Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 2, Oxford United 1

[Evening Echo]

A SCREAMING second half shot from Ryan Hall secured Southend United a hard-working 2-1 win over Oxford at Roots Hall this afternoon.

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[Smiffy]

Very poor again. Mainly down to no fight and control in the middle. We missed Kalala badly in my opinion. But yet another win. Oxford were superb first half and could of been a couple up, were it not for Daniels. Second half Oxford faded and we came into it more and could of nicked another goal other than Halls superb effort. We still didn't deserve 3 points though. But we'll take that every week. Special mention for the person who provided the fireworks finale. Superb effort.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Best side to come to Roots Hall this season so far, and if we can grind out a result against teams like that then things look very positive. Two excellent goals from Mark Phillips just before half time (and wasn't that when we always used to be undone?) and Ryan Hall well into the second half, plus a number of top drawer saves from loanee goalkeeper Luke Daniels are what made the difference today. Hall was apparently playing after being up all night with sickness and diarrhoea, which probably explains why his overall performance was well under par and why he shot off down the tunnel so quickly after being subbed!

Several players seemed to find it difficult playing on the slippery surface today, the normally steady Barker lost his footing a few times whereas Mark Phillips had yet another fantastic game alongside. All of the defence had their hands full which meant it wasn't until well into the game that Clohessy got the chance to get forward down the wing. Timlin and Leonard were pick of the midfield for me today, both industrious workhorses, Kane was erratic, some moments of brilliance but far too many balls given away needlessly. They missed Kalala. Harris and Dickinson worked their socks off too, to little effect against a defence that continuously led with elbows, put arms around players' necks and waists and were very physical in their whole manner of play.

I felt the ref was poor in some of his decision making, how he gave a foul against Dickinson for backing when he'd been clearly elbowed in the head was beyond me! I was actually quite glad Mohsni wasn't playing though as I could see him falling foul of the ref!

Shame we have no GK lined up for Oxford or Preston, Daniels was fantastic today. Really top drawer saves and clear messages to his defence. I guess it'll be time for the Mohsni Monster to show us what he's got in the GK department by the sound of things though!

All credit to the Oxford supporters too, a great turn out, though if they think Southend's a **** hole, wait until they visit some of the other places in this league!

 

[silentshrimper]

Top game to watch, all be it many nervous moments for us!

Oxford clearly are going to be in the playoffs come end of the season, came here aiming to really get at us and they did, great time to score and Phillips is at it again, totally undeserved though!

Second half was more even and we used Clohessy as a great outlet throughout the half.

I thought there was many impressive individual performances from our lads, but a couple of poor ones which actually had a big impact on the first half especially. Kane has a nightmare in my opinion and looked like he was chasing shadows today as Oxford completely took control of the midfield in the first half.

Think some of our attacking players need a bit of training on one on ones, Timlin went for the nice outside of the boot finish and got it all wrong, at that stage we needed to kill the game of and he really has Hall to thank for putting that beauty of a strike in.

My ratings:

Daniels - 9 - Got us the win really with a string of brilliant stops early in the first half and throughout was solid (one flap but I will let him off for that!)

Clohessy - 8 - Always solid, great going forward and unlucky not to copy Hall with a good curled effort, brilliant outlet in the second half.
Barker - 7 - Good display from what I could see.
Phillips - 8 - Another goal! Good tackles and blocks throughout, such an important player.
Gilbert - 6 - Saved our bacon in the first half, quite close to being an Own goal but luckily we escaped. A couple of moments but defensively solid enough.

Hall - 7.5 - Top class goal and the assist for the other, was surprised to see him taken off, anyone know anything about that? Obviously central to the win but wasn't in the game first half at all.
Timlin - 8 - Great running and tried some nice through balls, good tackles and to be honest he had to do the job on his own in the middle, the miss I have already mentioned, but his display was good otherwise.
Ferdinand - 4 - Weak link for me today, Grant showed when he came on what we was missing, it should have happened alot earlier in the second half, if it had I don't think we would have struggled as much. Not Sturrocks fault in the team selection as he has been in decent form, felt we needed more presence today in the midfield.
Leonard - 7 - Good work as usual, wonder save denied him a goal.

Dickinson - 7.5 - Didn't get many chances to shine but the hard work and running he put in was great to see.
Harris - 6 - A few nice touches, but couldn't get into the game.

Grant - 7 - Did exactly what was needed and really helped us close the game down, kept possession and won fouls to keep the ball, should have been on earlier in the second half. If he was on from the start I believe we would have performed better.
Sturrock - 6 - Went close with one effort, not much time though really.

 

[Crawliano]

Daniels 8 MOM - kept us in it
Gilbert 4 - wow, did he do anything?
Barker 5 - didn't communicate at all until Harris started shouting
Phillips 7 - Lovely goal, solid
Clohessy 6 - subdued but came into it later
Hall 5 - At least we know why he was quiet but WHAT A GOAL!
(The innefectual) Ferdinand 2 - Appalling
Timlin 6 - Tried but couldn't get into it
Leonard 5 - Half tried but well, it didn't happen at all
Harris 4 - gets 2 for trying to gee the players up, otherwise anonymous
Dickinson 4 - tried in the second half, first half jesus christ...

Subs can't really score up cos of time on pitch.

Play that bad and sneak a win, I'll take it but my god, I feel sorry for Oxford tonight. We were gash.

 

[silentshrimper]

Best side to come to Roots Hall this season so far, and if we can grind out a result against teams like that then things look very positive. Two excellent goals from Mark Phillips just before half time (and wasn't that when we always used to be undone?) and Ryan Hall well into the second half, plus a number of top drawer saves from loanee goalkeeper Luke Daniels are what made the difference today. Hall was apparently playing after being up all night with sickness and diarrhoea, which probably explains why his overall performance was well under par and why he shot off down the tunnel so quickly after being subbed!

Several players seemed to find it difficult playing on the slippery surface today, the normally steady Barker lost his footing a few times whereas Mark Phillips had yet another fantastic game alongside. All of the defence had their hands full which meant it wasn't until well into the game that Clohessy got the chance to get forward down the wing. Timlin and Leonard were pick of the midfield for me today, both industrious workhorses, Kane was erratic, some moments of brilliance but far too many balls given away needlessly. They missed Kalala. Harris and Dickinson worked their socks off too, to little effect against a defence that continuously led with elbows, put arms around players' necks and waists and were very physical in their whole manner of play.

I felt the ref was poor in some of his decision making, how he gave a foul against Dickinson for backing when he'd been clearly elbowed in the head was beyond me! I was actually quite glad Mohsni wasn't playing though as I could see him falling foul of the ref!

Shame we have no GK lined up for Oxford or Preston, Daniels was fantastic today. Really top drawer saves and clear messages to his defence. I guess it'll be time for the Mohsni Monster to show us what he's got in the GK department by the sound of things though!

All credit to the Oxford supporters too, a great turn out, though if they think Southend's a **** hole, wait until they visit some of the other places in this league!

Didn't realise Hall was ill, explains why he came off and went straight down the tunnel. Do we not have Daniels for cup games then?

 

[jamesmut2000]

Harris 4 - gets 2 for trying to gee the players up, otherwise anonymous

What he said.

 

[silentshrimper]

Timlin 6 - Tried but couldn't get into it

Are you serious? He HAD to get into it because of Ferdinand not turning up.

 

[Pak Power]

Really enjoyed the game, thought Oxford edged it, but will take the 3 points all day long. Paul Sturrock has turned us into a win machine, that seem to be able to win ugly, and when we are not at our best. The stuff champions are made of.


Daniels. 9 MOM 3 good saves in the first half (one from a free kick which might have crept in) 2 more in the second half. Can we sign him please, can't think why WBA would want him !!


Clohessey 7.5 Better second half than first. His attacking side showed later on.


Gilbert 6. Had his hands full. Lost the guy for their goal. But that aside was ok. Just before the goal I said Prosser should be on, switch Barker, because they had brought a couple of tall subs on, and their throw in's were starting to cause problems.


Barker 7. Solid, apart from one slip in the first half, when the bal went through his legs and Constable was through, only for a lucky deflection off Gilbert to save any blushes.


Phillips 8. Won most, scored (again) hope he stays fit.


Hall 7. wonder goal. a goal worthy of winning a match. but obviously his sick bug had an effect on his overall game.


Timlin 7.5 The miss has been mentioned, but his overall contribution good. Best midfielder in a blue shirt (not on the pitch though)


Ferdinand 5. won the ball, dallied then lost it again too many times for my liking. The scouts at the game wouldn't have been impressed.


Leonard. 7. Was in the wars a bit with a head clash, and got kicked when the officials should have booked the guy. but defended well I thought.


Dickinson.7. Hard working performance, got booked for punching (their no 22 in the area I think) I think it mighgt have been a pen had ther ball been in play (someone will correct) But put himself about well.


Harris 6. Doesn't seem to have much to have much of an understanding with Dicko yet which surprises me.



Grant. 7 Does exactly what it says on the tin. There were boos for Hall's exit, but the manager got it spot on (how many more times will we say that this season) kept posession drew fouls, and we looked far better when he came on as Oxford tired.


Sturrock 6. Done what was asked, namely if you can't find a team mate get it into the channels behind Oxford, and then chase it down. Was unlucky with one that I think hit the post.



Manager 8 Tactically sound especially with the Grant substitution. With the abscence of Kalala still change the team around and finds a winning formula.


That's why we're top of the league!

 

[Winkle]

Not "kanes" best game but think the formation Oxford played did not help him one bit. Thought we struggled in "Midfield" first half, giving the ball away and chasing there players but was confident that luggy would sort it out second half, and he did mostly. I always thought we would get a chance and we did,with "Ryans" goal being the difference between the sides. Gilberts marking for there goal was terrible and I did notice that he does give "Ryan" some stick when they play done the same side together, perhaps maybe he should start concentrating on his own performance instead of lambasting those around him. Fantastic result against a good organised side. U.T.B.

 

[Dick Bate's Protege]

Think that if we'd swapped Ferdinand for Kalala/Grant at half time, it would have been a more comfortable second half. Was pleased to see we didn't get intimidated by a physical side, and glad that Moshni wasn't available; would have been a walking sending off IMO. We're going to win this league.

 

[canveyshrimper]

Oxford will play a whole lot worse than that and win. Easily the best side I've seen this season, well organised and hard working, pass the ball well, and they came up against an inspired Luke Daniels. I don't think we were that bad overall, but really missed Kalalalalala and his ability to break up play and win the ball. Something the ineffectual Ferdinand and Leonard couldn't do. Added to which Timlin's radar was off with his passing and he also contrived the miss of the season.

Both Harris and Dickinson were well marshalled by the Oxford defence, and most of our best attacking came from Clohessey overlapping on the right. But it was a great goal from Ryan Hall that won the game for us. I thought the ref today was decent he tried to keep the game going by playing the advantage where possible, and wasn't averse to letting shoulder charges go.

I for one am starting to warm to this team, they work hard for each other and seemingly have a good spirit. Apart from that wewon, and we now have a 2 point lead at the top of that fat Scots crook Evans' Crawley side.

 

[Crawliano]

Are you serious? He HAD to get into it because of Ferdinand not turning up.

He tried, but he looked anonymous due to those around him.

 

[Semi-Spanish Shrimper]

Top game to watch, all be it many nervous moments for us!

Oxford clearly are going to be in the playoffs come end of the season, came here aiming to really get at us and they did, great time to score and Phillips is at it again, totally undeserved though!

Second half was more even and we used Clohessy as a great outlet throughout the half.

I thought there was many impressive individual performances from our lads, but a couple of poor ones which actually had a big impact on the first half especially. Kane has a nightmare in my opinion and looked like he was chasing shadows today as Oxford completely took control of the midfield in the first half.

Think some of our attacking players need a bit of training on one on ones, Timlin went for the nice outside of the boot finish and got it all wrong, at that stage we needed to kill the game of and he really has Hall to thank for putting that beauty of a strike in.

My ratings:

Daniels - 9 - Got us the win really with a string of brilliant stops early in the first half and throughout was solid (one flap but I will let him off for that!)

Clohessy - 8 - Always solid, great going forward and unlucky not to copy Hall with a good curled effort, brilliant outlet in the second half.
Barker - 7 - Good display from what I could see.
Phillips - 8 - Another goal! Good tackles and blocks throughout, such an important player.
Gilbert - 6 - Saved our bacon in the first half, quite close to being an Own goal but luckily we escaped. A couple of moments but defensively solid enough.

Hall - 7.5 - Top class goal and the assist for the other, was surprised to see him taken off, anyone know anything about that? Obviously central to the win but wasn't in the game first half at all.
Timlin - 8 - Great running and tried some nice through balls, good tackles and to be honest he had to do the job on his own in the middle, the miss I have already mentioned, but his display was good otherwise.
Ferdinand - 4 - Weak link for me today, Grant showed when he came on what we was missing, it should have happened alot earlier in the second half, if it had I don't think we would have struggled as much. Not Sturrocks fault in the team selection as he has been in decent form, felt we needed more presence today in the midfield.
Leonard - 7 - Good work as usual, wonder save denied him a goal.

Dickinson - 7.5 - Didn't get many chances to shine but the hard work and running he put in was great to see.
Harris - 6 - A few nice touches, but couldn't get into the game.

Grant - 7 - Did exactly what was needed and really helped us close the game down, kept possession and won fouls to keep the ball, should have been on earlier in the second half. If he was on from the start I believe we would have performed better.
Sturrock - 6 - Went close with one effort, not much time though really.

Been suffering with a bug I think and wasn't feeling great last night

 

[ian180]

Very poor 1[SUP]st[/SUP] half and but for a great performance from Daniels we were lucky not to be a least 3 goals behind. Ferdinand was poor today and was the weak link in midfield, which had a knock on effect on Timlins performance. Missed Kalala today, and looked a lot better when Grant came on. Oxford will definitely be challenging at the end of the season, one of the better teams to come to Roots Hall.

Did not deserve a win today but who cares.

Daniels 9
Gilbert 6
Barker 6
Phillips 7
Clohessy 6
Hall 6
Ferdinand 4
Timlin 6
Leonard 6
Harris 5
Dickinson 6

 

[Grayson]

Very poor again.

I wasn't there today and, regrettably, haven't been since September - but how have we won 10 in 11 and been very poor 'again'?!

I understand we played badly today and won, but surely when we've been beating all but Morecambe and Gillingham by 2+ goals in the past 2 months we haven't been very poor?

 

[Pubey]

Oxford were very impressive, and were the better side until the last 30mins when they switched to a long ball tactic which was more comfortable for us.

I thought we were very poor in the first half, and not much better in the second. I haven't seen the stats but my guess is that we had less possession, chances, corners, but we still came out with 3 points - a good sign really because we won't face a much tougher challenge at home.

Ratings:

Daniels 8 - Some great saves, but kicking was long at times and a dodgy flap.
Gilbert 3 - Woeful, was all at sea.
Barker 5 - I thought he was poor, was pulled all over the place and on the deck he really struggled.
Phillips 8 MOTM - Dominant in the air and his tackling and interceptions were excellent. He looked to bring the ball down and play people into the game, and popped up with a good goal.
Clohessy 7 - Quiet first half, got into the game and pushed forward well in the second. Has got a real engine, which was visible as he upped his game and Oxford began to tire
Hall 6 - Was quiet, but still worked hard to make things happen. Quality goal when the solid Oxford defence finally let him have a yard of space inside.
Timlin 6 - Went roaming far too much for my liking, which I felt left our defence too exposed (he was guilty of this last year too). His miss was absolutely awful, but on the ball he is intelligent and he worked hard.
Ferdinand 2 - Absolutely awful, absolutely nothing positive today, he was out of position frequently and his passing and heading was atrocious. He was better last week against Macclesfield, but I've haven't seen the 'star' quality that some people have mentioned.
Leonard 6 - A slow start but worked into the game and he linked up some play well. Great header which was saved when it didn't look possible.
Harris 3 - Was about 5 seconds behind the play, and did nothing but ineffectually try to chase things down.
Dickinson 6 - Struggled a bit on a greasy pitch and against some good defenders, but when he did get on the ball he was a handful, and he allows others get into the game

Subs:
Grant 7 - Did exactly what I wanted him to do, antagonise the opposition, win free kicks and keep possession
Sturrock 6 - Good snap shot that was blocked, but struggled like Dickinson to hold the ball up.

 

[Welly7]

Didn't deserve the win, but got it regardless - thats what good sides do. As mentioned already, Ferdinand was poor today and just couldn't seem to find a blue shirt.

Front two didn't hold the ball up enough, but part of that was down to the midfield IMO.

Thought Clohessey had a good game, especially the second half. Seemed to enjoy getting forward more - something which he's been denied the opportunity of doing on numerous occasions this season due to opposing teams lining up in a 433.

Special mention for Grant, who when he came on did what others failed to do all afternoon. Keep the ball and he won several fouls which allowed us to slow the game down. Really pleased when he was introduced, I thought the game was crying out for him.

Getting promotion from this league is all about the type of results that we got today. Many other sides will have the work rate and determination of the better teams in league two, but what sets a promotion chasing team apart is that special player that can make things happen by creating and scoring goals. Ours is without doubt Ryan Hall. Timlin, Ferdinand, Phillips, Barker, etc all are very important components in our side, but for me, Hall has that little bit extra that wins games. Was ill today and quiet by his standards...still created one and scored the other. At this level, a top, top player.

 

[Somerset Ex-TTB]

I can see why Oxford have the best 1st half and one of the worst 2nd half records in the division. I have not seen a team work so hard all over the pitch closing down and chasing. No team can keep up that level of work for 90 minutes, and the longer the game went on the more we came into it.

The 1st half Oxford never gave any of Southend's players a second on the ball all over the pitch, which forced us into mistakes and allowed them to gain possession high up the pitch.

Daniels pulled off 3 very good and 2 or 3 exceptional saves to keep us in the game in the first period.

I thought Ferdinand was totally cack and couldn't work out why Grant didn't come on much earlier.

All of the back 4 defended very well under consistent pressure, and Dickinson and Harris worked hard, but the midfield were poor.

We are going get spanked on Tuesday!

 

[wiggy]

Originally Posted by Crawliano
Harris 4 - gets 2 for trying to gee the players up, otherwise anonymous



Time for a rest i'm afraid although to be honest he hasn't shown much to date anyway. If his name wasn't Neil Harris then he would struggle to make the bench. Blair looked 3 times the player when he came on but then again his name doesn't fit does it!