Argyle ran out winnings against 10 men and gained what was, in the end, a well deserved 3 points. First half was notable mainly for the sending off of their No 15. To be honest Marvelous Marvin Morgan (my MOTM) legally bullied their back line from minute one and the first yellow card was correct. He (the number 15) could easily have been sent off for a similar challenge a few minutes later , and having been lectured at length by the ref it was no surprise when he received the second yellow probably under the 'totting up' process for a fairly innocuous foul after 15 mins. As usual we struggled against 10 men and southend played played some decent stuff without really threatening to score and at half time it looked like it might be a frustrating day for the Pilgrims. In fairness to Sheridan a slight change of tactics at half time, coupled with a tiring Southend team paid huge dividends. Three up front with banton 'in the hole' and all of a sudden the midfield were much closer to the front line and we started to string lots of passes together, especially down the right where Mellor and Allessandra had loads of room. No surprise then that these two combined to score the first- a really tricky run from Mellor who could have (and perhaps should of) got a shot away, but he kept his composure to pick out Allessandra who produced a great finish into the bottom left corner. No surprise either that the 2nd came from the same side; a pin point cross from Allessandra finished off by a powerful downwards header from Reuben. Argyle could have had more, but were content to play keep ball as Southend tired and Luke's goal was never really threatened. A good three points against a decent team and just the signs of becoming 'fortress home park' again. 2 wins, 1 draw (league) 6-1 overall. Finally, a pretty good ref for once-maybe too many yellows but he let the match flow as much as possible with plenty of advantages played. All in all an entertaining afternoon.
No problems on the report for me lyndhurst. My mates thought Marvellous Marvin was the MOM as well although in fairness in the second half it could have been Mellor who had a 15 minute spell of almost brilliance. You could also have given it to Allessandra as well. Overall the best team on the park was Southend who will be there or there abouts at the end of the season once more in my opinion. But, it's also true to say that Luke had almost nothing to do. Had they kept 11 on the park it is hard to say how this one would have turned out but in the end this was a very good 3 points for us. We won't play many this season better than Southend I think. Special mention for their manager who just couldn't shut up but then again he usually can't. Their players moan too much which in my view is a reflection of their manager also.
