Post by stevek192 on Feb 3, 2019 11:02:41 GMT
First things first Southend has been a place that over the years we have never really picked up a win no matter how well we have played and so this alone meant this was a very difficult trip to make and before anybody throws at me that Southend have injury problems; this may be the case but this was the same Southend team bar 1 player that started away at Bradford and won 4-0. It was a cold but sunny winters day that greeted us as we arrived at Roots Hall and there hasn't been that much change there other than some seats since our visit about 45 years ago when we clinched promotion with a 0-0 draw. I remember that night well although the following day I remember a lot less!!
So what did I expect the team to be yesterday? Well I expected James Clarke to start over Partington and also expected our new striker to start in front of Reilly but no surprise to see Ogogo starting to add a bit of bite to our midfield and was pleased overall with the line up as I feared after the late substitution on Tuesday that Holmes-Dennis would be back in left midfield rather than at left back where he looks accomplished. I was interested and excited yesterday to see how the new players would fit in and I was in no way disappointed as we went at the opposition straight from the first whistle and it is no exaggeration to say that when we were 2-0 up it should already have been 4 or 5 as all over the pitch the players were winning their personal battles and there was not one Soutend player I would have preferred to see in a yellow jersey.
I will comment on the players individual performances to reflect on what was probably our best performance of the season as we got stuck in and competed for ewvery ball and showed a certain amount of class and good football with it.
Bonham 5 In the context of what he can do this was his most disappointing game for us. He should have either held on to the shot that he leaked for their goal or pushed it round the post and was lucky that they were offside when he did the same again in the second half. Other than that he had a steady game with very little to do.
Partington 6 Still not convinced that he is a better option to James Clarke but to be fair he was involved in both goals and did not have a bad game although I worry about the amount of space he gives the opposition and his passing "down the line" is often too tight and goes out of play.
Lockyer 7.5 Did a good job to keep Southend at bay and looked calm and authorative for most of the game and read situations well.
Craig 8 Too clever for his striker most of the game and won nearly all of the personal battles in a defence that kept Southend down to very few opportunities.
Holmes-Dennis 8 This man is calmness personified and IMO is a Championship standard left back and it is clear to see that DC's future may have been so different if he had been able to play him from the start. I am sure that he would have preferred to not have to crunch into the tackle when Sercombe left him so short on the build up to the Southend goal which was totally against the run of play. it was the only tackle I can remember him losing out on and in possession he shows total belief in his ability. If he continues in his current form then I have little doubt that we have the best left back in the division and will do well to keep hold of him.
Rodman 7 Another player who has saved his best for after DC as he strides down the wing and works his socks off to both win the ball back and to get forward. provides an outlet for most of Bonham's big kicks and looks well capable of scoring more goals before the seasons end.
Ogogo 9 MOM Not going to go overboard based on one performance.... oh I am!! He's what we have been missing for many a year based on yesterday and was probably the main reason that we dominated large parts of this game which should have been another Northampton based on the chances created. It could have easily been 3-0 before our first goal and he was behind many of our best moves throughout the game winning balls he shouldn't have and providing leadership in the middle of the pitch. I would describe him as a "classy Sinclair" - combative but able to provide defence splitting passes to set up attacks. He really could be a key player not only for his own game but to bring out the best in Sercombe and Lines and our forwards. Well done either Tommy or GC!!
O. Clarke 6 Same as Tuesday he played very well in the first half but allowed himself to drift out of the game in the second with downright sloppy passing. If he could balance out his performance then he would really shine. He had to take a booking for the team in the first half when we were opened up and unfortunately I believe that that will mean a two match suspension.
Sercombe 7 Is really out of position playing out wide left but at least he can still come inside and he took the first goal excellently when receiving Nicholls pass and making the beating of the defender and finding the net look easy. In truth he should have already been on the score sheet when missing a much easier chance and also he should have played a much better pass to Holmes Dennis that caused Southend's goal.
Reilly 7 Probably his best game for the club as he took his goal so well striding through drawing the keeper and slotting the ball past him to put us two up. It reminded me of a typical Paul Randall goal and he was very unlucky when bursting through in the second half on a great Ogogo through ball and hitting a ferocious shot that came back off the underside of the bar and should have been finished by Nicholls. He closed defenders down well and could easily have come off with a hattrick as he should really have taken the open goal early on which produced a great reflex save from Bishop but really should have given him no chance whatsoever.
Nichols 7 Another performance that only lacked a goal! If you can't score then the next best thing is to provide assists which is exactly what Tom did yesterday. Unselfishly laying the goal on for Sercombe and then a great through ball to set Reilly on his way to the second.
Subs: Clarke-Harris 6 Looks a handful, he must have been sat rubbing his hands on the bench in the first half as we controlled the game and always looked likely to score. Seems to have good control and I would say based on a very short appearance that we have at last found a big striker to lead our attack and as a bonus he CAN play in the Checkatrade trophy match as he has not appeared for Coventry in the competition.Unfortunately Ogogo has!!
Jakubiak 5.5 Has now slipped to fourth choice striker but I am sure he will score a few more goals this season and could easily end up playing alongside Clarke-Harris.
J. Clarke 6 Came on late on again when personally I would not have changed anything but can consider himself very unlucky to have lost his right back berth.
Crowd 7 The support considering only 349 was tremendous throughout but would only give Southend a 3 because when our fans weren't singing it was like a library. You would never have guessed from the lack of noise that there were over 4500 home supporters.
Ref 7 Odd that we ended up with more bookings than |Southend as he was very lenient on them but overall I would say that he performed well and for a change his linemen did too!
Southend 4 This was near enough the same side that won 4-0 at Bradford so although they were poor I would put that down to how well we played in a game where a 2-1 defeat truly flattered the home side as this was a game that should have been 5 at half time.
GC- Based on the one game I would say that he had a better window than I thought with two players who could really change our fortunes and his record at the moment speaks for itself. if he can sort out our home record then we will hopefully accrue enough points to avoid the dreaded drop. He has half a chance but let's wait and see because we have some very difficult fixtures coming up and a win next Saturday is essential.
Personally the team I would go with next Saturday is
Bonham
J Clarke Lockyer Craig Holmes-Dennis
Rodman Sercombe Ogogo T Nicholls
Reilly Clarke Harris
I would not be surprised to see a side with the only change being the suspended Ollie Clarke replaced by either Lines (most likely) or Upson (Unlikely). Anyway I will trust whatever side GC puts out. UTG
So what did I expect the team to be yesterday? Well I expected James Clarke to start over Partington and also expected our new striker to start in front of Reilly but no surprise to see Ogogo starting to add a bit of bite to our midfield and was pleased overall with the line up as I feared after the late substitution on Tuesday that Holmes-Dennis would be back in left midfield rather than at left back where he looks accomplished. I was interested and excited yesterday to see how the new players would fit in and I was in no way disappointed as we went at the opposition straight from the first whistle and it is no exaggeration to say that when we were 2-0 up it should already have been 4 or 5 as all over the pitch the players were winning their personal battles and there was not one Soutend player I would have preferred to see in a yellow jersey.
I will comment on the players individual performances to reflect on what was probably our best performance of the season as we got stuck in and competed for ewvery ball and showed a certain amount of class and good football with it.
Bonham 5 In the context of what he can do this was his most disappointing game for us. He should have either held on to the shot that he leaked for their goal or pushed it round the post and was lucky that they were offside when he did the same again in the second half. Other than that he had a steady game with very little to do.
Partington 6 Still not convinced that he is a better option to James Clarke but to be fair he was involved in both goals and did not have a bad game although I worry about the amount of space he gives the opposition and his passing "down the line" is often too tight and goes out of play.
Lockyer 7.5 Did a good job to keep Southend at bay and looked calm and authorative for most of the game and read situations well.
Craig 8 Too clever for his striker most of the game and won nearly all of the personal battles in a defence that kept Southend down to very few opportunities.
Holmes-Dennis 8 This man is calmness personified and IMO is a Championship standard left back and it is clear to see that DC's future may have been so different if he had been able to play him from the start. I am sure that he would have preferred to not have to crunch into the tackle when Sercombe left him so short on the build up to the Southend goal which was totally against the run of play. it was the only tackle I can remember him losing out on and in possession he shows total belief in his ability. If he continues in his current form then I have little doubt that we have the best left back in the division and will do well to keep hold of him.
Rodman 7 Another player who has saved his best for after DC as he strides down the wing and works his socks off to both win the ball back and to get forward. provides an outlet for most of Bonham's big kicks and looks well capable of scoring more goals before the seasons end.
Ogogo 9 MOM Not going to go overboard based on one performance.... oh I am!! He's what we have been missing for many a year based on yesterday and was probably the main reason that we dominated large parts of this game which should have been another Northampton based on the chances created. It could have easily been 3-0 before our first goal and he was behind many of our best moves throughout the game winning balls he shouldn't have and providing leadership in the middle of the pitch. I would describe him as a "classy Sinclair" - combative but able to provide defence splitting passes to set up attacks. He really could be a key player not only for his own game but to bring out the best in Sercombe and Lines and our forwards. Well done either Tommy or GC!!
O. Clarke 6 Same as Tuesday he played very well in the first half but allowed himself to drift out of the game in the second with downright sloppy passing. If he could balance out his performance then he would really shine. He had to take a booking for the team in the first half when we were opened up and unfortunately I believe that that will mean a two match suspension.
Sercombe 7 Is really out of position playing out wide left but at least he can still come inside and he took the first goal excellently when receiving Nicholls pass and making the beating of the defender and finding the net look easy. In truth he should have already been on the score sheet when missing a much easier chance and also he should have played a much better pass to Holmes Dennis that caused Southend's goal.
Reilly 7 Probably his best game for the club as he took his goal so well striding through drawing the keeper and slotting the ball past him to put us two up. It reminded me of a typical Paul Randall goal and he was very unlucky when bursting through in the second half on a great Ogogo through ball and hitting a ferocious shot that came back off the underside of the bar and should have been finished by Nicholls. He closed defenders down well and could easily have come off with a hattrick as he should really have taken the open goal early on which produced a great reflex save from Bishop but really should have given him no chance whatsoever.
Nichols 7 Another performance that only lacked a goal! If you can't score then the next best thing is to provide assists which is exactly what Tom did yesterday. Unselfishly laying the goal on for Sercombe and then a great through ball to set Reilly on his way to the second.
Subs: Clarke-Harris 6 Looks a handful, he must have been sat rubbing his hands on the bench in the first half as we controlled the game and always looked likely to score. Seems to have good control and I would say based on a very short appearance that we have at last found a big striker to lead our attack and as a bonus he CAN play in the Checkatrade trophy match as he has not appeared for Coventry in the competition.Unfortunately Ogogo has!!
Jakubiak 5.5 Has now slipped to fourth choice striker but I am sure he will score a few more goals this season and could easily end up playing alongside Clarke-Harris.
J. Clarke 6 Came on late on again when personally I would not have changed anything but can consider himself very unlucky to have lost his right back berth.
Crowd 7 The support considering only 349 was tremendous throughout but would only give Southend a 3 because when our fans weren't singing it was like a library. You would never have guessed from the lack of noise that there were over 4500 home supporters.
Ref 7 Odd that we ended up with more bookings than |Southend as he was very lenient on them but overall I would say that he performed well and for a change his linemen did too!
Southend 4 This was near enough the same side that won 4-0 at Bradford so although they were poor I would put that down to how well we played in a game where a 2-1 defeat truly flattered the home side as this was a game that should have been 5 at half time.
GC- Based on the one game I would say that he had a better window than I thought with two players who could really change our fortunes and his record at the moment speaks for itself. if he can sort out our home record then we will hopefully accrue enough points to avoid the dreaded drop. He has half a chance but let's wait and see because we have some very difficult fixtures coming up and a win next Saturday is essential.
Personally the team I would go with next Saturday is
Bonham
J Clarke Lockyer Craig Holmes-Dennis
Rodman Sercombe Ogogo T Nicholls
Reilly Clarke Harris
I would not be surprised to see a side with the only change being the suspended Ollie Clarke replaced by either Lines (most likely) or Upson (Unlikely). Anyway I will trust whatever side GC puts out. UTG
