Brief Synopsis!!!

[Andy in Peverell]

Their centre back was on a mission to get that red!!!!!

He Pulled Morgan back and got to a deserved booking. 3 mins later got skinned again and Morgan burst in the box to create a chance for Reid. A couple of mins later he committed an identical foul to his booking as Morgan again turned him yet again. The ref totally bottled it when he realised who it was and amazingly waved play on.
He never learnt as within minutes he'd fouled Morgan again ( although it seemed the most innocuous of his fouls) and the ref simply had no choice.

the rest of the half was dour as Argyle failed to to get into the game and Southend got to halftime without much fuss and even skied a decent opportunity right on halt time.

Thankfully we changed things 2nd half and thankfully had a lot more urgency on the ball. Our fullbacks actually came forward and started to use the huge amount of space in front of them. Mellor had a big hand in both Goals and the game fizzled out with Argyle generally on top and their keeper making 3/4 pretty good saves.

Credit to Sheriden who's changes at halftime had the desired effect but the 1st half was as woefull as the Stevenage game

The early red changed the game completely and Southend would of been alot tougher nut to crack had it not been for their Kamikaze centre half who let his team down massively

 

[pedro91]

A very decent win against a side who will be right up in the mix at the end of the season.

Southend had the majority of the ball in the first half, but their number 15 was on a different planet. The referee was brave enough to book him inside 10 minutes after Morgan flicked the ball around and has bundled over, only minutes passed when he done it again - in fairness to the referee i do think Marvin had hold of his shirt before the ball reached him, but again in fairness to the referee he took Morgan and their centre back to one side and i assume made it clear to cut out the stupid stuff. 60 seconds after that he decides to clatter into Morgan.Second yellow. As sometimes happens it inspired the 10 men, Conor Clifford was excellent and Southend were very composed and knocked it around like a really good side.

We made a few tactical switches at HT (credit to Sheridan) and were rewarded for it. Mellor exposed the large area's of space allowed to him to set up Allesandra and Reid finishing after good work down our right side.

Their keeper made one superb save from McHugh, which wont be bettered all year and despite them having large chunks of possession Luke was never troubled.

They showed enough to suggest they will be challenging, which makes the result more pleasing. Personally thought Nelson was MOM, strong and composed and improving rapidly into a very good player.

I thought the Plymouth lad Leonard was also excellent

 

[Voice of Reason]

Leonard was good too, just thought Clifford really showed for the ball and wanted it as often as possible, massively important to have someone like that when you are down to 10 men.

 

[Old Gunner]

It's always difficult against 10 men, you assume there will be additional space but it's not always obvious---but for about 20 minutes in the second half Mellor suddenly found it. He was hugging the right touchline, demanding the ball and getting a hell of a lot of it. I'm not sure if this was under instruction from JS or he worked it out himself, but it was a game changing initiative.

 

[StevePAFC]

Poor first half performance but a much improved second half performance and deservedly all 3 points. Just wish we could start the first half as we do in the second but hey 3 points is 3 points. Coyg :scarf:

 

[Deacster]

Happy with the 3 points but until Sheridan can get us competing for 90 minutes then I'm still going to have my doubts about his managerial capabilities. First half was truly awful. A groanfest. Did I see their 10 men had 66% of the possession first half? Sheridan talked about playing with tempo in the programme but Argyle played at a funeral march tempo. Lethargic. No confidence. Little possession. Awful awful awful.

Second half started much the same. Twice an easy pass went into touch and the groans recommenced. Then Mellor who seemed terrified of the opposition's half crossed the half way line and after a run and some lovely footwork put Lewi in 1-0. The subs who were just about to come on were told to put their bibs on and a Sheridan stuck with the 11 on the pitch.

The spluttering engine then seemed to run a bit more smoothly. Argyle played with much more confidence and Mellor decided the opposition half wasn't to be feared after all. Created a few opportunities for us.

Lewi then put a perfect cross in to Reid and with a good header .... he couldn't miss.

For me all the old shortcomings remain. Left back is a weakness. We can't play 2 good halfs of football. Banton is still off the boil.

Positives : Morgan had his best game in an Argyle shirt. Mellor was my MOM.

I think Purrington for Mc Hugh and Thomas (who is desperate to show what he can do - and nearly scored with his first shot) FOR Banton would improve us.

Agree with that and the changes you mention. McHugh had a shaky first 10 mins and the sending off spared his blushes as they wernt able to exploit that side.

 

[greeneagle]

Again Ruben did not stop running. Morgan played well and had clearly shot his bolt when subbed. Good team performance second half.

 

[StevePAFC]

IF we can play like we did in the second half for the whole 90 minutes then we can have a very exciting season. Southend had no answer to us apart from get us yellow cards, Phil Brown showing what a clown of a manager he really is.

 

[Lesley Somerville]

Mellor was a revelation in the second half. Morgan played well as everyone has said. Would like to see Thomas given more time, he's just so darn quick but also tries too hard so could be a liability. Banton shows a lot of skill, more than we give him credit for and he tracks back and won some good tackles. All in all it's an improving team I'd say.

 

[Liam Vercoe]

Their goalie made a fantastic save too.

 

[Tynan's Dad]

Just wondering how people give player ratings?

I see on here, McCormick has been given a 6 and two 7s. Assuming 0 is atrocious, 5 is average and 10 is outstanding, how he could possibly score more than 5 for today baffles me, possibly 6 at a push. He did absolutely nothing wrong at all, came for crosses when needed, etc. but did very little that would challenge him - no particularly difficult saves, etc.

I felt their keeper would have a slightly higher rating - nothing particularly he could have done about the first goal, possibly could have done better for the second but a superb save diving down to his left to prevent another Argyle goal and two or three more standard saves.

 

[Deacster]

Again Ruben did not stop running. Morgan played well and had clearly shot his bolt when subbed. Good team performance second half.

Funny how we all see things differently, I thought he looked very uninterested and lazy first half but came back stronger to score in the second.

 

[Mike Greening]

1) A slightly better turn-out. Surprising that McHugh kept his place and that Morgan started rather than Norburn. Good to see Cox back. Connor Clifford and Will Atkinson in their team.

2) Morgan had a great first 15 with the Southend defence only able to contain him by fouling him. 3 fouls later and Southend were down to 10. Although the incident itself didn't look like it deserved a card. Argyle were all over them before the sending off but second best thereafter.

3) Mellor's had an atrocious first 45. His defending was alright but his passing was woeful. Not helped by Alessandra having a similarly poor half. Nelson was solid and Morgan troublesome but that apart we didn't look like a team with an extra player.

4) Only two shots in the first 45 on target with Reid coming closest with a glancing header from Alessandra's free-kick. In the first 45: Banton frustrating as usual - too close to McHugh and cutting in rather than forcing the game by going wide. Meanwhile on the right ..... err we didn't seem to have one.

5) Change of formation at half time, going 4-2-3-1 with Banton moving into the middle and Morgan playing wide left. Early dividends with Banton putting in Mellor (both full-backs noticeably pushing on) he dodged three challenges before setting up Alessandra to open the scoring.

6) Good penalty shout when Morgan was clearly held when all he would have had to do was run it to have a shot on goal. Moments later and Reid headed home another right wing move!! What happened at half-time?

7) Argyle went a bit too casual and allowed Southend back into it. Nelson almost gifted a goal with a slack pass. Thomas replaced a very Banton and managed to have a good shot well saved - thei 'keeper had a good game.

8 ) Far better second-half with the full-backs getting much further forward and Banton playing in the centre. Went more narrow with Harvey replacing Morgan and Banton going back wide.

9) Ref like to give cards. Sent off 1 and could have sent off a second, for a foul on Reid as he ran through. Corr amazingly not carded for multiple simulation.

I thought he was a fair and evenhanded ref, stood no nonsense from either side. I would like to see more like him. :scarf:

 

[esmer]

Hard to believe we played 442 throughout the first half against a team that pass the ball so well. We changed formation to a three man midfield in a 4213 formation at half time and had a lot of possession and made the extra man tell. The first goal was a thing of beauty, there must have been a dozen passes in the build up and some great work by Mellor and a fine finish. Mellor and Allesandra deserve mention and Norburn did very well when he came on (I was expecting to see him on at half time) but the MOM by a long way again was O'Connor. He was outstanding again, he reads the game superbly and always seems to be in the right place and this added to his range of passing makes him an exceptional player at this level. We need to sign him on permanently if at all possible.

 

[Metal Green Mickey]

Mellor was a revelation in the second half. Morgan played well as everyone has said. Would like to see Thomas given more time, he's just so darn quick but also tries too hard so could be a liability. Banton shows a lot of skill, more than we give him credit for and he tracks back and won some good tackles. All in all it's an improving team I'd say.

I thought this yet the OP seems to think he was average at best.

I disagree about the formation we played to as if it had been a 4231 the left and right sided players would of been deeper. It was more a 4213 with the difference being the player behind Reid was closer to him as well. Alessendra and Morgan played more like wingers. Not only this but the whole team pushed up including the centre midfielders and Mellor.

Mellor played very well second half. He just seems to just need more belief about his abilities.

I do believe though the cause of our problems is the teams ability to be close to each other. I talked last week about Reid being isolated against Stevenage and now I see that our midfield is way too deep. They need to get up and support the front players or at least one out of a two man midfield needs to. We need a driving force. Yet I find our CM's aren't forward thinking enough and don't have enough pace. It needs resolving.

Today was appalling 1st half followed by better tactics 2nd half. I liked this 4213. Makes us a little open but plenty of options all over the park. Yet the midfield is my concern. We cross the ball and there is like 1 or 2 players in the box. We need more options.

My concern is did Southend run out of steam or did Argyle raise the bar of their performance. Maybe a bit of both but Argyle need to play as a team and get closer to team-mates else we still have issues in terms of creativity.