fbm
Blue tinted optimist⭐
Now call me Mr Pessimistic, but in some ways I am slightly nervous about the 2nd leg. Don't get me wrong, it's a great result, but Bristol need to score 2 at the Hall to stand any chance at all. Even if we go 1-0 up, they still only need to score 2, so we would need to be 2-0 up to give us any major advantage...
But hey, that's all for the second leg. Great credit to the lads for a cracking victory in the West country tonight.
Atkins had obviously tried to do his homework and had set out with what appeared to be a 4-5-1 formation, with Agogo on his own up front. The result was an enormous amount of space for Blues to build from the back and as a result Rovers were not in it. After 8 minutes Pettefer linked up well with Hunt who squared the ball from the right to Dudfield, who aimed a shot but missed the ball as it squirmed off his standing leg. However, the ball found it's way to Gower, who threaded a great pass through to Hunt again, who crossed for Duds to head home. 1-0 and a great start!
Southend were dominant and started to showboat a little. Tes was dominant in the air early on, but then tried an audacious back heel which failed and nearly set Rovers on a break. Gower then tried something similar and it seemed as though Blues wanted to walk it into the net. Rovers were there for the taking and yet we had not added to our early goal. Then, Atkins replaced Trollope with Walker and went 4-4-2. Instantly Bristol started to threaten, and within 2 minutes they had had their first shot of the match. A minute later they were awarded a penalty when Barrett brought down Agogo in the box. Luckily for Blues he smacked the bar with his effort but the rest of the half belonged to Rovers with Southend stuggling slightly and lots of passes going wayward.
The second half started in a similar vein with Rovers pressing more. Barrett was looking jittery against his ex-employers, but Wilson, Prior and Hunt were excellent in keeping the home side out. Then, a rather dodgy free kick was given to Rovers about 25 yards out in a central position. The ball was touched to James Hunt who rifled a shot at the top corner but Flavs was equal to it and made a fine save to tip the ball for a corner. Sadly, the defence went to sleep from this set piece as the ball was floated in for an unmarked Walker to score.
Briefly Rovers rallied again, and briefly the home fans found their voice. But then Southend started to dominate and Dudfield, Gower, Prior and and Barrett had some good chances before Gower, with 66 minutes played, cut in from the left and let fly a "Marky Gower special" which took a slight deflection before ripping into the Bristol net.
Southend then had the upper hand possession wise, but Rovers still threatened occasionally and James Hunt let rip another shot which fizzed past Darryls upright. He himself then failed to claim a cross which fell to an attacker who couldn't finish, and they hit the bar in the last minute. Blues also had chances to extend their lead with a Pettefer shot, a Barrett header, and a Wayne Gray chance. But 2-1 it stayed and set Southend up for the home leg on 8/3/05.
Ratings:
Flahavan - 7 - Made a couple of decent saves and was generally sound.
Hunt - 8 - Back to his best. An excellent right back perfprmance
Barrett- 6 - Unusually edgy and not his dominant self
Prior - 8 - Masterful.
Wilson - 8.5 - MOM - Hardly put a foot wrong and showed the Gas fans what they have missed.
Pettefer - 6 - Did ok - Huffed and puffed as usual
Maher - 8 - Much better and he helped break up numerous attacks
Bentley - 7 - Much improved but booked again. He will go in with studs showing...
Gower - 7 - Apart from setting up the first and scoringa blinding winner, he did very, very little. If it hadn't been for the goal and assist I would have given him a 5 or 6
Dudfield - 7 - Great headed first goal and he looked reasonably sharp
Bramble - 5.5 - Not a great day for Tes as he became more and more tired. Whatever he tried failed.
Subs -
Nicolau - 6 - on for Gower after 70 but couldn't get involved
Gray - 7 - on for Bramble and he never stopped working for the cause.
Excellent, looking forward to the second leg.
Sorry it's a bit short today, but it's bloody late and I'm knackered!
But hey, that's all for the second leg. Great credit to the lads for a cracking victory in the West country tonight.
Atkins had obviously tried to do his homework and had set out with what appeared to be a 4-5-1 formation, with Agogo on his own up front. The result was an enormous amount of space for Blues to build from the back and as a result Rovers were not in it. After 8 minutes Pettefer linked up well with Hunt who squared the ball from the right to Dudfield, who aimed a shot but missed the ball as it squirmed off his standing leg. However, the ball found it's way to Gower, who threaded a great pass through to Hunt again, who crossed for Duds to head home. 1-0 and a great start!
Southend were dominant and started to showboat a little. Tes was dominant in the air early on, but then tried an audacious back heel which failed and nearly set Rovers on a break. Gower then tried something similar and it seemed as though Blues wanted to walk it into the net. Rovers were there for the taking and yet we had not added to our early goal. Then, Atkins replaced Trollope with Walker and went 4-4-2. Instantly Bristol started to threaten, and within 2 minutes they had had their first shot of the match. A minute later they were awarded a penalty when Barrett brought down Agogo in the box. Luckily for Blues he smacked the bar with his effort but the rest of the half belonged to Rovers with Southend stuggling slightly and lots of passes going wayward.
The second half started in a similar vein with Rovers pressing more. Barrett was looking jittery against his ex-employers, but Wilson, Prior and Hunt were excellent in keeping the home side out. Then, a rather dodgy free kick was given to Rovers about 25 yards out in a central position. The ball was touched to James Hunt who rifled a shot at the top corner but Flavs was equal to it and made a fine save to tip the ball for a corner. Sadly, the defence went to sleep from this set piece as the ball was floated in for an unmarked Walker to score.
Briefly Rovers rallied again, and briefly the home fans found their voice. But then Southend started to dominate and Dudfield, Gower, Prior and and Barrett had some good chances before Gower, with 66 minutes played, cut in from the left and let fly a "Marky Gower special" which took a slight deflection before ripping into the Bristol net.
Southend then had the upper hand possession wise, but Rovers still threatened occasionally and James Hunt let rip another shot which fizzed past Darryls upright. He himself then failed to claim a cross which fell to an attacker who couldn't finish, and they hit the bar in the last minute. Blues also had chances to extend their lead with a Pettefer shot, a Barrett header, and a Wayne Gray chance. But 2-1 it stayed and set Southend up for the home leg on 8/3/05.
Ratings:
Flahavan - 7 - Made a couple of decent saves and was generally sound.
Hunt - 8 - Back to his best. An excellent right back perfprmance
Barrett- 6 - Unusually edgy and not his dominant self
Prior - 8 - Masterful.
Wilson - 8.5 - MOM - Hardly put a foot wrong and showed the Gas fans what they have missed.
Pettefer - 6 - Did ok - Huffed and puffed as usual
Maher - 8 - Much better and he helped break up numerous attacks
Bentley - 7 - Much improved but booked again. He will go in with studs showing...
Gower - 7 - Apart from setting up the first and scoringa blinding winner, he did very, very little. If it hadn't been for the goal and assist I would have given him a 5 or 6
Dudfield - 7 - Great headed first goal and he looked reasonably sharp
Bramble - 5.5 - Not a great day for Tes as he became more and more tired. Whatever he tried failed.
Subs -
Nicolau - 6 - on for Gower after 70 but couldn't get involved
Gray - 7 - on for Bramble and he never stopped working for the cause.
Excellent, looking forward to the second leg.
Sorry it's a bit short today, but it's bloody late and I'm knackered!
