• Welcome to the ShrimperZone forums.
    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which only gives you limited access.

    Existing Users:.
    Please log-in using your existing username and password. If you have any problems, please see below.

    New Users:
    Join our free community now and gain access to post topics, communicate privately with other members, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and free. Click here to join.

    Fans from other clubs
    We welcome and appreciate supporters from other clubs who wish to engage in sensible discussion. Please feel free to join as above but understand that this is a moderated site and those who cannot play nicely will be quickly removed.

    Assistance Required
    For help with the registration process or accessing your account, please send a note using the Contact us link in the footer, please include your account name. We can then provide you with a new password and verification to get you on the site.

fbm

Blue tinted optimist⭐
Joined
Oct 28, 2003
Messages
10,024
Location
Cloud cuckoo land
A TALE OF TWO ERRORS AS FREDDY EQUALS RECORD



Freddy Eastwood equalled the Southend scoring in consecutive matches record by hitting the net for the 7th game running as this league 2 encounter hinged on two errors in the first half at the Hall on this Good Friday.

So often form goes out of the window over Easter and for 41 minutes Rochdale were the team who were more up for this match.  They were a yard quicker to the ball and won most 50/50 challenges as Blues found it hard to get going.  Both defences struggled to contain the attackers, with Holt and Richards causing problems for Barrett and Prior.  At the other end, however, Southend seemed content to catch Rochdale on the counter attack and looked menacing every time they went forward, with Matthew Gilks being the busier of the two keepers.

After 4 minutes, McCormack drilled wide of the post from 20 yards and 6 minutes later Eastwood forced the keeper to save from a similar distance.  Gray was teed up and hit a low shot which Gilks saved well down to his left, and Eastwood unleashed a thunderbolt that hit Gilks on the knees and rebounded to safety.  But by and large it was the visitors who called the tune as they had the lions share of possession without creating the same clear cut chances as the Blues.

Then, on 30 mins, the first of the game changing errors was made.  Under no pressure, Wilson underhit a back pass and Richards raced alone into the box.  Darryl came off his line to make a fine save from Richards shot, and Bertos sliced wide and over from the rebound.  Prior gave Wilson a roasting, who in turn gave Darryl an apology.

As the first half was petering out, Rochdale decided to pass it around a bit at the back and the second error was made.  One of their defenders played a misplaced pass into the path of Pettefer, who took it on and laid the ball through to Gray.  His shot was well saved by Gilks, but as the ball appeared to be going wide Freddy followed in and tapped home form just a few feet out.

Cue delerium on the terraces and relief on the pitch. This hopefully would settle a few nerves as Blues first half showing had been definitely edgy, but what was required was a more up-tempo performance in the scond half and more pressing of the ball to stop Rochdale playing.

Within 15 minutes of the restart, our prayers had been answered.  

During that period, Blues simply took Dale apart with precision passing and got their just reward.  A multi man passing move ended with Eastwood receiving the ball wide left, and performing a drag back that sold the defender and created yeards of space.  He took the ball on a couple of paces and unleashed another thunderbolt from 25 yards, this one bouncing off the keepers chest and to an unmarked (and possibly offside) Bentley who simply nodded the ball over Gilks and into the empty net.  Then, soon afterwards,  Gower slid the ball through to Eastwood in the right hand channel, and he took the ball well into the box before squaring for Wayne Gray to slot home. 3-0.

There wasn’t much more action really.  Rochdale had a succession of corners after the third goal had gone in but soon sacrificed Holt and Jones, their two “big” players, so appeared to give up the ghost.

Tilly brought Guttridge on for a disgusted looking Pettefer, Duds for Eastwood and Nicolau for Gower.  In truth, none of the subs made any real impact.  Guttridge needs to settle and having been impressed with his control and passing ability in the pre-match and half time warm ups, I was a little disappointed with his performance on the pitch.

But 3 points is 3 points and at this stage of the season the result matters most.  We have gone second, even if it is only temporary, and league 1 beckons.





Ratings

Flahavan – 8 – kept Blues in the game with a crucial save and did everything asked of him.

Jupp – 7 – solid and hardly put a foot wrong.
Wilson – 6 – Nearly cost us with a lazy backpass.  Otherwise not too bad.
Barrett – 7 – Coped better as the game progressed but struggled to contain Holt.
Prior – 7 – Dominant in the air but made a couple of characteristic fly hacks and miskicks that we got away with

Gower – 6 – showed very brief glimpses of class.  Obviously trying to break his new white boots in before Cardiff.  Don’t bother Marky – they highlight the errors too much.  Great pass for the third goal though.
McCormack – 7 – Pretty good actually.  Some wayward passing but reminded me a lot of Peter Butler in his terrier like qualities.  Two games, two 3-0 victories.  He has filled Kevs shoes admirably and should probably start against Cambridge.
Bentley – 7 – Great stamina and got stronger as the game went on but still has the touch of a Rhino in galoshes.  Lost count of the number of times the ball ran away from him.  Got the all important 2nd goal.
Pettefer – 7 – Contributed well but seemed visibly annoyed at being subbed.

Gray – 8.5 – Fantastic partnership with freddy.  Phenomenal work rate and sponsors MOM.
Eastwood – 9 – MOM – scored 1 and made 2.  Rochdale couldn’t handle him.  His work rate is getting better and better.

Subs
Nicolau – 6
Guttridge – 6
Dudfield – 6

None really got that much into the game as Blues took their foot off the gas.

Ref – 7

Very good.  Hardly noticed him and that’s how it should be.
 
a good report again FBM...

Freddy Eastwood was the difference between the 2 sides today. Wayne Gray was the second best player.

It's funny, in the first half they come out and passed it around and we couldn't string much together, the odd shot was followed up by a misplaced pass etc but after the goal it all changed really, and they looked quite poor.
 
Yea I also noticed the Rochdale heads go down after the first goal but before that, they looked like quite a good team, better than Lincoln anyway!
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Wilson – 6 – Nearly cost us with a lazy backpass. Otherwise not too bad.
sure it was Wilson
rock.gif

from where I was (East Yellow) I thought it was Barrett?
 
It was definately Che, I made a point of standing and shouting at him at the top of my voice
 
It was definately Che.

For Beno's goal, the goalkeeper made a fantastic diving save to his left and parried the ball with both hands, not even a hint of it hitting his chest.

Otherwise a good report.
 
FBM next time you do your 'FBM Views and Ratings' can you actually do them without putting any views and ratings so it will be quicker to read?


cheers
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (BoyWonder2 @ Mar. 25 2005,19:40)]It was definately Che.

For Beno's  goal, the goalkeeper made a fantastic diving save to his left and parried the ball with both hands, not even a hint of it hitting his chest.

Otherwise a good report.
Fair enough, you must sit in the South and would have had a better view. I'm in the West and it looked like it just bounced off him to me.
 
Flahavan 7: Fantastic one on one save that saved Che from complete embarrassment but missed one cross in the first half which could've been disastrous.

Jupp 8: I'm obviously not a fan of his but I thought he played very well today.

Prior 7: Solid for 90% of the game but still makes lazy and stupid errors in key areas.

Barrett 7: Solid enough.

Wilson 6: Not great but not as bad as he has been.

Pettefer 6.5: I still don't know why he plays out wide. 'He gives 110%' just doesn't make it ok. Tilson still has to scream at him to get wider everytime we look to move the ball out to the right, which just shouldn't be needed.

McCormack 8: I was very impressed. No nonsense sums him up perfectly. I wouldn't ever have him in the team over Maher but he'd be a very useful permanent signing to compete with Bentley.

Bentley 7: Never really got going for me, and as it happened so fast I can't make up my mind whether he knew much about the goal. Made some vital last ditch tackles though.

Gower 6: You just knew he was going to have an off day when he came jogging out to warm up in some shiny brand new bright white boots! Still doesn't look like the same Gower since his injury.

Eastwood 8.5: Good performance summed up by the sublime bit of skill before his shot that led to Bentley's goal.

Gray 7.5: Thought he did ok without excelling really. His first touch let him down for most of the game and he won zilch in the air. Got the goal that killed the game off though.

Subs:

Guttridge 6: Russ Williamson MKII? He's tiny! Didn't really get involved as the game was finished as a contest when he came on.

Dudfield 6.5: Some nice turns and was clearly desperate to impress.

Nicolau 6: Wasn't on long enough to contribute anything.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (dave cusaks nose @ Mar. 25 2005,19:44)]FBM next time you do your 'FBM Views and Ratings' can you actually do them without putting any views and ratings so it will be quicker to read?


cheers
Of course. It will also make it much quicker for me to type! Like... no time at all!
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (fbm @ Mar. 25 2005,18:28)]Prior – 7 – Dominant in the air but made a couple of characteristic fly hacks and miskicks that we got away with
Personally i thought prior looked pretty nervy today, especially in the first 15min of each half. Recovered well enough though.
 
Don't think I can agree with the Pettefer appraisal. Our away record is such a massive reason for our success this year and he tightens it up considerably down the right hand side.

Interesting that it's been our defence that has done so well this year and now we're starting to get Gray on goalscoring form as well as Freddy. Coming in to form at just the right time. Yeovil won't like the look of their trip to Roots Hall now!!
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (dave cusaks nose @ Mar. 25 2005,19:44)]FBM next time you do your 'FBM Views and Ratings' can you actually do them without putting any views and ratings so it will be quicker to read?


cheers
It's even quicker if you don't bother to read. I personally enjoy reading the report, and thank FBM for taking the trouble to do it.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (bas blue @ Mar. 25 2005,19:06)]concernd about gowers form. seemed to have a poor game today
I didn't think he was too bad today, wearing his trendy new white boots
biggrin.gif
Started off poorly but improved in the second half and created a lot.

Overall very pleased today. Another easy 3-0 win, another strong performance that showed why we've now gone 15 games unbeaten. I was worried at the start because Rochdale made a lively start which was a nice chance from the negative long ball teams we're used to, but after Bertos wasted that great chance their heads seemed to go down and we were the better side after that and created the better openings. No one had a bad game today really and the defence were rock solid again, keeping another big name striker quiet this time Holt. Good crowd too and a good atmosphere, can't wait for Monday expecting a big away following a few people I know are going who have never been to an away game in their life. Also, Rochdale fans are the quietest I've heard this season. Ratings:

Flahavan 7 - Made an excellent save to deny Richards and looked safe all afternoon

Jupp 7 - Been playing well since coming back into the side and defended superbly again today.

Barrett 7 - Solid as ever, made everyone wonder why Holt has scored 22 goals this season.

Prior 7 - Another excellent display in defence.

Wilson 6 - Nearly cost us with a stupid backpass but thankfully Bertos is cr*p
laugh.gif
Otherwise solid

Pettefer 6 - Same old same old

McCormack 7 - 2nd game, 2nd impressive performance. Got stuck in and did well during the 3rd goal.

Bentley 7 - Nice to see him get a rare goal, fairly quiet apart from that, though.

Gower 7 - Started off poorly but improved in the second half as I've already said.

Gray 8 - Never stopped running as usual and was constantly hassling the Dale defence, deserved his goal. Eastwood's getting all the credit but he has one hell of a partner!

EASTWOOD 9 - Just amazing. Was involved in every good move and made the Dale defence look like Sunday League quality. Took his goal well and showed no selfishness for the 3rd.

Subs:

All 6, none had much of an effect.

Ref - 6, did OK let the game flow well made a few baffling decisions.
 
I agree with shrimpboy. Gower was poor early doors but second half he played well.
 
Gower was holding his back and signalled to the bench he wanted to come off. Still doesnt look 100% fit to me.
Also, did anyone notice Barrett was struggling with his back for a while after he collided with Darryl late in the 2nd half? I hope its nothing serious and he wont have to miss the Cambridge game?
 
Back
Top