IT was hard to know whether or not Southend United should have been happy with a share of the spoils against Rochdale on Saturday.
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Share of the spoils - for Southend United against Rochdale
(Image: FOCUS IMAGES)
By Chris Phillips. Chief sports reporter.
IT was hard to know whether or not Southend United should have been happy with a share of the spoils against Rochdale on Saturday.
Having gone a goal down and been enforced to endure spells without the ball, Blues did well to battle back and pick up a point.
However, the Shrimpers were well on top during the closing stages and came within a whisker of netting an injury time winner when Josh Walker’s shot drifted just wide of the right post.
Arguably, any neutral watching on would have seen a draw as a fair result given the way the game went.
Both teams will certainly feel as though they could and should have won at Roots Hall and that they both had opportunities to have secured all three points.
Devante Rodney was the main man where that was concerned for Rochdale as, either side of his well-taken header which gave the visitors the lead, he wasted good opportunities to have put his side out of sight.
Blues had their own chances with a cross-shot from Oli Coker hitting the top of the crossbar and Gus Scott-Morriss having an effort cleared off the line before an own goal from Liam Hogan ultimately saw the game end all square.
Southend went into the game looking to build on an impressive 3-1 win against Halifax Town on Tuesday night and slightly altered their shape in a bid to make that happen.
No team in the division probably plays as many passes or has more possession than Rochdale and the Shrimpers changed things up to make them more difficult to break down.
A three man midfield was put in place to make Blues harder to play through and to also ensure Kevin Maher’s side could press properly when Dale continually passed it out from the back.
Charley Kendall was also pushed into a more central attacking role to ensure his pace could cause maximum damage against a side defending high up the pitch.
Everyone will have their own ideas and favoured formations but a system listed on paper pans out far differently during the actual course of the game while they often chop and change too.
For instance, Blues started with three up top against Halifax before dropping Josh Walker into a number 10 after just 15 minutes while Noor Husin actually played in a higher average position than Tom Hopper at the weekend.
Put simply, perhaps we are all slightly guilty of heaping too much importance on systems these days and I put myself into that category too.
It does make for interesting discussion but there does feel to be a slight anxiousness or nervousness around the Shrimpers right now – especially at Roots Hall.
Maybe my interpretation is somewhat misguided but things constantly seem rather on edge and Blues boss Maher was clearly taken aback by the booing which greeted his triple substitutions midway through the second half.
As it was, those changes helped the Shrimpers get on top – with Macauley Bonne, in particular, playing a big part.
Watching on from the bench, Bonne had spotted an area he felt he could exploit and he was proven correct when he sped in from the right hand side before delivering a dangerous low cross Hogan could only convert into the back of his own net.
After that, another substitute – Leon Parillon – took centre stage and, while you should not get too excited too soon about a new signing, the midfielder has looked a very exciting prospect in his appearances so far.
Parillon will take time to adjust to full-time football but his arrival has certainly added positivity to the Shrimpers’ play.
Blues also came back from conceding the opening goal of the game for just the second time this season and do seem to be gathering momentum.
Making the play-offs remains something of a long shot this season but the Shrimpers are becoming harder to beat once more and now sit 10th in the table.
Yes, scoring enough goals remains a problem and must be sorted long term but progress is being made.
It may not have happened quite as quickly as everyone connected with the club would have wanted this season but Blues now have far stronger options all over the pitch.
Defeats at Maidenhead and at home to Sittingbourne were extremely tough to take but the reaction since then has been positive.
And even the Shrimpers’ ‘Saturday syndrome’ could not stop that at the weekend.
Bizarrely, Blues have won all their Tuesday night matches at home so far this season but have now triumphed just once in 10 weekend games at Roots Hall this term.
Southend battled hard to avoid another setback on Saturday and will now want to the upward momentum to continue, whatever the formation may be.
