Official Match Thread Southend United v Coventry City

[The Big Dady]

The Official Match Thread brought to you by ShrimperZone.com

So here we are the fourteenth League One home game of the 2019/20 season and Sol Campbell’s seventh league home game in charge as manager of the Mighty Shrimpers.

Our fourteenth League One match at home is against Coventry City


It is now time for ALL of us to get behind him and the team whether you are at Roots Hall, listening on the radio, listening or watching on ifollow, make that famous "Roots Hall Roar.

Sol Campbell’s 7th Southend United League One Home Team of the 2019/20 season



The Roots Hall pitch looks fantastic and is ready for action at 3.00pm Saturday 15th February 2020 against Coventry City. It looks like we are going to have a very windy afternoon as part of Storm Dennis hits Roots Hall with the forecast of 57 mile an hour winds and driving rain. Storm Dennis could also cause some travel disruption, take care everyone and wrap up warm.







Here is the weather forecast for this afternoon at Roots Hall



Current League home record after 13 home games

Won 1
Drawn 4
Lost 8
Goals scored 13
Goals conceded 35

League Positions Last Season

8th (2018/19 Season) League One Coventry City
19th (2018/19 Season) League One Southend United

League Positions Current Season

3rd (2019/20 Season) League One Coventry City
22nd (2019/20 Season) League One Southend United

Recent League Position Change



Previous Five Meetings

Coventry City 1-0 Southend United (L1 03/08/19 Att. 6,534)
Coventry City 1-0 Southend United (L1 29/12/18 Att. 11,395)
Southend United 1-2 Coventry City (L1 20/10/18 Att. 7,775)
Coventry City 0-2 Southend United (L1 14/03/17 Att. 7,646)
Southend United 3-1 Coventry City (L1 10/12/16 Att. 6,430)

Head to Head record

Southend United Wins: 20
Draws: 12
Coventry City: 22

Come On You Blues! ​

 

[The Big Dady]

Managers Pre-match Views​

Coventry City

Coventry City’s Manager Mark Robins talks to their OS before travelling to Roots Hall.

Coventry City’s Manager Mark Robins​

With 15 games left remaining in League One this season for the Sky Blues, Mark Robins is calling his players to remain focus from now until the end.

The manager has no doubts about the mindset of his players and has told how all of his squad will have a part to play in the final run-in.

The next game up is Southend United away this weekend, with City heading into the game on the back of nine games unbeaten.

“The players have got to be focused and ready to take a chance whether that’s starting or whether it’s coming on because clearly there’s a big part to play for everyone.

“Changes that are made, keeping things fresh is really important and a lot of it you’re looking with your eyes and the performances that all of them are putting in have been to a good standard most of the time so we’ve just got to keep focused and keep doing the same things.

“Everybody’s capable of playing, there’s going to be frustrations at times but clearly there’s a path for everybody.

“Everybody needs to work and everybody needs to keep focused and maintain that focus and if they’re not they’ll fall by the wayside there’s no two ways about it, we’re into the final third of the season and that focus is really important and egos have been left at the door, they’ve been brilliant with that all of them to a man have been fantastic with their application and desire.

“It’s been good so far we’ve just got to keep going and try to build the momentum and there’s no place for anything other than focus and determination to get to the results and get the performances right.

“It’s been a decent spell but we have to keep going in the same way, if they do that we won’t be far away we keep saying it, we won’t be too far away so it’s exciting I think everybody needs to enjoy the third of the season that’s left, it’s an exciting time.”

City face a tricky challenge this weekend when they travel to Roots Hall, with Southend United currently 22nd in League One, but unbeaten in their last four games at home.

The Sky Blues will go into the game on the back of three wins on the bounce, with the last win coming against Portsmouth on Tuesday night.

“I don’t think we need to worry too much about anything. We’ve got a good group of players and a good squad of players and they’re in great spirits, obviously it was great to win a fight the other night, it was a football match but it was a fight as well and we’ve done that.

“Again I come back to it I don’t want them to show any fear, don’t show any fear just go and play your stuff because you’re good enough and if they can do that then we’ll not be too fair away in any game.

“It’s when you think things are going to be easy or going to be a certain way and it changes, and things might change tomorrow we’ve just got to adapt to the circumstances.”

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Coventry City’s defender Dom Hyam talks to their OS before travelling to Roots Hall.

Dom Hyam a Coventry City Defender
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Dom Hyam is refusing to “underestimate” the threat posed by Southend United when the Sky Blues travel to Roots Hall on Saturday afternoon.

City are unbeaten in their last nine Sky Bet League One matches and will be looking to extend that run this weekend.

The Sky Blues are taking on a Southend side who sit 22nd in the League One table and are 13 points adrift from safety.

However, despite City boasting a much better position in the table, Hyam is expecting Southend to fight for the three points in their battle to avoid relegation.

Hyam said: “We can’t underestimate them, they’ve still got good players and they’ll be fighting just like any other team, we have to treat them with respect and earn the points.

“We might have to be more compact, playing away from home, but we still have to try and impose our game on them and try and hurt them the way that we can.

“You can’t really help but feel we’re on a good run at the moment, we’re trying to take each game as it comes, and we’ll try and continue that tomorrow against Southend.

“You can’t help but think we’re doing well and talking about automatic promotion is the type of pressure you’re going to have to deal with if you want to be a good team.

“We have to focus on ourselves and not worry about what other teams are doing around us.”

The defender was impressed with City’s display against in-form Portsmouth on Tuesday night and stressed the importance of the three points earned from the fixture.

“It was a really satisfying win, we were talking about it in the dressing room afterwards, we knew how big that game was and how important the three points were.

“They put a lot of balls in the channels and tested us defensively, but I think we did well and stood up to what they had and as a defensive unit we’re really proud of what we did on Tuesday night.

“We looked at their set-pieces and knew we had to be on it, if we were going to keep them out from set-pieces, that’s the way they score quite a lot of their goals and we dealt with pretty much all of their set-pieces quite well.

“We want to stay solid with that and try and keep them out and hopefully if teams are going to score against us, they’re going to have to work for it.”

City recorded their 10th clean sheet in the league on Tuesday night and Hyam believes playing with three centre-backs is paying dividends.

“It’s working well, we’ve got quite a good record all playing together, long may that continue now, as long as we’re all fit and playing well.

“It’s a bit of a different role, you have to push out a bit wider than you normally would and generally keep it a bit tighter when you haven’t got the ball.

“It’s good to have that extra defensive cover, you’ve got two extra centre-halves with you who are also defensive minded, it’s just a little bit of a change of shape and we’ve all adapted quite well.

“We’ve needed Marko there for sure, definitely in the Bolton game he made two or three really good saves and again on Tuesday night as well, it just shows we’ve got that security behind us if we do need him and it’s a great feeling to have.”

The 24-year-old was patient for his chance in the first team, having been in and out of the squad during his first season with the club, and now believes that his hard work is being rewarded with game time.

“I’m loving it! I’ve played a lot of games, kept quite a few clean sheets and all the centre-backs are playing together, none of us are unhappy at the moment which is a good thing.

“The first year I was in and out quite a lot and didn’t play that many games and it just shows if you keep at it and work hard, and more importantly keep patient, the opportunity will come, it’s just about taking it when you get it.”

He also spoke about his desire to improve his game and feels that experience and game time have helped speed up his development as a player.

“It just comes with experience and game time, game time is something you can’t really replace, you can train as much as you like, but you fall back on experiences that you’ve had and big games that you’ve played in and it makes you a better player.

“I still need to work on my left foot, I’ve been playing that left-sided role and it could still definitely improve and just generally sharpening up when playing out from the back and trying to build attacks.”

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Southend

Unfortunately Sol Campbell did not do an interview with the OS.

Perhaps he did not know anything so had nothing to say.


Sol Campbell talks to Chris Phillips at the Echo before today’s game with Coventry City

Southend United boss Sol Campbell sets sights on Coventry City

Home clash - for Southend United manager Sol Campbell​

Southend United manager Sol Campbell will rally the troops before tomorrow’s tough-looking clash against Coventry City at Roots Hall.

Third placed Coventry face the second from bottom Shrimpers having not been beaten since mid-December.

And Campbell is fully aware of the size of the task facing his side.

“It’s a difficult game but they’re all difficult games in this League,” said the former England international.

“We have to be ready and we’ll patch them up and go again.

“The first half at Peterborough was excellent and we need to try and play like that for the 90 minutes.

“We know it’s tough but we have to set ourselves up properly and give it our best shot”.

Blues have suffered two successive defeats on the road since beating Lincoln City last time out at Roots Hall to secure their first home success of the season.

And Campbell is keen for another strong showing at home.

“We want another good performance,” said Campbell.

“But it’s tough and we’ll be relying on a lot of our young players again.

“We have the under 23 squad really and ideally we wouldn’t have that many of them all in at the same time.

“But it is what it is and we have to do our best.”

Blues go into tomorrow’s game sitting 13 points from safety and will again be able to call on young striker Emile Acquah.

The forward came off the bench during the second half of Tuesday’s 4-0 defeat at Peterborough United.

And Campbell brought the youngster back from his loan spell at Maidenhead United to provide another option in attack.

“We don’t have many bodies so we brought him back,” said Campbell.

“We have to do what we can.”

Charlie Kelman is pushing for a recall in attack this weekend after being on the bench at Peterborough United.

Winger Sam Barratt missed out with a hamstring problem against Posh and is again doubtful for tomorrow’s clash.

Striker Stephen Humphrys is unavailable with a broken nose while midfielder Lewis Gard is not ready to be involved after making his comeback from a long-term injury with the under 23s in the week.

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Come On You Blues!​

 

[The Big Dady]

The Big Preview​

Southend United vs Coventry City

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Overview

Southend United face the first of three huge home games in a row on Saturday as they entertain promotion-chasing Coventry City at Roots Hall.

These two met on the opening day of the season when a solitary goal from Zain Westbrooke secured the Sky Blues all three points and the clubs have gone their separate ways since.

With Coventry just two points off top spot and Southend 13 points adrift in the relegation zone, both sides desperately need the three points this Saturday for differing reasons.

Form

Tuesday night’s defeat to Peterborough United made it back-to-back defeats for Blues following their loss to Blackpool last weekend.

Prior to that, Southend had seen an upturn in their results with wins over Accrington as well as a first home win of the season against Lincoln last time out at Roots Hall.

Coventry are currently on a run of 13-games unbeaten in all competitions, recording eight wins in that time, including their last three in the league against Bristol Rovers, Bolton and Portsmouth.

Last Meeting

Saturday 3rd August 2019

Coventry City 1-0 Southend United

Westbrooke 51’

Southend began their 2019/20 campaign with a 1-0 defeat against Coventry City with Zain Westbrooke’s strike early in the second half the difference at Birmingham’s St. Andrew’s.

The winner came when a crossfield pass from Amadou Bakayoko found the run of Westbrooke who rifled in a low strike beyond Mark Oxley for his first goal for the Sky Blues.

Blues Team News

Isaac Hutchinson and Charlie Kelman will look to get back into the starting line up tomorrow afternoon after both were rested in midweek against Peterborough.

Sam Barratt was another who was missing on Tuesday night, but he was out due to a slight hamstring injury which boss Sol Campbell hopes won’t keep him out for long.

Campbell will continue to look to the academy with a number of senior players out injured.

John White had successful surgery to insert a longer metal plate in his arm last week but he'll now undergo a few months of rehabilitation. Stephen Humphrys remains sidelined due to his broken nose suffered against Doncaster Rovers.

Harry Kyprianou has returned to first team training but will need a pre-season to get back to the fitness levels required. Lewis Gard featured for the U23s in midweek so his comeback is coming along nicely, again it's too soon for him to be considered though.

Joe Shaughnessy is working to get back fit but he isn't ready yet and Harry Lennon is longer term, having picked up his season-ending problem against Bolton in December.

It leaves the likes of Terrell Egbri, Matt Rush and Miles Mitchell-Nelson hoping to build on their full debuts in midweek.

Coventry Dangerman

Striker Matt Godden will be the one to look out for on Saturday with the Coventry frontman finding his scoring boots again with the winner in the Sky Blues’ 1-0 victory over Portsmouth on Tuesday.

Godden notched back-to-back hat-tricks either side of the New Year with trebles against Wycombe and Tranmere but followed that up with a dry spell of seven matches without scoring.

That was until his late strike against Pompey in midweek and, having scored twice against Blues on his last visit to Roots Hall, he’ll be keen to add to this season’s tally of 10 league goals on Saturday.

Ref Watch

Sam Purkiss will be the man in the middle tomorrow afternoon, with Gregory Read and Paul Yates as his assistants and Jason Richardson as the fourth official.

Purkiss so far this campaign has taken charge of 24 games and has shown a total of 72 yellow cards and just the one red, which came at the end of January.

Tomorrow will be the first time Purkiss has officiated either Southend or Coventry having been promoted from officiating in the National League this season.

Tickets

Tickets are available to purchase from the Blues Box Office

Saturday also your last chance to purchase tickets for our next three home games at the special price of just £50 – that’s three games for the price of two! And more details can be found here.

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Southend United v Coventry City Programme
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The Coventry City programme has an in-depth interview with midfielder Stephen McLaughlin.

The winger, who scored his 25th goal for Southend United against Blackpool last weekend, has been a key part of Sol Campbell’s side since his arrival - that after serving out the suspension which kept him out of his first three games.

The Irishman - who has played in every game since then - talks about his most memorable goal in a Blues shirt, his ability to play in various positions which he has done over the past few months, and on the young players that have been introduced into the side.

As in all our editions of the matchday magazine in 2019/20, a poster can be found inside which is an enlarged version of the front cover.

The usual features include a focus on this weekend's opposition, Quickfire Questions with Mark Milligan, a Junior Blues quiz, a look back at previous encounters with the Sky Blues and history of their grounds from SUFC History’s Peter Miles, and the Shrimpers Trust’s column.

SUEPA corner catches up with former midfielder Scott Forbes as he answers five quickfire questions and reflects on the previous ex-player visit which saw 1990’s midfielder Mark Hone return to Roots Hall for the Lincoln City win.

Tomorrow's programme will be on sale for £3 from the programme hut and the sellers from around the ground in the Roots Review branded trolleys.


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Come On You Blues!​

 

[The Big Dady]

Coventry City Team

 

[MK Shrimper]

Sol didn't want to do an interview? Will manager No. 5 please step into the waiting room.

 

[ESG]

No more parking at the school either UTF!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Harry Kyp on the bench!

 

[RHB]

Looks like Isaac isn't on sol's favourites list.

 

[The Big Dady]

Kelman back into starting line-up, and Barratt back from injury.

McLaughlin misses out through injury, Demetriou also out with a knock.

Nice to see Harry Kyprianou is back on the bench, he has not been involved since November 2018.

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

What on Earth has Hutchinson done? I’d have thought with Macca and JD out, he’d be guaranteed to start? Sol is clearly one stubborn fella. Good to see Kyprianou’s name there.
Come on Blues!

 

[MisterStubbs]

Expecting the unexpected again today. Do us proud lads.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

What on Earth has Hutchinson done? I’d have thought with Macca and JD out, he’d be guaranteed to start? Sol is clearly one stubborn fella. Good to see Kyprianou’s name there.
Come on Blues!

Perhaps he needs to learn how to tackle?

 

[BILLERICAY BLUE]

Or tell his Dad to shut up

 

[tottenham541]

What on Earth has Hutchinson done? I’d have thought with Macca and JD out, he’d be guaranteed to start? Sol is clearly one stubborn fella. Good to see Kyprianou’s name there.
Come on Blues!

I don’t understand how he doesn’t get in the starting eleven, sometimes his the only midfielder who creates anything and he always puts in a shift.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Wow. Look how weak our subs bench is. Let alone the starting line up. Oh well. It is what it is. Glad Goodship's back, as he looks the type to get better with more games. It's football. It's windy. So you never know.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I don’t understand how he doesn’t get in the starting eleven, sometimes his the only midfielder who creates anything and he always puts in a shift.

He gives the ball away a bit too easily though for my liking.Though I'd agree he should be on the bench at least.

 

[Flinty]

He gives the ball away a bit too easily though for my liking.Though I'd agree he should be on the bench at least.

He is !

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Wow. Look how weak our subs bench is. Let alone the starting line up. Oh well. It is what it is. Glad Goodship's back, as he looks the type to get better with more games. It's football. It's windy. So you never know.

The bench are all kids.As are half of the first team.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

He is !

Yeah I know.

 

[Andy_S]

I cannot fathom whatsoever why Klass isn’t being involved in the match day squads? Surely it’s a case of welcoming every single player that has some kind of shred of experience?