Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend 3 - 0 Mansfield

[south247]

Lots of comments around me tonight about A Straker. I have marked him down in past but thought tonight that he had an excellent game and fully deserved the applause he received when he came off - though Ben Coker was the stand out player by a country mile. Back to A Straker and his supercharged performance tonight got me thinking that if you gave him an E he would become a streaker

 

[shrimperjon]

Just seen highlights on SSN, excellent cross for the first goal, paused the picture as keeper caught the second goal, looks over the line. Third goal well struck, keeper looks unsighted. Having seen them live, both looked reds. Seeing them again on TV not sure. The first one was physical but more clumsy than aggressive and Clifford's also didn't look quite as bad. Both players went in a bit two footed, but Clifford won the ball and his momentum took him into their player, silly challenge and although a tad unlucky can see why it was a red card.

 

[Agent Lomas]

Hurst's goal took a massive deflection for those wondering what Marriott was doing lol

 

[Jai]

Hurst seemed unsure of what happened for the third. A few players seemed to run to Corr thinking he had deflected it in, but it clearly took a huge hit off the defender.

We went at them from the start and we could have had 4 before we even got the first. Terrific display and the extra room with the 10v 10 suited us because we had extra room to find the pass. Thought Straker, Coker, Prosser, Timlin and Leonard were the pick but no one played badly. White slotted in very well at CB and Barry put a shift in but didn't have much joy against McCombe in the air.

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Beevers, Marriott and McCombe were all part of that Lincoln team we beat at Cardiff to clinch promotion in 2005.

 

[Agent Lomas]

Hurst seemed unsure of what happened for the third. A few players seemed to run to Corr thinking he had deflected it in, but it clearly took a huge hit off the defender.

We went at them from the start and we could have had 4 before we even got the first. Terrific display and the extra room with the 10v 10 suited us because we had extra room to find the pass. Thought Straker, Coker, Prosser, Timlin and Leonard were the pick but no one played badly. White slotted in very well at CB and Barry put a shift in but didn't have much joy against McCombe in the air.

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Beevers, Marriott and McCombe were all part of that Lincoln team we beat at Cardiff to clinch promotion in 2005.

Also, coincidently, the season we beat Lincoln in the playoffs was the last time we played Mansfield before last night!

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

Hurst seemed unsure of what happened for the third. A few players seemed to run to Corr thinking he had deflected it in, but it clearly took a huge hit off the defender.

We went at them from the start and we could have had 4 before we even got the first. Terrific display and the extra room with the 10v 10 suited us because we had extra room to find the pass. Thought Straker, Coker, Prosser, Timlin and Leonard were the pick but no one played badly. White slotted in very well at CB and Barry put a shift in but didn't have much joy against McCombe in the air.

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Beevers, Marriott and McCombe were all part of that Lincoln team we beat at Cardiff to clinch promotion in 2005.

Was going to ask if that was the same Marriott. He's always been a bit dodge!

 

[Depor_Shrimper]

Clifford's red card was extremely harsh - having watched the challenge on SSN and slowed it down it is actually the Mansfield player who puts in the more dangerous challenge . . . although that being said the FA will not overturn it IMO.

 

[CyrilSneer]

Hurst seemed unsure of what happened for the third. A few players seemed to run to Corr thinking he had deflected it in, but it clearly took a huge hit off the defender.

We went at them from the start and we could have had 4 before we even got the first. Terrific display and the extra room with the 10v 10 suited us because we had extra room to find the pass. Thought Straker, Coker, Prosser, Timlin and Leonard were the pick but no one played badly. White slotted in very well at CB and Barry put a shift in but didn't have much joy against McCombe in the air.

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Beevers, Marriott and McCombe were all part of that Lincoln team we beat at Cardiff to clinch promotion in 2005.

Different McCombe. John who played tonight is Jamies brother who played against us, and now plays for Donny Rovers

 

[TrueBlue]

W block did well

 

[CyrilSneer]

The Mansfield keeper and defenders didn't go mad at the ref or linesman when it was given, and the linesman flagged very quickly which suggested it was in. Doesn't look that clear cut to me though. The first Mansfield red looks very harsh. No real arguments for the other two. Overall brilliant victory. Should have been out of sight in the first twenty minutes, but glad we did score a goal when we were on top. A few home games this season, Scunthorpe being one, we dominated, but just couldn't find that first goal. Both the fullbacks today were first class and contributed to our attacking dominance. Coker just needs to look up when making that final pass when getting to the byeline. White did ok as a centre back, not long term though. Interesting to see what happens with the right back spot now, with Leonard looking so good there. Have plenty of midfielders to allow him to play there too. Straker took his goal well, if he had time (Wycombe away), the result could have been different, being unfair though as he couldnt be faulted today on a great all round performance.

 

[CyrilSneer]

W block did well

Dont know what you lot were all on though. Heard 'Alan Littles barmy army' being sung at one point

 

[Swiss Tony]

W block did well

What position did he play in.:smile:

 

[Shrimper 62]

Difference for me was the speed in which we moved the ball through the midfield. The team is not blessed with great pace,but with Timlin back to his old self we were able to cut through their midfield and set up a series of early attacks, which set the tone for the majority of the first half. Coker was untouchable. No idea why he was not MOTM. Praise too for White who I thought played with great intelligence as a stop gap centre half.
I really rate Clifford, but he has to learn to stay on his feet and not dive into two footed tackles.
It gave the ref the excuse to level it up a red card a piece. Overall a great night at the Hall. Let's hope attendances start to pick up. Playing this brand of football I am sure they will.

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

Only seen him once come on as a sub but from what I've read Clifford is a tenacious talent and the risk of red cards is part and parcel of that talent. As he gains in experience, hopefully he will be able to reduce his number of cards, by gaining more control of his over-exuberance.

 

[Streaky]

Bentley 7 - Look pretty solid, dodgy kick in 1st half.
Coker 9.5 - Man of the match, best LB performance for a long time, what a find.
White 7 - Solid
Prosser 7 - Got a few whacks, full hearted performance passed the ball pretty well.
Leonard 8 - Becoming a real fans favorite, full of energy for 90+ mins looks like he played RB all season.
Hurst 8 - Constant threat, ran rungs around stags defence
Timlin 7 - Added some class in midfield, a few dodgy passes, but looked back to his pre injury standards
Atkinson 7 solid
Straker 8 - Who would have thought 6 months ago that Straker would get a standing ovation when he came off! Excellent effort, good crosses & neat finish for the goal.
Clifford 4 - Stupid for diving in, lucky it didnt cost us. Will find it difficult to get back in the team with Laird & Timlin back in contention.
Corr - 7 battled well & played the MF in well

Subs - Did there jobs, great to see Laird back.


REF - Thought he was excellent tonight, got all the important decisions spot on, let the game flow.

Phil Brown - I think he got tactics spot on tonight and has put together a competitive side, with players who can fit in to several positions (and look comfortable).

 

[leeblue]

Only seen him once come on as a sub but from what I've read Clifford is a tenacious talent and the risk of red cards is part and parcel of that talent. As he gains in experience, hopefully he will be able to reduce his number of cards, by gaining more control of his over-exuberance.

My issue with his over exuberance is that it can quickly become a liability.

 

[Firestorm]

Hurst's goal took a massive deflection for those wondering what Marriott was doing lol

Such a big deflection I said it was an og at the time

 

[prawntobewild]

If Neandathal man ever formed a team then it rolled up last night - not only was it hoofball -it was poor hoofball & when it wasn't working therir answer was to bring on a prop forward & try even more hoofball.
What on earth were they doing?. If being a pro footballer ever became a criminal offence then Mansfield can rest easy - they would have no case to answer.
Enough about them - we were super -excellent passing & moving & even when it didn't all work out it the attitude was pleasing.
Could have had 4 or 5 in the first 20 mins. Although Hursty had a good game & scored a great goal MOM for me was Coker - fantastic.Good show from Timlin some excellent runs not forgetting Strakes who also did well - we are just gonna have to accept his unproductive stuff -it's part of who he is.
Well done to the team,management & fans - an excellent evening -good atmosphere from the off with the Armed forces ceremony setting the tone.

 

[Bobby dazzler]

What an entertaining evening that was ! Excellent performance all round and a joy from start to finish. No sooner had the guy next to me said the number 28 would cause us trouble in the second half, he's sent off ! We have seen some dross at the Hall over the years and then we put in a performance like this against one of the meanest defences in our league.
Start to finish they were excellent, although BBC needed to be subbed in the second half if i'm honest.
One word on the Referee and his assitants's 'THANKS'. Cannot argue with any of their decisions, the sendings off looked like red cards etc and after the performance of the Daggers ref and his west stand assistant it was refreshing.
Straker !!!!! Looked a different player, not his greatest fan to be honest but he can keep his place in the team on this performance.
Laird. Good to see him back looking fit as we have missed him
Timlin. Looked like the player prior to breaking his leg with one exception, his passing has improved.
Coker. Excellent performance great signing
All others played well
Looking forward to next game

Oh and as for Clifford. His tackling leaves him open for Red cards but he will learn.

UTB

 

[OldBlueLady]

Thoroughly enjoyed the whole evening, from the excellent tribute to the Armed Forces beforehand to the walkabout by the players and PB at the end.

I thought the red cards were all spot on, though did feel the other player in the Clifford one deserved a card of some sort as it was a pretty similar challenge on both sides. Delighted to see Calvin Andrew be subbed (think it was him in the Clifford one) as he'd been a pain to our defence in the 1st half, constantly pulling and fouling.

Bentley - 7, needed a good performance to restore his confidence after Newport, assured and composed
Leonard - 8, you forget what a good RB this young man is, thought he had a great game
White - 8, vastly under-rated by some I feel, what a solid game in the middle of defence
Prosser - 8, hope the injury isn't too bad, not one but two bad head injuries in one night - he's going to have an almighty headache this morning! Commanding heading of the ball again, when he plays well, he plays very well
Coker - 9, joint MOM, never stopped all night, Player of the Month for last month, and showed exactly why
Hurst - 7, quiet 1st half, felt Straker was getting all the limelight and success down the left and he was over-shadowed
Atkinson - 7, thought he should have scored in the opening 10 minutes, put a shift in but totally over-shadowed by Timlin
Clifford - 6, silly boy, it's an element of his game he needs to watch....may think he's being "whole hearted" but it comes over as two footed and studs up. Will find it tough getting back in
Timlin - 9, joint MOM, welcome back Timmo! There's our midfield engine back and running the show in the middle and what a huge difference it made
Straker - 7 over all, had a terrific 1st half, really was causing problems with his runs down the left and worked well with Coker, but much quieter 2nd half
Corr - 7, am I alone in thinking the defensive side of his game is better than the attacking at the moment? :unsure: Felt he was lucky to remain unsubbed, surprised Woodrow wasn't brought on tbh

Subs:
Laird for Straker - 7, slotted straight back in doing what he does best, our midfield is looking very strong right now
Kiernan for Prosser - 7, looked fine to me

Officials:
Not one word of criticism from me, apart from the comment above on the oppo player in the Clifford incident.

TBV - what the heck was with all the retro chants last night??? I really don't think our current crop of players want to be hearing the Mohnsi Bilel one!