Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 1, Morecambe 1

[Evening Echo]

A LATE own goal from Stewart Drummond rescued a deserved share of the spoils for Southend United against Morecambe at Roots Hall this afternoon.

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[Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset]

First half was dull but was entertained by spending most of it wondering if the two blokes on top of the North Bank stand were looking for the Scoreboard plug and imagining it flickering in to life only to explode, and just generally admiring the sight of an almost full Roots on a beautiful day.

The second half footie was good though - edge of the seat stuff at times as we came close so often and finally got something out of it.

Front two were poor today but some good stuff in the main from the rest. We were better, as we often are, when we played it to feet and stopped hoofing/looking for knock downs.

We should be a feature on the League Show today - made a silly face behind the bald bloke as he was trying to do a routine in front of the camera with a fiver but expect that will be edited out.

UTB

 

[OldBlueLady]

Yeah, those two on top of the North Bank were very distracting!!!
I thought this was a decent enough result against a team that had clearly come with a game plan. The thing that let us down today was finishing - on another day we'd have scored several. I still think that Hall is a much better player as an impact sub, that's not to detract from him as I thought he had an excellent game today. Was really cross about their goal, our defence just seemed to open up in front of them. I felt this was as poor a game as I've seen from Phillips who seemed to spend about 10 minutes in the 1st half "rearranging" his groin! Good games from most, yet again I felt it was in midfield that we lost things, which is surprising considering our strength in that area.

For whatever reason, I didn't feel Dickinson and Harris were on a level today. Harris seemed to be too deep or too wide and Dickinson was allowing their centre back to hold him down all the time. Leonard's throws seemed to be effective in the main but still there was no-one at the back of the box far too often. Timlin strangely, seemed better wide than in his more natural central role and Kalala made some great challenges but then couldn't pass the ball.

It wasn't till Mohsni and Grant came on that we seemed to step it up. And top marks to Mohsni for staying a millions miles away from the Jevons/Grant incident - maybe he's finally learning! This is what we need from our subs and this is why Hall, for me, is better coming on later. All in all, because of the way Morecambe clearly came to play, I'll happily take a point today. We're still unbeaten and still right up there, long may that continue.

 

[Pak Power]

Ok, I'll go first with the ratings. Before I do, I thought the game was a deserved draw. Morecambe showed why they are unbeaten away from home, and were difficult to break down, as Luggy said they would be. We knocked on the door for periods, but were unable to find the key to unlock that defence.
Two similar teams in a way, who will be there or there abouts at the end of the campaign.

Morris 7. Didn't have a lot to do with any shots that come his way straight at him. Handling good and good to see him throwing out at times.

Clohessey 7. Good performance and got forward well at times. His shot for the own goal deflection I think.

Gilbert 7. I am liking this guy more each week. I thought he put in a good shift, could have scored. Was muscled out of their penalty area near the end.

Barker 8. Good game with some composed bringing of the ball out of defence, especially second half, when no-one wanted to put their foot on the ball.

Philips 7.5 Another good, solid performance by our number one choice central defender! Hope he stays fit.

Leonard 6. Can see why he tires, he is taking throws from both sides. Not his best peformance in a blue shirt. Still like him though. I could see the throw in's where meat and drink to the Morecambe back four after 20 mins or so though.

Kalala 7.5 Important ball winning contribution, and good short passing distribution. Ask him to do anything more though...


Hall 7. Not all corners, and crosses were as good as he can be. Should have at least hit the target with one un-challenged shot. Maybe Luggy should have left him as our secret weapon to bring on when defenses are tiring. Still one of our main threats.


Timlin 8.5 MOM Please lets sign this guy. Head and shoulders above any other midfielder on the pitch. Got forward well, defended well, and made himself available. Something which some of the others didn't today.

Dickinson 6.5 His goal might have stood another day, I would say won half of the balls up to him. Not his best performance, but carries a threat.

Harris 4. (controversial) If this guy's name wasn't Neil Harris he would have been subbed at half time. First touch appalling,
gave the ball away too many times for a 'championship player' . Maybe that Yannick Boli might be worth a look after that reserve game after all. (wait for the critic's)

Grant 7. Thought he done well, got the ball forward when we needed it. Got Jevon's sent off (definate sending off) raised his hands and cut grant's lip.

Mohnsi 7. Caused the usual mayhem, but to their credit Morecambe knew how to handle him, and had obviouisly done their homework. Can't expect to score late goals every game. But we did need him today, as the front two were being easily dealt with.

Crowd. 8. Could have made more noise if the team had given them more to cheer. Game was flat at times, and I heard the moaning that Paul Sturrock didn't want around me. That said the Blue voice could be heard from the east.

 

[* ORM *]

Harris 4. (controversial) If this guy's name wasn't Neil Harris he would have been subbed at half time. First touch appalling,
gave the ball away too many times for a 'championship player' . Maybe that Yannick Boli might be worth a look after that reserve game after all. (wait for the critic's)

.

Why controversial ? He was CACK today - no other word for it

 

[wiggy]

Ok, I'll go first with the ratings. Before I do, I thought the game was a deserved draw. Morecambe showed why they are unbeaten away from home, and were difficult to break down, as Luggy said they would be. We knocked on the door for periods, but were unable to find the key to unlock that defence.
Two similar teams in a way, who will be there or there abouts at the end of the campaign.

Morris 7. Didn't have a lot to do with any shots that come his way straight at him. Handling good and good to see him throwing out at times.

Clohessey 7. Good performance and got forward well at times. His shot for the own goal deflection I think.

Gilbert 7. I am liking this guy more each week. I thought he put in a good shift, could have scored. Was muscled out of their penalty area near the end.

Barker 8. Good game with some composed bringing of the ball out of defence, especially second half, when no-one wanted to put their foot on the ball.

Philips 7.5 Another good, solid performance by our number one choice central defender! Hope he stays fit.

Leonard 6. Can see why he tires, he is taking throws from both sides. Not his best peformance in a blue shirt. Still like him though. I could see the throw in's where meat and drink to the Morecambe back four after 20 mins or so though.

Kalala 7.5 Important ball winning contribution, and good short passing distribution. Ask him to do anything more though...


Hall 7. Not all corners, and crosses were as good as he can be. Should have at least hit the target with one un-challenged shot. Maybe Luggy should have left him as our secret weapon to bring on when defenses are tiring. Still one of our main threats.


Timlin 8.5 MOM Please lets sign this guy. Head and shoulders above any other midfielder on the pitch. Got forward well, defended well, and made himself available. Something which some of the others didn't today.

Dickinson 6.5 His goal might have stood another day, I would say won half of the balls up to him. Not his best performance, but carries a threat.

Harris 4. (controversial) If this guy's name wasn't Neil Harris he would have been subbed at half time. First touch appalling,
gave the ball away too many times for a 'championship player' . Maybe that Yannick Boli might be worth a look after that reserve game after all. (wait for the critic's)

Grant 7. Thought he done well, got the ball forward when we needed it. Got Jevon's sent off (definate sending off) raised his hands and cut grant's lip.

Mohnsi 7. Caused the usual mayhem, but to their credit Morecambe knew how to handle him, and had obviouisly done their homework. Can't expect to score late goals every game. But we did need him today, as the front two were being easily dealt with.

Crowd. 8. Could have made more noise if the team had given them more to cheer. Game was flat at times, and I heard the moaning that Paul Sturrock didn't want around me. That said the Blue voice could be heard from the east.

Agree about Harris, very poor since he joined and Blair Sturrock would be far more effective because at the moment Harris is paceless, can't control a ball and looks past it!

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

At 1-0 down I would have taken a point. We never really got going in the first half, but the beauty of Luggy is that he doesn't hesitate to change things. They rolled their sleaves up and battled to the end. That's good enough for me...

Morris 7. Tidy
Clohessey 7. Got forward well
Gilbert 7. Seems to be improving each game. Defended well
Philips 7. A couple of hiccups, but a solid player
Barker 7.5 Reads the game so well.
Leonard 6.5 No frills. Just does his job
Kalala 7. A couple of wayward passes but broke up their play
Hall 7.5 My MOTM. Is turning into a real find. Makes things happen
Timlin 7.5 Haven't seen him have a bad game yet in this spell. We've got to keep him
Dickinson 5.5 Try jumping. Try using your physique. Try.
Harris 5 Poor today. Touch was poor. Passes went astray. Hope it was just one of those days for him
Subs :
Grant 7. Looked in form. Drove us forward.
Mohnsi 7.5 He brings physical prescence, passion and can play. Came on at the right time and caused problems

 

[Frankie the half breed]

Morecambe especially defensively were so well organised today. They were all big lads, and shut Harris down completely. Love Harris though, still think he has more to give and he will. A lot of mistakes were made by us throughout the game but can't fault the players and commitment, I'm over the moon with a point, still unbeaten and going strong. Just hope we can still linger around the top of the table throughout the whole season and keep up the confidence.

Atmosphere was good at times today, loved hearing and seeing the attendance, 9,700 something. Brilliant, just hope that the numbers don't go down to much next week against Torquay.

Timlin MOTM for me, he's got great control on the ball, he is committed and loves being on that pitch. Really want him permanently. Bilel and Grant were good when they came on, Hall showing great skills throughout, not as good as we know him but our front 2 were quite disappointing. Barker was brilliant today too, him and philips. Clohessy constantly making those runs forward on the right, packed with energy.

Can't be sad, we went 1-0 down and we can't win every game. Morecambe are a strong side. UTB

 

[* ORM *]

Top marks for the ref today. He could have thrown around cards like confetti but chose not too until he finally lost his patience. While all of us were getting frustrated with the timewasting he was busy making sure he added the time onto the end of the game. Can't blame him for the disallowed goal either. In fact I can't think of one bad decision the ref made.

Slightly worried about Timlin on two fronts. 1) Will he sign ? Head and shoulders above everything else around him in this division 2) Tillyesque Like I said on the post match interview six or seven times :dizzy:

For all those going overboard about Hall must start, look at the assists, blah blah blah let's just say the winning run ended when he was restored to the starting line up. There was no need to change it and until the last 20 minutes I thought Hall was decidedly average, apart from one moment of magic in the first half

If it ain't broke .......................

 

[bazzashrimper]

Not a disaster as Morecambe were a half decent outfit throughout. Thought Jevons and the other forward were lively and had good movement which caused problems.

That said, we had the lions share of the game, except the first 15 in boths halfs where Morecambe were the better side. We would have won the game if either of our 2 forwards had had a half decent game today - the ball just didn't stick at all.

The ref was dire, should have booked their players numerous times for time wasting - indeed the sending off came about through Jevons trying to waste yet more time, and reacting poorly to our players having to lay down the law. Jevons wouldn't have tried to waste time if he knew he would get booked - so poor reffing helped instigate the red card. Other times players threw the ball away, ran to block off quick free kicks etc and it all went unpunished. Diabolical control of the game from the ref.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

I'm with you on that one, ORM. I said in the week that I would have started the same team again, but it was a tough call he had to make. I think he thought, we're at home, it'll need something special to break Morecambe down and could easily have gone that way.

 

[silentshrimper]

Also loosing my patience with Harris, he may have scored 3 in 3 a while ago but they were 3 easy goals to score for a professional striker. Dickinson brings more to the team but he was also ineffective today, I think we came up against a very solid team who still are yet to loose away.

It was another same old southend home performance, no real thrills and we didn't get going until we fell behind. I was a little dissapointed with Hall and Leonard. We seem to be so much better away from home, but I will take that!

Morris - 7 - can't remember him having much to do, didn't have a chance with the goal really.

Clohessy - 7 - So often when we are playing bad or behind, Sean comes up with a good attacking full back display, assisted the goal and generally did well all around.
Phillips - 7 - Another solid game, think him and Kuala could have done better for the Morecambe goal but need to see highlights really.
Barker - 8 - Solid
Gilbert - 7 - Didn't put a foot wrong and kept the ball on the ground more than usual today.

Leonard - 6 - Did ok as usual, really great solid squad player to have
Kuala - 7 - Defensively great but think he might have done better for the goal, never want to see him shoot again!
Timlin - 8 - Probably the best ball user today. (Apart from the half time lads).
Hall - 7 - Did ok but didn't get into the game as much as we were all hoping.

Dickinson - 6 - Needed better service today, did alot of tracking back and will always do his bit for the team, not his best performance though. Unlucky to have a goal chipped off.
Harris - 5 - I don't think the 3 goals in 3 games has fooled anyone, he didn't bring much to the game today, Morecambe had him in their pocket and I believe Moshni from the start would have given them a lot more problems.

 

[Joolz]

First game this season and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We don't appear to be playing much 'silky' football, but was impressed with our intensity. Keep that up and we will win more than we lose.

Two key decisions from the officials today (who I thought gave us pretty much everything - check out the free kick stats):

Offside goal - was it? I wasn't really looking.

Late on, what appeared to be a blatant handball by their defender laying on the ground in the penalty area. So obvious, I thought my eyes must be deceiving me seeing as the linesman didn't give it. Perhaps I am losing it?

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

So Blair and Mohsni to start up front next week? :unsure:

 

[Mr Plow]

We had the largest attendance in the whole of league one and two today, admittedly helped by some of the larger clubs in league one not playing or away but still nice to see.

 

[leeblue]

Top marks for the ref today. He could have thrown around cards like confetti but chose not too until he finally lost his patience. While all of us were getting frustrated with the timewasting he was busy making sure he added the time onto the end of the game. Can't blame him for the disallowed goal either. In fact I can't think of one bad decision the ref made.

Slightly worried about Timlin on two fronts. 1) Will he sign ? Head and shoulders above everything else around him in this division 2) Tillyesque Like I said on the post match interview six or seven times :dizzy:

For all those going overboard about Hall must start, look at the assists, blah blah blah let's just say the winning run ended when he was restored to the starting line up. There was no need to change it and until the last 20 minutes I thought Hall was decidedly average, apart from one moment of magic in the first half

If it ain't broke .......................

I partly agree with you, but on the other side do you think kane ferdinand (who was dire at crewe last week) and timlin playing out of position would have won the game for us, im not so sure. morcombe were very good defensively and had good shape all over the park, tough tough game which we still could have won. On the hall thing he sets up lots and lots of goals, take this contribution away and we are far worse off, he didnt play well today granted but you know he can win you a game in an instant.Be interesting to see the line up next week.

 

[Lord Football]

I said earlier in the season when we beat Hereford that we would play a lot better and get less. Today that was the case. Whilst the first half had precious little in the way of chances, we dominated possession and territory. Morecambe were organised and look tasty on the break. Second half, our usual defensive weakness came to the fore. If you run straight at the centre backs, they don't like it. And that was them 1-0 up.

Loads of "ooh and aah" moments and balls flew wide of posts, forwards failed to get touches and looked like one of those days. Offside goal, couldn't tell you, but I am still surprised that there was a debate behind me that went along the lines of "he couldn't be offside the ball came back off the keeper." Oh dear. Then Jevons got sent off, didn't see it myself but I do know Grant was covered in blood. It was just typical that our equaliser would be an oggie, and it was no less than we deserved. Morecambe clung for a draw as we threw the kitchen sink at them in the last 15 mins. Fair play to the ref who wasn't fooled by some frankly embarrassing time wasting tactics from Morecambe and added on six minutes at the end. Best ref I've seen at the Hall this season (and I know what I'm talking about). That said, I also thought there was a handball late on by a Morecambe defender.

I don't get too hung about Harris and Dickinson up front. Everyone knows they are dangerous, so defenders are doubly aware. Maybe thats one reason why we are getting so many goals from make shift forwards, midfielders etc.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Not a game for the purists or those expecting us, as table-toppers, to steamroll teams but a pretty enthralling game of football – particularly in the second half. I would’ve taken a point if offered before kick-off and I think, on balance, a point was probably the deserved result.

That said, it could’ve been oh so different.

I personally wouldn’t have changed a thing from the starting line-up that has served us so well as of late. I know Hall has done fantastically well coming off the bench in the last few games, but the personal highlight for me recently has been the balance in midfield. With Kalala and Ferdinand in the middle we had a solid base to build from, Timlin a creative force and Leonard the exact kind of grafter you want at this level. Implementing Hall disrupted that balance and, for me at least, it was clear to see with little cohesion in our midfield… I don’t have any stats to hand, but I reckon our first half pass completion was significantly lower in comparison to previous weeks due to Halls movement reducing the number of options when we had the ball. Including the four more resilient midfielders also made us very difficult to break down, and we definitely looked a little more fragile – particularly on the break – with Hall in the side.

This became pretty apparent with Morecambe’s persistent alternating of the flanks as they searched for a way in. We dealt with it fairly well in the first half, Leonard dropped into the right-back slot on a few occasions as Clohessy darted forward, and I think we just about shaved the first half after some good pressure towards the end. Morecambe did, however, look dangerous (if intermittent) on the ball and the warning signs were definitely there.

We didn’t heed them and found ourselves 1-0 down after our stereotypical slow start to the second half. I lay an awful lot of this blame on the fact that we never settled after changing things around during the interval. We were sloppy and wasteful in midfield, with some players not really knowing where they ought to be, and it cost us. After that, though, we looked considerably better on and off the ball and the substitutes made were probably the right ones… Grant needed to come on in place of Kalala as we needed a little more forward momentum from midfield and the ability to mount pressure rather than looking to break onto them.

Once Sturrock changed it around, we looked much the better side. Having Grant and Timlin, who know eachother off the field, alongside eachother and are quite similar players helped us grow our dominance in the middle of the park (later helped by Morecambe having to change things due to the red card), and Mohsni provided Morecambe with a reason to defend a lot deeper. This created the kind of space we needed in midfield to operate and I don’t think it’s any coincidence that, when Mohsni was on the field, Timlin flourished.

This isn’t to say that Mohsni was the catalyst to us playing better football, because he wasn’t, it was merely his presence that forced Morecambe back. In the past few weeks, Harris has forced teams to abort any intent of a high defensive line by threatening to move in behind them. This created the space for Dickinson to work in and trigger our attacks. Today, however, Harris looked extremely leggy and I’d have to question whether or not he was fit for today’s game. He definitely improved when tasked with playing a deeper, more secondary role, but he was plainly not fit enough to lead our forward line today. That said, it was far from the worst showing from a forward I’ve seen in the last few years, so quite where some of these ratings are coming from I’ve no idea.

That said, his lack of movement certainly impacted upon Dickinson, as it significantly reduced the amount of space he had to operate in. Morecambe could afford to throw a little caution to the wind and close him down, and it wasn’t until Dickinson started to operate on the flanks that he had any kind of joy at all.

Once again, we were quite sound defensively. Barker seems to have completely shaken the knock he had in the opening weeks of the season and looks a much more resilient defender for it. He was also comfortable enough to surge forward on some Barrett-esque runs out of defence today, which were far more productive than some Gilbert’s deliveries. The Morecambe wasn’t the result of a defensive mishap, rather the effect of an unbalanced midfield unsure of how/who to pick up the runner. Clohessy was a constant thorn in Morecambe’s side as they didn’t quite know how to pick him up, what with Leonard acting almost as a decoy-winger and Hall swapping positions with him occasionally. This ultimately led to our equaliser as he cut inside out of the blue and arrowed a cross-cum-shot towards goal, catching the defender flat-footed and causing the deflection. A good showing.

Man of the match for me was, without doubt, the outstanding Timlin. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that our winning spell commenced as soon as he came into the side and he basically completes a midfield that, before him, lacked a competent ball-playing midfielder. His arrival has a few similarities to the way we played when Josh Simpson came in last season and done very well, but Timlin looks to be a much better all-rounder than Simpson.

As soon as Morecambe were forced back and he had the space to operate, he ran the show today in a manner I haven’t seen from a Southend player since perhaps Luke Guttridge. I exclude Bailey in this because he was a very different kind of midfielder, but I could wax lyrical about Timlin’s second-half performance today. His passing was precise and intuitive, he consistently found space on Morecambe’s 18-yard box and he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck just when we needed him to. He really is a must-buy if we’re to harbour any hope of promotion this year.

In essence, whereas we weren’t at our best today and the midfield looked very unbalanced at times, I thought Sturrock responded well and the subs he made certainly changed the game in our favour. If I were to criticise him, it wouldn’t necessarily be for his decision to force Hall into a firing midfield, but the manner in which it was done. I certainly don’t begrudge his inclusion, but it seemed to be to the detriment of our balance in midfield and it needed amending midway through the match and we just might’ve offered Morecambe a sterner test to break down had we made better use of the ball.

 

[OAJS]

Just seen it seems we're featured on football league show..

 

[colonelnutter]

:smile:

great summary, spec re Moshni. will u marry me?

Yeah, those two on top of the North Bank were very distracting!!!
I thought this was a decent enough result against a team that had clearly come with a game plan. The thing that let us down today was finishing - on another day we'd have scored several. I still think that Hall is a much better player as an impact sub, that's not to detract from him as I thought he had an excellent game today. Was really cross about their goal, our defence just seemed to open up in front of them. I felt this was as poor a game as I've seen from Phillips who seemed to spend about 10 minutes in the 1st half "rearranging" his groin! Good games from most, yet again I felt it was in midfield that we lost things, which is surprising considering our strength in that area.

For whatever reason, I didn't feel Dickinson and Harris were on a level today. Harris seemed to be too deep or too wide and Dickinson was allowing their centre back to hold him down all the time. Leonard's throws seemed to be effective in the main but still there was no-one at the back of the box far too often. Timlin strangely, seemed better wide than in his more natural central role and Kalala made some great challenges but then couldn't pass the ball.

It wasn't till Mohsni and Grant came on that we seemed to step it up. And top marks to Mohsni for staying a millions miles away from the Jevons/Grant incident - maybe he's finally learning! This is what we need from our subs and this is why Hall, for me, is better coming on later. All in all, because of the way Morecambe clearly came to play, I'll happily take a point today. We're still unbeaten and still right up there, long may that continue.