Exciting win - for Southend United against Maidenhead United
(Image: ROB CRAVEN)
Southend United FC
Football
Sport.
SOUTHEND United's under 19 side bounced back from an extraordinary eight-minute period in the second half during which they conceded three goals to emerge victorious, 4-3, against Maidenhead United.
In a topsy-turvy preview of Saturday’s National League encounter between the two clubs, Danny Heath’s side raced into a two-goal lead at the interval as Jack Stone and Olu Shobowale worked their way onto the scoresheet.
However, by the hour mark, Blues were behind and it took further efforts from Joe Poxon and Stone to secure the win.
“Apart from those 15 minutes at the start of the second half, it was a good 75-minute performance from the boys,” said Heath.
“We’ve spoken a lot about getting back to doing what we were doing before Christmas, and for 75 minutes we did that.”
“It was pleasing to see the boys demonstrating our principles of play, mirroring the first-team, and although we have to accept that those 15-minute periods might happen in games, we got through it and won the game, so the boys got the win to go alongside their performance.”
The teenage Shrimpers found themselves in a dominant position at half-time, with leading goalscorer Stone setting them on their way following a Shobowale corner.
The ball was initially flicked on at the near post before being nodded down by Alfie Humphrey, with Stone eventually turning in from close-range after a goalmouth scramble.
Southend doubled their advantage later in the opening period through Shobowale, who dispatched a pin-point free-kick into the top right-hand corner of the net from 25 yards out with the Maidenhead goalkeeper left grasping at thin air.
“Maidenhead didn’t have any shots in the first half, and if we’d had a little bit more quality with the final pass or shot, we could have been five or six goals clear at the break,” Heath admitted.
“Josh Barrett in goal only had to deal with a few back-passes; those were the only times he touched the ball.”
“We were very good in the first half, but the message at half-time was that the job was only half-done and the second half was another half of football, and it might be a very different half of football, so we needed to be just as good in the second as we had been in the first.”
Unfortunately, Heath’s words proved prophetic as Maidenhead stunned the visitors to the Berkshire College of Agriculture with a quickfire three-goal salvo between the 51st and 59th minutes to turn the match on its head.
“We sensed early on in the second half that some sloppiness was creeping in and the boys were trying to do some different things,” the coach revealed.
“We gave them an opportunity for the first goal, so that was frustrating, and then the second was a good hit from distance.”
“We were disappointed that they didn’t have to work for their opportunities during that period, and that was the only real area for improvement for the squad.
"It was eight minutes of carnage, and that allowed Maidenhead to gain some momentum, so we’ll go through the video and we’ll learn from it.”
Having been rocked, Blues set about fighting back to gain parity, and that was secured midway through the second period after Stone had helped Shobowale’s pass into the path of Zevieyan Makangu.
He cut onto his right foot to float the ball across for Poxon to nod into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
The comeback was complete on 74 minutes when Southend restored their lead.
Joshua Jackson won the ball after an intense press high up the pitch and, when Obi Okafor’s left-wing centre was cleared out to Humphrey, he sent a left-footed shot against the inside of the right-hand post, with Stone reacting quickest to force the ball over the line.
“The boys showed plenty of character,” Heath declared.
“They realised they couldn’t change what had already happened, and they focused on turning things around. In the last couple of seasons, if that had happened, I don’t think we’d have come back.”
“They knew they could do better and after it went to 3-2, they rallied themselves on the pitch and re-grouped. A
"s staff, we were really pleased to see them doing that, because it meant they were leading on the pitch, and they didn’t require our intervention.”
“From that moment, we were on top, even before we equalised.
"We’re seeing leaders on the pitch, and that’s what we want, so all credit to the boys for doing that and for going on to win the game.”
The result lifts the Shrimpers into the top six in the National League U19 Alliance Academy South Division table, just one point off third place and with games in hand over two of the teams immediately above them. Next week the squad travel to Aldershot Town.
Southend United U19s: Joshua Barrett, Teddy Woolland, Mitchell Ward, Zevieyan Makangu, Rio Thomas, Olu Shobowale, Alfie Humphrey (Julius Nwike 88), Joshua Jackson, Jack Stone, Joe Poxon, Obi Okafor.
Subs not used Charlie Brown, Nathan Woodley.
