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Blue tinted optimist⭐🦐
MISFIRING BLUES CRASH OUT OF CUP
Southend's appalling home FA Cup record continued as MK Dons progressed to round 3 at Blues expense.
In truth it wasn't a bad performance by the home team and some of the football in the first half and for the period after the equaliser was sublime. The first decent move came after 4 minutes when Freddy raced clear in the left channel and crossed for Campbell-Ryce whose mish!t shot bounced up and against the bar. The rebound saw first Gower and the Goater fail to hit the target.
Gower then tried his luck from a 30 yard free kick and wasn't far away.
But MK Dons were starting to look dangerous and their left back Lewingdon delivered some very dangerous crosses and corners.
A marked contrast was Southend's failure to do the same, and Kevin Maher was the chief culprit. In the first half in particular some of his delivery was comical. In fact, I would so as far as to say it was probably the worst game I have seen him play. Ever. He didn't look up for it from the kick off and none of the attributes that have made him the playmaking kingpin were evident.
But to single out the skipper as a scapegoat would be wrong. Despite plenty of promise on occasions, this was a match simply littered with individual errors of volcanic proportions. Our weaknesses were highlighted at every opportunity and with the transfer window less than a month away, perhaps the timing of a performance such as this was useful.
After 16 minutes the lack of pace at the back was exposed as McLeod raced around Hunt and Prior to the bye-line and was brought down for a clear penalty. McLeod sent Flahavan the wrong way to put Dons 1-0 up.
For the rest of the half Blues pressed hard and on another day could have easily been 3 or 4 goals ahead. Today however, the shooting boots were clearly elsewhere. Eastwood, Goater, Gower and Campbell-Ryce all had good chances but missed the target woefully. A superb passing move split Dons defence to put Freddy clear but his shot was too close to the keeper who saved with his feet. The half ended with Blues ahead on points but 1-0 down.
In the second half Southend maintained the tempo and after 58 minutes got their reward. Eastwood cut in from the left and unleashed a shot that should have been saved by the keeper but instead of gathering it he bizarrely tried to stop it with his knees and it went straight through his legs. 1-1.
Within a minute Gower was free at the back post but put the ball into the South stand. There was some dispute as to whether it wa saved but only a goalkick was given.
This was Southend's best spell and MK Dons were buckling. Gower, who had looked back to his creative best, again came in late at the back but hit the post from an acute angle.
Then came the killer blow as Gower, who had been my Man of the Match up to this point, turned villain by getting caught in possession on the half way line. His assailant, substitute Gary Smith, ran straight at the heart of the defence, evaded several challenges and placed his shot into the bottom corner.
After that Southend struggled to recover. Tilson made some changes and brought on Gray and Cole for Gower and Goater but in truth it was too late. Lawson was a late change for Campbell-Ryce and in injury time came an incident that summed up Southends day. Maher played the only decent pass he made all afternoon, a 40 yard ball to Gray on the left. He took the ball down the line and played a fantastic ball across goal for Lawson coming in at the back who was just beaten to it by the defender but Blues had a corner and one last chance. With the crowd egging Blues on, all bar Flahavan came up for the kick. Maher took it from the South West corner, and to say it didn't beat the first man would be an understatement. It didn't get above knee height and was cleared easily. Maher then sarcastically applauded the fans who were obviously a little miffed at his continued failure to provide decent delivery. Hmm. I guess we all found it frustrating, but some players need to understand that if they continually underperform, as Maher has done over the last few weeks, then the crowd are going to vent their feelings. Today he owed us a captains performance and came up well short.
Ratings:
Flahavan - 7 - Struggled to cope early on with some very decent crosses and corners. Had little to do otherwise. Blameless fro either goal.
Hunt - 5 - Not good. Distribution poor and he seemed to struggle all game. Didn't get forward much either. Time for Jupp to return?
Wilson - 5 - This was a Cheese perfomance reminiscent of those he put in at the back end of the season before last. Today he was found wanting in all areas, especially the distribution department.
Barrett - 7 - One of the only players that didn't seem to do much wrong. The Dons strikers were a handful and he stood up well.
Prior - 7 - Struggled against the pacy forwards (as most would) but also made some crucial interceptions and challenges.
Gower - 8 - MOM - For an hour he was involved at every level and provided a creative spark that has been missing recently. Unfortunately he made the error that led to their winner.
Smith - 6 - First league start for Jay and not surprisingly he looked off the pace at times. Was lucky not to be booked in the first half for a late challenge. Showed some touches of class as well.
Maher - 4 - Very, very poor. One decent long ball late on and the rest of his game was littered with poor or non-existent challenges and misplaced passes. The only ones that found a Blue shirt were those that were made backwards.
Campbell-Ryce - 7 - Probably his best team display so far. He seems to have suppressed the need to beat the whole team and now looks as though he will be a decent addition.
Goater - 5 - Brought little to the party today. Spat out the food he was provided with.
Eastwood - 7 - Goal apart, he showed decent touches early on but as the game progressed found himself muscled out and reverted to the appealing Freddy we see when the chips are down.
Subs:
Cole - 5 - Can't remember him touching the ball.
Gray - 7 - Looked lively against his old team - should have been given longer.
Lawson - 6 - On too late to make an impact.
Ref: K Wright - 5. Controlled the game reasonably well although got a bit whistle happy occasionally.
Southend's appalling home FA Cup record continued as MK Dons progressed to round 3 at Blues expense.
In truth it wasn't a bad performance by the home team and some of the football in the first half and for the period after the equaliser was sublime. The first decent move came after 4 minutes when Freddy raced clear in the left channel and crossed for Campbell-Ryce whose mish!t shot bounced up and against the bar. The rebound saw first Gower and the Goater fail to hit the target.
Gower then tried his luck from a 30 yard free kick and wasn't far away.
But MK Dons were starting to look dangerous and their left back Lewingdon delivered some very dangerous crosses and corners.
A marked contrast was Southend's failure to do the same, and Kevin Maher was the chief culprit. In the first half in particular some of his delivery was comical. In fact, I would so as far as to say it was probably the worst game I have seen him play. Ever. He didn't look up for it from the kick off and none of the attributes that have made him the playmaking kingpin were evident.
But to single out the skipper as a scapegoat would be wrong. Despite plenty of promise on occasions, this was a match simply littered with individual errors of volcanic proportions. Our weaknesses were highlighted at every opportunity and with the transfer window less than a month away, perhaps the timing of a performance such as this was useful.
After 16 minutes the lack of pace at the back was exposed as McLeod raced around Hunt and Prior to the bye-line and was brought down for a clear penalty. McLeod sent Flahavan the wrong way to put Dons 1-0 up.
For the rest of the half Blues pressed hard and on another day could have easily been 3 or 4 goals ahead. Today however, the shooting boots were clearly elsewhere. Eastwood, Goater, Gower and Campbell-Ryce all had good chances but missed the target woefully. A superb passing move split Dons defence to put Freddy clear but his shot was too close to the keeper who saved with his feet. The half ended with Blues ahead on points but 1-0 down.
In the second half Southend maintained the tempo and after 58 minutes got their reward. Eastwood cut in from the left and unleashed a shot that should have been saved by the keeper but instead of gathering it he bizarrely tried to stop it with his knees and it went straight through his legs. 1-1.
Within a minute Gower was free at the back post but put the ball into the South stand. There was some dispute as to whether it wa saved but only a goalkick was given.
This was Southend's best spell and MK Dons were buckling. Gower, who had looked back to his creative best, again came in late at the back but hit the post from an acute angle.
Then came the killer blow as Gower, who had been my Man of the Match up to this point, turned villain by getting caught in possession on the half way line. His assailant, substitute Gary Smith, ran straight at the heart of the defence, evaded several challenges and placed his shot into the bottom corner.
After that Southend struggled to recover. Tilson made some changes and brought on Gray and Cole for Gower and Goater but in truth it was too late. Lawson was a late change for Campbell-Ryce and in injury time came an incident that summed up Southends day. Maher played the only decent pass he made all afternoon, a 40 yard ball to Gray on the left. He took the ball down the line and played a fantastic ball across goal for Lawson coming in at the back who was just beaten to it by the defender but Blues had a corner and one last chance. With the crowd egging Blues on, all bar Flahavan came up for the kick. Maher took it from the South West corner, and to say it didn't beat the first man would be an understatement. It didn't get above knee height and was cleared easily. Maher then sarcastically applauded the fans who were obviously a little miffed at his continued failure to provide decent delivery. Hmm. I guess we all found it frustrating, but some players need to understand that if they continually underperform, as Maher has done over the last few weeks, then the crowd are going to vent their feelings. Today he owed us a captains performance and came up well short.
Ratings:
Flahavan - 7 - Struggled to cope early on with some very decent crosses and corners. Had little to do otherwise. Blameless fro either goal.
Hunt - 5 - Not good. Distribution poor and he seemed to struggle all game. Didn't get forward much either. Time for Jupp to return?
Wilson - 5 - This was a Cheese perfomance reminiscent of those he put in at the back end of the season before last. Today he was found wanting in all areas, especially the distribution department.
Barrett - 7 - One of the only players that didn't seem to do much wrong. The Dons strikers were a handful and he stood up well.
Prior - 7 - Struggled against the pacy forwards (as most would) but also made some crucial interceptions and challenges.
Gower - 8 - MOM - For an hour he was involved at every level and provided a creative spark that has been missing recently. Unfortunately he made the error that led to their winner.
Smith - 6 - First league start for Jay and not surprisingly he looked off the pace at times. Was lucky not to be booked in the first half for a late challenge. Showed some touches of class as well.
Maher - 4 - Very, very poor. One decent long ball late on and the rest of his game was littered with poor or non-existent challenges and misplaced passes. The only ones that found a Blue shirt were those that were made backwards.
Campbell-Ryce - 7 - Probably his best team display so far. He seems to have suppressed the need to beat the whole team and now looks as though he will be a decent addition.
Goater - 5 - Brought little to the party today. Spat out the food he was provided with.
Eastwood - 7 - Goal apart, he showed decent touches early on but as the game progressed found himself muscled out and reverted to the appealing Freddy we see when the chips are down.
Subs:
Cole - 5 - Can't remember him touching the ball.
Gray - 7 - Looked lively against his old team - should have been given longer.
Lawson - 6 - On too late to make an impact.
Ref: K Wright - 5. Controlled the game reasonably well although got a bit whistle happy occasionally.
