Well what can be said about the last 80mins ? I suppose the fact that we got no
bookings conceded no goals and did not appear to get any injuries are all good
things and the fact that the players did not need to put much effort in may
bode well in this busy period.
To be fair that is totally unjust on everyone it is just that they were
dreadful - the worst team I have seen this season by a mile - and after being 2
up after 10mins or so we wanted a rout.
Before the game I would gladly have settled for a 2 0 victory and so overall it
was 'job done'
The first ten minutes promised so much more though - we had all the play in the
opening stages and then from a Bradley Johnson corner Rui rose well brushing
aside the defender and planted a good header into the net. First goal from a
defender for quite a while ? We then had an almighty scramble which they
somehow cleared for another corner - Johnson played it short to Trundle who
laid it back nicely for him to whip it in hard and fairly low, it seemed to
clip someone and came to Naylor who had to stoop to power it in 2 -0 and didn't
our Captain Fantastic enjoy it.
We continued to press for a bit with Beckford on from the start instead of
Becchio - our only change- coming close twice, one he should have scored. It
became almost like the old attack and defence we used to play as kids - they
never had the ball and never came in our half. On about the only occasion they
attacked their lad fell down in the penalty box, not a dive, his hamstring or
whatever had gone. The half just sort of fizzled out with no scares on our part
except for one bit of ball juggling by Casper.
Second half as expected we came out all guns blazing for a few minutes but one
way and another it was not quite going for us , passes going astray a bit and
Robinson amongst others missing a decent chance when he pulled it wide. We
tried a new routine at a freekick that was nearly great but the final ball was
lacking. On another occasion a super bit of interplay between Trundle and
Beckford ended with a poor shot by Beckford - had it gone in it would have been
goal of the season. At the other end they had one cross that no-one got on the
end of and one clearance by Hughes that he sliced over our bar - Naylor was
quick to give him what for !
Subs were made and Howson, Snoddy and Becchio all came on and had decent little
cameos with Becchio having a good header well saved near the death. But again
things fizzled out a bit and the Kop treated to 3 goals on Saturday were denied
any last night.
Best chant of the night started as "Fabian Delph is not for sale" and ended
with all singing "Fabian Delph his cars for sale"
The crowd of 20k though decent enough should hopefully stop those on certain
websites banging on about cheap prices - Southend brought less than 200 for
this Cat C game.
In the end it was all a bit too easy - we seemed to play well within ourselves
at times and never looked like letting them get a foothold in the game. We
really must sign Naylor and keep him as captain, he did everything needed and
again marshaled the defence bringing confidence with him - he has got Rui back
to his best and that is why he scored. Dickinson again was solid enough, he
lost the ball on one occasion and the look of determination as he went into the
tackle to get it back showed what he is all about - and yes he got the ball
back !
Trundle entertained with a few flicks and tricks and I am sure that him and
Beckford can form a great partnership. Becchio looked fresh and a few games as
sub will help him overall.
A good confident and competent performance which together with Brighton and
Peterboro means 3 wins and only one goal conceded in 3 games and is a real
platform for games at Walsall and Orient - both winnable
With a few days to go till transfer window shuts Grayson has said he wants to
bring a couple in and given his team selection it may be goodbye to Sheehan \
Parker \ Kilkenny and Prutton and Sweeney too.
Link to goals
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/leeds%2Bsouthend/video/x867qo_leeds-2-v-0-southend_sport
Dave
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Sorry Macca - it's the curse of Bates old lad
