Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 5-0 Solihull Moors

[Evening Echo]

He jumped and landed and just rolled his ankle a bit. Wee will see how it settles down tomorrow but fingers crossed it’s not too bad.

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[palexander]

He scored 4, were you half asleep?!? ;-)

4th was a bit trickier, was just making the point as hattricks go at that point, it was pretty straightforward! - but you have to score a hattrick to be able to score 4!

If someone had made a £1m selling pencils in a month but now had £3m, you would still say "he made a million really easily" and its still a valid thing to say.

 

[Hooly]

It was a complete performance & this team really does play the best football I've seen for a long time. Okay you have to temper it a bit by the level we are playing at but you can only annihilate what is put in front of you.

Husin was magical today & MoM really but when a young lad scores 4 you can't really give it to anyone else.

However a big up to Brooklyn Kabongolo who gave a very mature performance I thought. He could have had 3 goals but for 2 great saves & a scramble by Hayes to prevent the OG. For a big rangy guy he looks to have really good touch & played with a confidence that the management must have given him in the time he'd been training with us before we were allowed to bring him in. They could have unearthed another decent player there.

 

[Bromley Blue]

Wrong!! - what the original poster actually said (post #2) was "That said, you're never going to see an easier hat-trick!" even saying in which manner each goal was scored.

Like I said (I was correct) Kanu actually scored 4

I think you’re getting too caught up in someone mentioning a hattrick. Maybe he was just talking about how easy the first 3 goals were for instance? But well aware that he scored 4.

Anyway can’t be arsed to argue. We’re all Southend fans and have just won 5-0 so let’s have a beer and be happy about it.

 

[Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset]

Just got back home, long day good day.

Tims a fantastic guest, got a lovely reception, spoke to everyone, the new HT q&a seemed to go well (could folk hear it ok on our tinny tannoy?), Far Post 5:05 q&a with Tims was excellent.

Long chat with Grids, he's bringing a couple of old teammates to the Chesterfield match. He's quite the Southend fan these days.

Met the 'Aussie chap', very personable. Heard Mark Rubin set him a challenge to do better than him

Kanu Cadette is mustard.

Team performance .... wow.

Fleet services KFC top notch bar no bbq dips

UTB

 

[shrimperjon]

Wasn’t there today but just enjoyed the delights of Shrimpers TV and D1versity. The build up, pass and movement fir the 5th goal was a thing of beauty

 

[secondalibi]

A fantastic performance by Blues today, great all over the pitch, played some great stuff, could have even won by more. I really enjoyed that as my son and I don't get down to Roots Hall often as we'd like, as we live in Birmingham. Well worth the trip. Nice to drive home after a performance like that. Monday will be fun at work, when I get to mock my work colleague who supports Solihull Moors, especially as he said they'd beat us comfortably!

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Kanu will grab the headlines but Noor was magnificent today. When Noor, Wes and Bridge are on form no team in the division can live with us.

The spark however was Kabongolo coming on. That’s no knock on Demi who isn’t a centre-half but has been filling in manfully but Kabongolo transformed this team. Almost immediately we looked a complete team. He started by winning a towering header to initiate an attack and we never looked back, pinning Solihull in their own half. I’m not entirely sure how a centre half can transform a team going forward like that but a combination of making us stronger in the air and being more mobile maybe letting us play a touch higher meant from then on we dominated possession.

At the heart of it was Noor who took confidence from being on the winning side (and sacking a manager) in the internationals and realised he was an international playing in the NL. He played with an arrogance that said he was the best player on the pitch and that was hard to argue with. In Miley’s absence we needed a big performance from him and he delivered.

Ahead of him the return of Fonguck brought the best out of Bridge. His marker will have nightmares about this he was turned inside out so often. With Wes in support Bridge is twice the player as he has someone on the same wavelength. Bridge sucks in defenders and Wes just loves drifting into the space that creates. The Bridge-Fonguck double act is just a delight to watch.

The first came from two of our centrehalves linking up in the final third. Harry Taylor’s deep cross (a tactic we used a couple of times) was headed across goal by Kensdale and Kanu had a tap in at the far post.

That meant Solihull had to chase the game and couldn’t just sit back. We however pinned them back with our press (and Kabongolo stopping the long balls) and Kanu got his second just before half time when their keeper inadvertently passed to him. This was probably his toughest goal of the day but he finished with aplomb.

The second half then started with our best spell since Yeovil at home back when our manager was playing. We were all over Solihull. Bridge was tying his marker up in knots and Kabongolo was twice denied. From that a corner was cleared as far Noor on the edge of the area and he returned it with interest (although it was a clean strike I think their keeper should have done better seeing how central it was). A boxing referee would have ended the contest at this point. However we carried on. Kanu, who should have had 5, headed wide from some more Bridge magic. Then as the olés broke out we finished a 30(?) pass move with Bridge crossing in for Kanu to score the first home debut hattrick since Freddy. Solihull had only lost once all season and conceded just 13 in 15 games but we made it five soon after when Kanu steered in another, adding Cadette to the list of legends his debut resembled.

It could have been double figures but Noor decided he wanted a rest after all that travel and then Cardwell picked up a knock too.

An incredible match against far from the worst team we played this season. We just made them look ordinary. Against the better sides who try to win away from home we’ve demolished them, putting 4 past Oldham, 5 past Solihull. We have scored at least two every home game except one.

Hayes 7 - solid although his distribution remains work in progress
Scott-Morris 8 - what a great signing he was
Bridge 9 - mesmeric
Demi - N/A
Taylor 7 - quiet day at the office, his most noticeable contributions were going forward
Kensdale 7 - not really tested
Husin 10 - magnificent
Fonguck 9 - majestic
Coker 8 - goes under the radar but he really helps make us tick. Don’t think he gave the ball away once first half and his set pieces are another weapon we’ve been lacking.
Cardwell 8 - playing with a partner alongside for the first time this season (Wood and Mooney play deeper) he wasn’t as prominent but drew the attention that Kanu benefitted from
Kanu 9 - Roy of the Rovers style debut that will hve league clubs queuing up to send us their loanees

Subs
Kabongolo 8 looks a real player both in terms of stature and ease on the ball and provided us with better balance at the back. Oh and he’ll be a major factor at set pieces. He’s still raw but John Still looks to have done it again.
Vilhete 6 - would rather have given the time to Beau MacDonald
Wood 6 not his day but it was hard coming on once the tempo had dropped.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Brooklyn 2 years off according to the Billericay manager… The lad added loads to our game. He was a big target who was able to attack corners and set pieces, something Kensdale & Hobson never seemed to master.

He was also pivotal in the first goal, distracting the keeper to allow Kanu (I think from memory).

Apart from that, wow, Husin, Bridge, GSM all stand outs.

Timlin’s interview at half time was great and interesting as well.

Suspect the Billericay manager is a tad bitter.

I think it was Kabongolo I saw in the directors box at Bishop’s Stortford. I may be putting two and two together but I imagine we told him not to sign anywhere he’d be tied down and we’d sign him once the embargo was lifted. You can imagine how disappointed the Billericay manager would be to lose a talent like that so quickly.

He’ll have tougher days for sure and he’s still a touch raw but there’s a lot to work with. He didn’t half give us a better balanced side.

 

[bluethroughandthrough]

Remember it well.....crowd was about 1200.....including 3 from Aldershot.

I was in that crowd ! One of my ery games as a supporter

 

[ColinMorrisWalksOnWater]

I also think Derrick Parker scored 4 at the Hall, against Torquay, but I might have that bit wrong.

 

[bluethroughandthrough]

A few positive things happening at the same time and it's a dare to dream moment especially being a Southend fan.

Change of ownership is obviously a positive. We will see some investment going back into the team I'm sure.

Most importantly results like this provide massive confidence. Easy to get carried away as a football fan who lives and breathes hope. However confidence is a fascinating intangible that can be the difference between a win and loss.

If I was Maher and the management team, a cheeky challenge at this point with the aforementioned positives - especially with the points deduction - would be to get auto promoted out of this league. The camaraderie, them against us mentality, winning in adversity thrust could be well timed.

 

[* ORM *]

Just as an aside lost 2 - 1 and are now in the relegation zone.

Happy days.

I’d much rather they stayed up and we got promoted. What the hell is happening at Tranmere? Naturally in the shadows of two giants but still.

 

[nick12]

It's been a long time coming but even with our depleted squad we were overdue giving someone a good thrashing and SM copped it yesterday

As it has been said many times on here, there really aren't any teams in this league better than us and we always play well against the better teams but we still need to learn to mix it with the utter rubbish at the other end of the table as Wrexham did last season if we are going to get out of this league (when we have the resources of course).

I travelled for 22 1/2 hours returning from holiday and had only 3 hours sleep before the match, that certainly kept me awake, we were ruthless and brilliant to a man

Results like that don't come around very often and just Wow what a stunning performance from Kanu and what a fantastic atmosphere inside the Hall (as always) we will be talking about that game for a while to come

Brilliant afternoon all round

 

[stewart]

Mr Justin Rees , sir ,yesterday was your first taste of seeing SUFC in person, you have now experienced it first hand and yourself and the consortium have seen what you are ( god willing ) buying into, You have a dedicated management a scouting system and backroom staff an excellent CEO and a very talented group of players ,even though because of the embargo and NL lack of duty of care about players welfare we do need strengthening. Im sure you and the consortium would have gone away very happy with what you wtnessed yesterday, Yes RH does need some care and attention but she is a beautiful stadium when at her best and sir the support will only grow .We have to best supporters in the world when they all on the same page together .
To Charlton Athletic football club, i would like to say thankyou for the loan of Kanu, and hope you will allow him to stay for the season, He is happy and being well looked after and educated ,the loan here will also make him a better player ,he has the opportunity to enjoy some success here and have on his CV hopefully a promotion ,maybe at this time via a Wembley appearance also maybe a second Wembley appearance if the FA TROPHY we can only hope , but never the less one thing i am positive about is that he will return to Charlton Athletic a more complete player. Harry Kane was put out on loan two or 3 times before fianlly breaking into the Spurs team ,the loans didnt hurt him but helped him mature , Im not putting Kanu into the same bracket as Kane ,but there certainly is a player there, hopefully you will allow him to stay here and develop for the season .
Lastly last nights game, it was the most complete game i have seen SUFC play for many a year, 10s for everyone, Husin was so good as was Fonguck , , Kanu and so many others , what i will add on that performance is we have a really good up and coming player in Coker and Kabongolo can also be a very good asset .Others have been spoken about, Play like that more often and yes we will make the playoffs ,no matter how hard the NL want to make it for us with there lack of player welfare .

 

[henry18]

Wasn’t there today but just enjoyed the delights of Shrimpers TV and D1versity. The build up, pass and movement fir the 5th goal was a thing of beauty

I counted I think 17 passes before the goal, everyone was creaming over the Gateshead team goal earlier in the season … incredible what the management are doing here

 

[TheSouthendUnitedRunner]

My first game of the season, and what a match. I had half an eye on the game, and half on my son, so I could be completely wrong on all of this.

I can’t remember a more complete performance than that in years, and we’ve seen some terrific ones under King Kev & Co. We’ve been spoilt since Kev has come in. The football under him is the best we’ve seen since the League One promotion side under PB.

Couple of special mentions, although everyone of them deserves praise after yesterdays performance.

Starting with Kanu. Take the goals out of his performance for a second. He was truly outstanding. His movement, his pace, his work ethic, his touch, his desire is all first class. His interview after the game was incredibly humble, and mad for an 18 year old. If he keeps his feet grounded (he has a brilliant family around him), and doesn’t let this go to his head, he has a serious career in the game. He was on the whiteboard for a while, and I’m shocked Charlton loaned him down to the National League, let alone to us. Can see why he has been in and around their first team, and scoring goals at League One level.

However, it’s not often a performance from someone outshines someone that scored four, but Noor was incredible. I saw two rows in front of the likes of Cav, Ralph, Martin, JD (when he came up), Powell, and you can tell the team spirit. They were so complimentary of Noor, and all the lads, and the performance. Noor was described as a joke (a good thing before those get confused again). He absolutely ran the show, and we didn’t miss Cav at all. We will in some games, but today we didn’t. I’ve no idea why Noor is playing National League, but I’m so glad he is ours. If he was more consistent, he’d be a top end a league one player. His performance yesterday was Championship class.

Wes & Bridge, as @Yorkshire Blue pointed out, link up so well. They have some incredible patterns of play, and are such a threat when they link up on that left hand side. Top drawer from both of them.

Brooklyn looked like he had played for years. Could have scored twice but for two top saves from their keeper. So nice to have a centre half threat at set pieces again, but more importantly he did his job very well. Looks a real player. Can see why John Still is excited about him, as are the three amigos, but they are keeping that under wraps.

Everyone else played very well. What a day, what a performance. Now, if only we had a full squad, and weren’t deducted 10 points

 

[rigsby]

No such thing as an easy hat-trick but you can certainly make it look easy and that's exactly what Kanu did. We have all seen those very chances missed this season let alone over the past 5 years.

If JR had asked you pre match what our team needs you may well have said another forward who knows where the net is and can work off Harry C. Oh and while we're at it how about a towering defender who is a threat from set pieces. It really could not have gone any better for JR yesterday.

Yet another nice first time cross from Taylor and Kensdale does the right thing. Difficult to score from that angle so heads it back and Kanu was on the move and in the right place.

Kanu had worked hard in the first half. Closing down intelligently, not just running in straight lines but cutting off angles and putting doubts in defenders minds. Just at the stage when we are all thinking it could have been 2 but I'll take 1-0 at HT......He gest rewarded and that was still great finish.

Hands up who expected Solihull to regroup, come out and have ago......we certainly don't want 2-1.....Instead we got master class by the Blue Brazil I could hear a samba band playing as the goals went in.

We know Noor has great technique but has asked a few recently. He had an outstanding game and that was cracking volley. Yorkshire questions the keeper but sitting in the East you could see the pace and the all important dip on that shot.....Game over.

What an inviting cross for the hat rick header. For moment I thought it was the perfect, left right, header hat rick but I think the second was also with his left?

Watch Kanu's movement and ground covered in the box for his 4th. He comes short but then made a perfect and hungry goal scorers run as soon as it went wide. Can't remember who crossed it but again it was top notch.

I really wanted him to get 5, as I've never seen that. Still they earned the right to put the juggernaut in cruise control for the last 20.

In a day of smiles I had nice moment outsider the front door of the Railway. As two young ladies in full Bavarian dress were walking in. One sad in rather grumpy way "All Terry wants to do is talk about Southends bloody goals"......I thought about speaking up for poor Terry.......Then I realised if you weren't there you would ever understand.

 

[cerbera45]

I think you’re getting too caught up in someone mentioning a hattrick. Maybe he was just talking about how easy the first 3 goals were for instance? But well aware that he scored 4.

Anyway can’t be arsed to argue. We’re all Southend fans and have just won 5-0 so let’s have a beer and be happy about it.

fully agree, 100%

 

[Dutch Branch]

On Trafalgar Day Admiral Kev’s ship simply out manoeuvred and out gunned the enemy.

Job done