An absorbing match which might have lacked quality at times but had all the hard work and commitment that any footy fan could ask for. The draw was probably a reasonable result in the end and I expect most fans and players from both sides will be happy enough. Banton played on the left which resulted in Gurierri being on the right, not sure whether they might be better the other way round. Banton did okay but clearly lacked match fitness but there were a couple of glimpses of his trickery. First half was a bit of a stalemate with few clear cut chances but Southend looked the likelier side to score, although to be fair both sides were well drilled and worked hard in the sunshine. We started the 2nd half much brighter and soon took the lead with a Blizzard deflected shot- I doubt it would have been goal without the deflection. The main controversial bit of the match was their equaliser- I was bang in line and am convinced their attacker was a yard offside- will have to wait for the highlights to be sure. Allessandra should have done better when the ball game to him but couldn't react in time to get a shot away. Reed came very close after a mazy run but ran out of space and the keeper smothered it. At the other end, we defended desperately at times but Luke had few real saves of note to make. All in all an enjoyable match in front of 7000+ with a deserved point a piece. One thing is for sure Southend would have battered us a few months ago so today was a good measure of how far we have come in the last few weeks. We seem to be playing with a lot more attacking intent and the Nelson Trottman partnership is working well with nelson deserving his MOTM award. A point gained rather than 2 lost for me so onwards and upwards.
Encouraging that we have found more consistancy......awhile ago last weeks good effort would have been followed by a flop performance. We need to keep building the momentum and finish off Port Vale on Tuesday and then on to the 4th round against Brighton.
I stood up and cried offside when their player went through lyndhurst and there was a bit of debate around where I sit with some thinking it wasn't, some not sure and a couple of others in agreement with me. I was also convinced it was off and the lino on that side missed several. The rest of your comments are pretty much spot on and this is one match that could have gone either way. A draw was reasonable and I think Southend will beat a lot of teams this season. Well drilled. Just one more comment about officials. The Ref I thought was pretty good today.........for the first 20 minutes. After that I was beginning to think he had pocketed something or was having an affair with a Southend players mum. He went to complete rats and was so one sided it was a joke. Where were the bookings for the Southend players? I saw at least 2 blatant ones that weren't and their No.8 must have been living a charmed life. In any other match he would have been booked and possibly sent off.
Once again i was up at 7am Canada time for the kick off..it took 2 coffee's to get me in the game..Sparksy was his usual entertaining self.. Wonderful to hear Blizzard score but not so good when they equalized...overall a good game to listen to. At last i now look forward to my early rise...just West of the Rockies..
Yes, not sure about the officials. first half the ref didnt seem to have a lot to do = good performance. Agree sensible that most refs would have been brandishing the cards in the 2nd half- lots of niggly and some quite cynical (though not dangerous) challenges that just brought a ticking off. TBH although I disagreed with quite a lot of his decisions I preferred his style of refereeing to those who get the cards out at every opportunity. (although some consistency would be good) Other refs might have booked maybe 6 players but there was hardly a dangerous challenge in the match.- equally some refs might have red carded trotters for his lunge near the end. I remain convinced that the lino got the offside wrong but then again the Lynbdhurst linos are always poor! Reid always looks like he is being fouled but he gives as much (if not more) than he gets so i guess the ref just ends up giving the blatant ones. Perhaps we could learn from Southend in that their players seemed to work out quite quickly what the ref would give, and what they could get away with, and they adjusted their tactics accordingly.
Can't argue with that lyndhurst with the cards or Reid. Thing is he booked Blanchard for next to nothing and probably his first foul all game and yet left others from Southend uncarded for pretty much the same thing. Their No.8 niggled all match and got spoken to once. With Reid he does do a lot of backing in and so when the back puts his arms around him it is probably induced by Reid himself. The Ref wasn't consistent though and he did seem biased in the way he gave decisions or didn't. Agree the lyndhurst linos are pants generally. I'm with you and think it was offside and did at the time. Southend are a cute side and well rehursed. They will be there abouts at the end I'm sure based on what I've seen so far this season. We've improved a lot because we would have lost that one early on in the season.
Just watched the highlights and have to admit that the lino got the offside correct- their attacker was level at worst- just shows how green tinted glasses can skew one's opinion in the heat of the moment.
Offside or no still a good point and seemed a fair result from reports and text commentary.....bring on Port Vale!
I watched the goals on the Football League show today on playback. Tried to stop it as the ball was played but it isn't easy doing that with the tv remote. The angle wasn't the best so it was hard to see it properly. My gut feeling is still that he was off. Very close call though. I am of course biased and admit that. I don't think anyone is seriously talking play offs just yet scummer. More a hope than anything else but if we close the gap with No.7 then the hopes might just get a bit stronger. There is no reason why we can't make it though as nobody else is running away with anything yet. I haven't seen much class in this league so far this season and the best side has been Southend in my opinion. Even they haven't been consistent.
