Post-Match Thread and Ratings Eastleigh 1-2 Southend United

[Cricko]

Phew! We had it all to do in that second half and came out the winners. I do not know what was said at half time as we well and truly lost it in the second. That said a win is a win and with all teams around us dropping points we have done our bit. Great first half showing from the Shrimpers and we deserved to be 2 up at half time.

790 plus shrimpers there and another 3 points.

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

One awful back pass; one awful miss - and seat of the pants for the rest of the match.
BUT, we are nothing if not resilient.
That last 15 reminded me of Altrincham where we clawed out a result.
All the same, NL games turn on a dime. They were never going to score one till we gifted it.
I saw Gubbins got it in the neck on the match thread - but am not sure about LCP's contribution this time.
Great for Gus and Hopper was on it too. Hayes' second-half save was PL standard.
Please tell me the point of Walker?

 

[South Bank Hank]

I do not know what was said at half time as we well and truly lost it in the second

I suspect more to do with what was felt in the Eastleigh dressing room than the Southend one.

0-1 or 0-2 up at half time, home team is always going to come out with a rocket up their ***, fighting back while an away team in the lead will naturally be more cautious. It happens up and down the country every week no matter what the manager says at half time.

Kev certainly won’t have told them to routinely give the ball away to the opposition though.

Four points behind a choking Gateshead with a game in hand? Yes please!

 

[gatecrasher]

That was a playoff pincher right there - great first half, abysmal second, relied on a superb save from Hayes and the woodwork. However it's 3 points when those above have imploded on the day.

First half I was thinking to myself, Bonne is winning me round....then that finish that's orbiting Mars happend second half....

 

[40yearsafan]

Exactly the type of game we needed to grind out a result. The unlikely playoff push continues.
Hats off to all the travelling Shrimpers, safe journey home with the M25 closure.

 

[Maldon Shrimper]

Two contrasting halves of football so dominate in the first and second best in the second half.Thankfully for GSM getting the second goal we come away with 3 points although it was definitely squeaky bum time in watching that

 

[SeldomSeenShrimper]

What's not to like? 3 points against a decent side in decent form

Time for Boston who slipped up today after a great run in form, time to fully burst their bubble

 

[gpd]

More expert in-depth analysis from the BBC

 

[RHB]

A very hard earnt 3 points in the end, and thoroughly deserved. No one could criticise any of the Southend players for lack of effort in that 95 minutes, and the first half was great to watch. Not so the second, but as SBH said, what did we expect Eastleigh to do, roll over? On to Boston on Tuesday, the dream just will not die.

 

[ColinMorrisWalksOnWater]

Well done to the 792 that travelled. Massive effort from the stands in the second half, sadly not matched by the team.

Great to hang on and get the result. But we really have to sharpen up the passing, it was simply awful in the second half, with glaring errors from Husin, Golding, Gubbins, and Bridge to name but a few.

On the positive, Hayes kept us in it, that save was as good as a goal, superb and the defending of balls played in our box was much better than in recent weeks.

We need to be on it for the whole 90 minutes and cut the sloppy stuff out.

Rochdale only drew, Gateshead lost again.

If Barnet can do the biz at Altrincham, we will settle into 8th place and hopefully kick on on Tuesday.

UTB

 

[Barling Magna]

Such an impressive first half but Eastleigh's subs at half time changed the game. Quigley and Maguire both looked a cut above those they replaced; why didn't they start the game?

Lady Luck was with us for once but I think that we (just) deserved to win. And with Rochdale, Gateshead and Halifax dropping points the table looks better still.

It would be helpful if Barnet beat Alty tonight.

 

[Harry Bullocks]

25% of today attendance.

 

[Desperado]

Great away performance until their goal. We look to have real confidence in the 433 shape and are hopefully on the charge now.

However, not sure reverting to 352 and hanging on is the right tactical decision in those moments. It was pure good fortune they didn’t equalise.

Also, Bridge now looks a huge liability in LWB…

 

[HertfordshireBlue]

What an atmosphere that was and a great day out - you could clearly see the players fought til the end on that one. Pretty much all results went our way too so win Tuesday and we really have a chance.

Only complaint is that I think every single substitution today was wrong, Walker doesn’t have the hunger to replace Bonne, Bridge at the minute really doesn’t have the quality or confidence to replace Parillion and Miley is still getting back to match fitness. Goodliffe really didn’t have much time to make an impact. I think this made it so much harder for us and it will be Kev’s loyalty to players like Bridge and Miley instead of KAF and Kendall which will always be his downfall.

I’m thinking this really will go down to the final game.

 

[bluesfansince1952]

What an atmosphere that was and a great day out - you could clearly see the players fought til the end on that one. Pretty much all results went our way too so win Tuesday and we really have a chance.

Only complaint is that I think every single substitution today was wrong, Walker doesn’t have the hunger to replace Bonne, Bridge at the minute really doesn’t have the quality or confidence to replace Parillion and Miley is still getting back to match fitness. Goodliffe really didn’t have much time to make an impact. I think this made it so much harder for us and it will be Kev’s loyalty to players like Bridge and Miley instead of KAF and Kendall which will always be his downfall.

I’m thinking this really will go down to the final game.

Yes but there is a another game on Tuesday night so the temptation to not leave your key players on too long must be huge. By NL standards our bench is by no means poor and in reality we have to use it.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

One awful back pass; one awful miss - and seat of the pants for the rest of the match.
BUT, we are nothing if not resilient.
That last 15 reminded me of Altrincham where we clawed out a result.
All the same, NL games turn on a dime. They were never going to score one till we gifted it.
I saw Gubbins got it in the neck on the match thread - but am not sure about LCP's contribution this time.
Great for Gus and Hopper was on it too. Hayes' second-half save was PL standard.
Please tell me the point of Walker?

I think there were 2 awful misses. Hopper should have scored with his one towards the end

 

[GBJ]

What an away day.

Second half was nail biting & hard to watch at times, but we’d earned our lead and deserved to hang onto it.

Atmosphere was immense. One of the best away ends we’ve had during our time in this league.

Bonne and Hopper missed gilt edged chances to make it safe, but we hung on resolutely.

Taylor MOTM for me. Outstanding at the back.

For those who wrote us off - you know who your are - prepare yourself, because the fat lady is opening the oven door, removing the humble pie & letting it cool on the window sill. Won’t be long before she’s cutting you a slice

 

[Rob1920]

Well I admit I didn’t think we would make the play offs mainly because I just couldn’t believe the sides above us would drop so many points. It’s been almost unbelievable how it’s gone over the past couple of weeks. Now you’d have to say it’s very achievable.

 

[Holy Joe]

First half was one of the most dominant halves of football from us for a while '- although as usual didn't create many great chances.

Credit to Eastleigh for changing it up and making it a game in the second half.

Good result.

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

Such an impressive first half but Eastleigh's subs at half time changed the game. Quigley and Maguire both looked a cut above those they replaced; why didn't they start the game?

Lady Luck was with us for once but I think that we (just) deserved to win. And with Rochdale, Gateshead and Halifax dropping points the table looks better still.

It would be helpful if Barnet beat Alty tonight.

With respect, what changed the game was their goal.
The subs had been on the pitch 15 minutes and were making no headway.