commanding genial performance as ever - 10

 

[Evening Echo]

PHOTOGRAPHS, taken by Luan Marshall, from Southend United's 0-0 draw with Oxford United.

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[bazzashrimper]

I’m finding it strange that (unless I’ve missed it) no-one has said that Cox really should have converted that chance. Saying that hitting the woodwork is “unlucky” might work when the get is at a stretch or the chance is blink-and-you-miss-it, but he did have plenty of time, there was no tackle-threat, and the target was gaping. I do realise that people in West and possibly South couldn’t see quite how “unmissable” it was, but from East yellow it didn’t look at all as if luck was to blame. Cox is always worth the gate money, and was again yesterday, but he’d have scored in a 4th game on the trot, and we might all have been happier, if he hadn’t decided to lash the ball to kingdom come.

He didn’t have a great angle so needed to put a lot of power in the shot else the keeper would have easily snaffled it. Not saying he shouldn’t have scored, but unmissable is unfair, and to hit the bar and post is very unlucky IMO.

 

[Evening Echo]

SATURDAY’S clash with Oxford United was Blues’ third in the space of just eight days – and, in truth, it probably showed.

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[rigsby]

He didn’t have a great angle so needed to put a lot of power in the shot else the keeper would have easily snaffled it. Not saying he shouldn’t have scored, but unmissable is unfair, and to hit the bar and post is very unlucky IMO.

Yes the roof of the net is not a bad place to finish in that position. From where I was in the West, I though it was bouncing down into the corner. Still can’t work out hit the post as well.