Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 2-0 Eastleigh

[Chris Powell's mate]

Every nuance of a great game and result has been covered, and deservedly so.
But I intend to drop a note to the club about the camera operator, which I assume is ours?
The cuts between long and short focus when the action zipped around were like a sickening fairground ride.
Poor person hadn't a clue what they were doing, unlike the team in blue!

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

Is it anyone else or does Appiah-Forson to me remind them of Terrell Egbri in terms of pace and height.

Interesting, but am thinking KAF might be quicker.
Watching poor Terrrell's bat wings fly, I never thought he was that quick when aligned with a defender keeping pace.
BTW, he now plies his trade with MFK Vyškov - a team in the Czech second division.

 

[Hadleigh-shrimper]

Moving towards a Bridge free team at this rate
When Bonne and other strikers return bridge may be frozen out.
Gubbins looks settled now.
Ralph at LWB is bearing fruit, particularly given the defensive upgrade over Bridge.
I love Bridgey but looks to be heading for the bench.
Inconceivable to ponder this a short while ago.

Take it this is satire vey good though. He’s our main creative player and set up the goal.

 

[IloveShrimp]

That was as comfortable as we could hope for against a side at the top (very much doubt Eastleigh will finish top half though). Completely dominant and superior in all areas. If we’d won 5-1 it wouldn’t have flattered us. McCullum might be earning a good wage but he won’t achieve anything with that rabble.

I thought Pepple was excellent and did lots of great work up top. Gus was unplayable for the first thirty and then so many good performances throughout the whole team. Even the ref was good.

Sutton next. Come on boys

Pity the ref's performance wasn't matched by the lino's

 

[Blues ‘n’ twos]

Injuries have probably found us our best formation, Ralph has to stay at LWB, Bridge plays a free role, Moreton starts over Cav ( can’t believe I am saying that), and Gubbins LCB.
A couple more additions will see competition for starting places and indeed bench spaces, and that can only be good for the team.

 

[Maroon Blue]

An exhilarating performance under the lights. We certainly did not look as light up front as on paper, Bridge, GSM, Ralph all very advanced. All played neat passing football, making angles to receive the ball. Ably probed by the impressive Morton, Moncur & Husin. Eastleigh can consider themselves fortunate to go away with just a 2-0 loss. Great to get the penalty right on half time for a deserved 2-0 lead. Eastleigh did naturally come into the game at the start of the second half but never looked like scoring. We then looked for a third for the cherry on the cake but not to be, Bonne was unlucky and I thought their keeper played well.

Andeng-Ndi 7.5
Taylor 8
Crowther 8.5
Gubbins 8.5
GSM 8
Morton 9 MOTM
Moncur 8.5
Husin 7.5
Ralph 8.5
Bridge 8
Pepple 7.5

Bonne 7.5
Appiah- Forson 7
Wood 6.5

James Morton my MOTM, his best display in a Blues shirt. More threat than Miley going forward, less nous defensively, so horses for courses, a game for him last night. However cannot both play together without moving one out of their preferred position. Looking forward to Saturday now against a woefully out of form Sutton and to continue our move up the table. UTB

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

I've not seen anyone really mention it ... But

GUBBINS!

Ive been really impressed with him recently! Solid defensively especially after a shaky start, but the way he has been getting involved in the attack and providing an option on the overlap

I feel like he's going to become one of those unsung heroes

I think it's a real testament to our recruitment/management teams, that the likes of Gubbins and Crowther have been able to step in and learn quickly how Maher likes to play. You can see the confidence growing.

Got to say first few games I was unsure of Gubbins but he made me eat my words last night. Thought that him, Ralph, Taylor and Crowther were quality! To think, we thought we'd miss Lopata, Hobson .. Kensdale .. nope I have every faith, patience is key. Let's just remember that when we lose a couple (which we will). Overall we are on the right path ..... with more faces to come in. Potentially exciting times.

 

[IloveShrimp]

Interesting, but am thinking KAF might be quicker.
Watching poor Terrrell's bat wings fly, I never thought he was that quick when aligned with a defender keeping pace.
BTW, he now plies his trade with MFK Vyškov - a team in the Czech second division.

I thought exactly the same.

 

[Leeboy]

I think it's a real testament to our recruitment/management teams, that the likes of Gubbins and Crowther have been able to step in and learn quickly how Maher likes to play.

You could say Gubbins has had a head start because of his previous loan spell.

Good signing, great game last night.

 

[Thor1]

Of course 1 swallow does not make a summer, but I've not enjoyed a match that much of felt this positive about the team since the 1st David Webb era.

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

Every nuance of a great game and result has been covered, and deservedly so.
But I intend to drop a note to the club about the camera operator, which I assume is ours?
The cuts between long and short focus when the action zipped around were like a sickening fairground ride.
Poor person hadn't a clue what they were doing, unlike the team in blue!

Our media team is as quick as the side.
A reply in less than 20 minutes!
"Thanks for your email.
"The direction of the coverage is not done by the Club, but we have passed this message on to National League TV and their associated producers and we hope it will be rectified on Saturday.
Many thanks,
Southend United Media"

 

[IloveShrimp]

That was a proper top draw performance tonight. Great football and solid in defence. Never gave a poor Eastleigh a sniff but then did we make them look poor. Only criticism was that we should have scored more. But some of the interchanging play in midfield between Noor, Morton and Moncur was sharp with Bridge playing well in a free role. Up top Pepple worked really hard and gave their defence no rest. Taylor was immense and both Crowther and Gubbins also played their part. Gubbins in particular put in some cracking crosses. Gus and Ralph both could have scored but Ralph deserved his goal.

Thought Morton had his best game and apart from giving the ball away and an ambitious shot from distance was excellent in keeping the ball moving.

Bonne looked lively when he came on and was unlucky not to be on the score sheet but looked fit and ready. Keenan also looked very good, so quick and showed some nice touches.

Considering we are missing Waldron, Walker, Coker and Miley the squad is building nicely. We’ve had a tough start with Hartlepool, Barnet and Oldham away and then Eastleigh at home. One defeat in seven is a fine start. Now Sutton at home and Fylde away are more than winnable

Colin 6- kicking not great but good handling
GSM 7- usual all action could have scored
Ralph 8- deserved his goal
Crowther 7- solid and won so many headers
Taylor 7.5- wins so many tackles and just doesn’t get beaten
Gubbins 7- best game in a Southend shirt
Husin 8- oozes class
Moncur 8- ball just sticks to his foot and rarely waste a pass
Morton 8.5 - best game for the club and always looks to keep the ball moving and forward thinking
Pepple 7- worked really hard and gave the defence no rest
Bridge 7- still looks a bit lost at times in the midfield roll but worked hard and created the first goal with a pin point cross. Great penalty

Bonne 7- looked liveky and fit. Unlucky not to score but can see he is a class above
Keenan 7- looked very quick and decent touches. A real asset
Wood 6- not much time but ran around and kept the defence busy

So all in all a very good performance. If this is the sign of things to come and the squad building and gelling then teams won’t want to play us and especially at RH. 6300 in attendance with barley any from Eastleigh and on a **** night weather wise and England on the telly. Roll on Saturday

Imo 6 is harsh for Collin being marked under Pepple and the same as Wood.
I had Collin as MOM.

 

[Whispering Bob]

Reaction: Kelvin Davis Post-Southend United Defeat

Hear from Kelvin Davis following this evening's defeat against Southend.

eastleighfc.com

 

[Maroon Blue]

That was a proper top draw performance tonight. Great football and solid in defence. Never gave a poor Eastleigh a sniff but then did we make them look poor. Only criticism was that we should have scored more. But some of the interchanging play in midfield between Noor, Morton and Moncur was sharp with Bridge playing well in a free role. Up top Pepple worked really hard and gave their defence no rest. Taylor was immense and both Crowther and Gubbins also played their part. Gubbins in particular put in some cracking crosses. Gus and Ralph both could have scored but Ralph deserved his goal.

Thought Morton had his best game and apart from giving the ball away and an ambitious shot from distance was excellent in keeping the ball moving.

Bonne looked lively when he came on and was unlucky not to be on the score sheet but looked fit and ready. Keenan also looked very good, so quick and showed some nice touches.

Considering we are missing Waldron, Walker, Coker and Miley the squad is building nicely. We’ve had a tough start with Hartlepool, Barnet and Oldham away and then Eastleigh at home. One defeat in seven is a fine start. Now Sutton at home and Fylde away are more than winnable

Colin 6- kicking not great but good handling
GSM 7- usual all action could have scored
Ralph 8- deserved his goal
Crowther 7- solid and won so many headers
Taylor 7.5- wins so many tackles and just doesn’t get beaten
Gubbins 7- best game in a Southend shirt
Husin 8- oozes class
Moncur 8- ball just sticks to his foot and rarely waste a pass
Morton 8.5 - best game for the club and always looks to keep the ball moving and forward thinking
Pepple 7- worked really hard and gave the defence no rest
Bridge 7- still looks a bit lost at times in the midfield roll but worked hard and created the first goal with a pin point cross. Great penalty

Bonne 7- looked liveky and fit. Unlucky not to score but can see he is a class above
Keenan 7- looked very quick and decent touches. A real asset
Wood 6- not much time but ran around and kept the defence busy

So all in all a very good performance. If this is the sign of things to come and the squad building and gelling then teams won’t want to play us and especially at RH. 6300 in attendance with barley any from Eastleigh and on a **** night weather wise and England on the telly. Roll on Saturday

I personally thought it was a proper top win performance from the boys.

 

[Westcliff Shrimper]

Wow. Arguably the performance of the season and maybe the year so far? First half flew by with some training moves coming off left, right and centre. It does help that the pitch is getting better and better - chapeau to the ground staff who I'm sure will have their work cut out getting it ready for Saturday after the heavy rain last night. BTW - the West Stand roof is starting to leak - not much, but was noticeable leaving after the game.

Collin 7 - As stated above a couple of good saves and a strong swat away from a cross (he is really good at that), but again some wayward kicking and a silly mistake almost gifted a goal to Eastleigh in the first half. Really good save down to his left from a corner too/

Taylor 8 - How good is this lad? Consistency personified. Would like to see him in the box at corners but who to leave back?
Crowther 8 - Before the game I said that McCallum is one of those who gets the hump easily if things aren't going his way. Took about 15 minutes before he started moaning and was down to AC marking him out of the game as well as shutting down his service. Kens who?
Gubbins 8 - Starting to really settle in well and is really working well as a unit with Taylor and Crowther. Undroppable and put in some really good crosses.

Scott-Morriss 7 - typical Gussy performance, got up and down the line well. Put in a couple of decent crosses, almost scored again with a header, and just never stops running. The Starman running down the right - nearly scored and was a surprise he didn't! Probably the next player we sell for a significant sum of money.
Ralph 8 - Great goal and great game. Dare I say a captain's performance? Gives us so much balance with Gubbins in the back three with left footers.

Morton 7 - Finally playing in his proper position - one of the wider midfield roles is too high up the pitch for him and was able to spray passes around like he can. Will be a selection problem for Kev when Miley is fit.
Moncur 8 - Positive player who gets the ball (normally on the half turn) and drives forward whenever he can. Quick feet and accurate passing. What's not to like?
Husin 8 - 100 up for the Afghan Prince and another good game. Competition is getting stronger in the midfield but can't see Noor losing his place.
Bridge 8 - Not sure if this free role will suit long term but an assist and a goal will do me. All of a sudden we have options everywhere.

Pepple 7 - Very raw but battled well. Loved the run out of defence from a corner with the ball that alleviated the pressure and will learn a lot from playing with the likes of Bonne, Moncur etc.

Subs:

Bonne 7 - Not on for a long enough stint IMHO but I can see him scoring quite a few goals with the way we are playing.
Appiah-Forson 6 - Like this lad a lot. Direct, quick and causes problems. Great competition forming in the midfield.
Wood 6 - Is he being played in his proper position? I don't think so... There is a player in there but not sure where he fits in.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Is it anyone else or does Appiah-Forson to me remind them of Terrell Egbri in terms of pace and height.

that's where the similarities end. Forson can dribble, pass and battle hard off the ball. I really like what he brings, especially as a sub against tired legs. Winning that free-kick, and the ball through to Bonne (although maybe should have gone the other way and played Wood) created some good chances for a third goal.

 

[Wobbler]

What a joy to watch that first half was. We had our most technical midfield players on the pitch and they produced some of the most controlled yet incisive possession football I've seen in years.

Of course you also need the players behind them to perform and provide the foundation, and all five of them were imperious. Crowther for my money is a better defender than Kensdale, more of a goal threat and barely inferior on the ball. Gubbins looks to be settling now and has the perfect attributes for the left sided centre back role. You would struggle to find better than GSM, Taylor and Ralph in their respective positions in League 2 let alone the National League.

Fair play to Morton, I prematurely wrote him off as a squad player but I don't think we're as dominant last night with Miley in the team instead. He might not match Cav's intensity and work off the ball but he's more comfortable with it. His more expansive passing range and comfort in tight spaces took numerous Eastleigh players out of the game all night.

Moncur is obviously different class and you can see how much the others love playing with him, none of them hesitate to give him the ball even when surrounded by opposition players. I've always felt Husin looks a lot better deeper and now the onus has been taken off him as the most attacking midfielder he can do what he does best - roam between defence and attack and help create those overloads in wide areas.

Bridge was a lot more unpredictable playing through the middle, his driving runs and link up play gave us another dimension going forward. I felt his game was becoming stale at wing back and I'd like to see him given a run in this position. He and Moncur both playing on the half turn and running at defences is a scary proposition.

Pepple is raw but has the tools to be a good centre forward. He has athleticism and speed in abundance and showed good close control with a couple of driving runs. He needs to learn to use his body better and should have got on the end of a dream of a cross in the first half but seemed to hesitate. Hopefully he can learn from Bonne in this regard who showed his goalscoring instincts in his cameo and was unlucky not to nab a debut goal.

Lastly a word for Maher, who I think gets unfairly labelled as a defensively minded coach. He's pragmatic like all good coaches are but with the right players on the pitch like last night we absolutely suffocate teams with and without the ball. His style of play will get us out of this division.

 

[Whispering Bob]

Wow. Arguably the performance of the season and maybe the year so far? First half flew by with some training moves coming off left, right and centre. It does help that the pitch is getting better and better - chapeau to the ground staff who I'm sure will have their work cut out getting it ready for Saturday after the heavy rain last night. BTW - the West Stand roof is starting to leak - not much, but was noticeable leaving after the game.

Collin 7 - As stated above a couple of good saves and a strong swat away from a cross (he is really good at that), but again some wayward kicking and a silly mistake almost gifted a goal to Eastleigh in the first half. Really good save down to his left from a corner too/

Taylor 8 - How good is this lad? Consistency personified. Would like to see him in the box at corners but who to leave back?
Crowther 8 - Before the game I said that McCallum is one of those who gets the hump easily if things aren't going his way. Took about 15 minutes before he started moaning and was down to AC marking him out of the game as well as shutting down his service. Kens who?
Gubbins 8 - Starting to really settle in well and is really working well as a unit with Taylor and Crowther. Undroppable and put in some really good crosses.

Scott-Morriss 7 - typical Gussy performance, got up and down the line well. Put in a couple of decent crosses, almost scored again with a header, and just never stops running. The Starman running down the right - nearly scored and was a surprise he didn't! Probably the next player we sell for a significant sum of money.
Ralph 8 - Great goal and great game. Dare I say a captain's performance? Gives us so much balance with Gubbins in the back three with left footers.

Morton 7 - Finally playing in his proper position - one of the wider midfield roles is too high up the pitch for him and was able to spray passes around like he can. Will be a selection problem for Kev when Miley is fit.
Moncur 8 - Positive player who gets the ball (normally on the half turn) and drives forward whenever he can. Quick feet and accurate passing. What's not to like?
Bridge 8 - Not sure if this free role will suit long term but an assist and a goal will do me. All of a sudden we have options everywhere.

Pepple 7 - Very raw but battled well. Loved the run out of defence from a corner with the ball that alleviated the pressure and will learn a lot from playing with the likes of Bonne, Moncur etc.

Subs:

Bonne 7 - Not on for a long enough stint IMHO but I can see him scoring quite a few goals with the way we are playing.
Appiah-Forson 6 - Like this lad a lot. Direct, quick and causes problems. Great competition forming in the midfield.
Wood 6 - Is he being played in his proper position? I don't think so... There is a player in there but not sure where he fits in.

Wot - no Noor ?!?

 

[Westcliff Shrimper]

Wot - no Noor ?!?

Ooops.

 

[shrimperjon]

Thing i noticed also last night was the fitness levels. kev said numerous times earlier in the season that we were behind where we should be fitness wise and it showed in the first few games at times. Last night despite awful conditions the players looked fit. yes Moncur and pepple looked a bit leggy but they are still working up to full fitness as will Bonne. But they have enough to play and compete. If tomorrow night us anything to go by then we are up and running. Still only one defeat and three in this calendar year i believe. Sutton are on a poor run so we should fancy our chances and then the long trip north to fylde and another team in poor form. if we turn up like last night we wont be beaten by many.