fbm
Blue tinted optimist⭐
Pre-season friendly results don't mean much. Everyone says so, and even Tillys pre match notes stressed this point.
Of course, it's very easy to say this if you win. But whilst the result may be relatively meaningless, I defy anyone to claim that they are not inwardly just a little concerned if your favourite team gets beaten by a team that sit below you in the football pyramid.
This match was billed as a friendly with bite; two local rivals and a lunchtime kick off with scores to settle both on and off the pitch. Someone clearly forgot to tell the Southend players, who seemed to take some considerable time to get into gear with the consequence that much of the first half was played at a relatively pedestrian pace (and quite right too - the last thing you want at this stage is an injury to a key player).
Unfortunately I missed the first few minutes of the match so am unable to comment on the apparently disallowed goal we scored early on. But it was good to be back at the Hall after what has seemed an absolute eternity, even if the crowd (I thought) was fairly disappointing.
Without getting too critical, Southend were poor in the first half and Orient deserved their lead. Not that Blues didn't have any chances; the impressive Francis played several delightful triangles of passes with Bradbury and Smith, with one of them resulting in him squaring the ball back to Maher, 10 yards out, who didn't strike it at all cleanly and the keeper was able to make a save.
Francis had shown some class distributing the ball from the right back position and the crowd had warmed to him; how cruel therefore that he was responsible for the error which led to the opening goal. He swung his left foot at a clearance but missed, the ball hitting his standing leg and falling for Ibehre who raced clear into the left side of the box before squaring to Alexander who was in a similar position to the one Maher had been previously. Alexander is a proven goal getter and his calm strike gave Flahavan no chance.
Freddy hit the inside of the post with a shot after a run from halfway but Lockwood had earlier struck the bar from a free kick 20 yards out to record his only meaningful contribution to the match (aside from a second half booking). Prior looked decidedly off colour and as good as it was to see Jay Smith back in action, he didn't really do much either.
Both sides made half time changes and it was the visitors who looked most likely to score, Collis having to make several smart saves. It took Blues several minutes to settle but when they did Orient had no answer. Guttridge started bossing the midfield and the impressive Hammell also did well.
Triallist striker Oujdide played far too much like Wayne Gray to be honest and I don't expect him to be retained, but star-of-the-show Freddy had several attempts and either missed the target or hit the keeper when you would have expected him to score. His final action with about 15 mins left however was to hit the equalising goal. He collected the ball from a very industrious JCR and turned the defender both ways before firing low into the corner from the right hand side of the penalty area.
Cue a substitution and on came Gary Hooper from Grays. Could he prove to be the next Freddy? He is similar to Lee Evans in size and appearance, but showed great awareness by making space in the last minute to receive the ball from an equally aware Hammell from a free kick 30 yards out. They seemed the only 2 on the pitch who knew what was happening as Orient simply went to sleep and allowed Hooper the freedom of the penalty area as the newcomer slid the ball under the advancing Garner for the winner. If they are to do well this season they must play for the entire game or they will end up suffering.
No ratings today, but on the plus side for Southend, Mssassi looked composed, Mitchell Cole showed fantastic pace, Hammell, Campbell-Ryce and Collis turned in decent performances and of course Hooper had a dream debut. Francis and Barrett also formed a formidable central defensive pairing, the former looking better in the middle than at right back in this writers opinion. On the disappointing side, Gower looked as though he was still on a beach somewhere, Prior looked as though this will be a season too far and Bradbury also looked a little pedestrian.
Still, it's very early days, we've got Ricketts to come in and no doubt 2 or 3 other players before the transfer deadline. It's always nice to win, especially against your local rivals, and without an own goal in sight.
But then friendly results don't matter do they...
Of course, it's very easy to say this if you win. But whilst the result may be relatively meaningless, I defy anyone to claim that they are not inwardly just a little concerned if your favourite team gets beaten by a team that sit below you in the football pyramid.
This match was billed as a friendly with bite; two local rivals and a lunchtime kick off with scores to settle both on and off the pitch. Someone clearly forgot to tell the Southend players, who seemed to take some considerable time to get into gear with the consequence that much of the first half was played at a relatively pedestrian pace (and quite right too - the last thing you want at this stage is an injury to a key player).
Unfortunately I missed the first few minutes of the match so am unable to comment on the apparently disallowed goal we scored early on. But it was good to be back at the Hall after what has seemed an absolute eternity, even if the crowd (I thought) was fairly disappointing.
Without getting too critical, Southend were poor in the first half and Orient deserved their lead. Not that Blues didn't have any chances; the impressive Francis played several delightful triangles of passes with Bradbury and Smith, with one of them resulting in him squaring the ball back to Maher, 10 yards out, who didn't strike it at all cleanly and the keeper was able to make a save.
Francis had shown some class distributing the ball from the right back position and the crowd had warmed to him; how cruel therefore that he was responsible for the error which led to the opening goal. He swung his left foot at a clearance but missed, the ball hitting his standing leg and falling for Ibehre who raced clear into the left side of the box before squaring to Alexander who was in a similar position to the one Maher had been previously. Alexander is a proven goal getter and his calm strike gave Flahavan no chance.
Freddy hit the inside of the post with a shot after a run from halfway but Lockwood had earlier struck the bar from a free kick 20 yards out to record his only meaningful contribution to the match (aside from a second half booking). Prior looked decidedly off colour and as good as it was to see Jay Smith back in action, he didn't really do much either.
Both sides made half time changes and it was the visitors who looked most likely to score, Collis having to make several smart saves. It took Blues several minutes to settle but when they did Orient had no answer. Guttridge started bossing the midfield and the impressive Hammell also did well.
Triallist striker Oujdide played far too much like Wayne Gray to be honest and I don't expect him to be retained, but star-of-the-show Freddy had several attempts and either missed the target or hit the keeper when you would have expected him to score. His final action with about 15 mins left however was to hit the equalising goal. He collected the ball from a very industrious JCR and turned the defender both ways before firing low into the corner from the right hand side of the penalty area.
Cue a substitution and on came Gary Hooper from Grays. Could he prove to be the next Freddy? He is similar to Lee Evans in size and appearance, but showed great awareness by making space in the last minute to receive the ball from an equally aware Hammell from a free kick 30 yards out. They seemed the only 2 on the pitch who knew what was happening as Orient simply went to sleep and allowed Hooper the freedom of the penalty area as the newcomer slid the ball under the advancing Garner for the winner. If they are to do well this season they must play for the entire game or they will end up suffering.
No ratings today, but on the plus side for Southend, Mssassi looked composed, Mitchell Cole showed fantastic pace, Hammell, Campbell-Ryce and Collis turned in decent performances and of course Hooper had a dream debut. Francis and Barrett also formed a formidable central defensive pairing, the former looking better in the middle than at right back in this writers opinion. On the disappointing side, Gower looked as though he was still on a beach somewhere, Prior looked as though this will be a season too far and Bradbury also looked a little pedestrian.
Still, it's very early days, we've got Ricketts to come in and no doubt 2 or 3 other players before the transfer deadline. It's always nice to win, especially against your local rivals, and without an own goal in sight.
But then friendly results don't matter do they...
