Southend United manager Paul Sturrock delighted with second win in a row (From Echo)
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Southend United manager Paul Sturrock delighted with second win in a row
12:11pm Wednesday 5th September 2012 in Sport By Chris Phillips
SOUTHEND United manager Paul Sturrock was pleased to see his side record a second successive victory last night.
Blues beat AFC Wimbledon 2-1 in the first round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy at Roots Hall .
And that delighted the Scotsman.
“Winning football games keeps everyone happy and that is the important thing for us, to build some momentum,” said Sturrock.
“I thought we started the match very, very well and could have had two or three goals inside the first half and hour.
“(Gavin) Tomlin was trying to walk the ball into the back of the net rather than strike it and then we lost our way a wee bit.
“They then scored with their only real chance and in the second half we could have scored a hatful.
“But we huffed and puffed and then sod’s law we changed our style a bit and got the result we need.”
That came when Ryan Cresswell, who was pushed up front late on, headed home a injury time cross from Neil Harris and Sturrock felt that again showed a direct style of play works well at this level.
“The goal proved a point again,” said Sturrock.
“The fans were all singing and dancing in the stands because we’ve got a victory but the win was earned with a goal the supporters would probably label as hoofball – however that doesn’t seem to be a problem right now!
“We got a good result which we’re all very pleased about and I think it was merited too.”
Comments(8)
craigie123
says...
12:42pm Wed 5 Sep 12
AussieShrimper
says...
3:28pm Wed 5 Sep 12
What is the issue with this team when we are creative enough to get into the penalty area and get a large number of shots on goal ...but ONLY score occasionally.
Is it that the players are tooo selfish or that their coaching is to go it alone rather than work together to score?
Ideas/thoughts?
Nazzarooney
says...
5:18pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Re. Aussie shrimper. I'm amazed when watching SUFC at the obvious lack of ideas. Simple things like throw ons, corners and free kicks. They apparently train for hours and earn a decent wage, so why can't they take a decent corner or try out diffrent throw in/ free kick routines???
I think strikers need to be a bit selfish. However when a pass is better than a wild shot it becomes very frustrating to watch.
Techy - SOL
says...
9:07pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Clearly, the manager is a little touchy regarding criticism of his tactics, but as I have said before... if we mix up our play, occasional direct football goes relatively unnoticed! BUT, if it's "hoof ball" to nobody in particular all the way to the 90, then the criticism is thoroughly deserved and there can be no complaints... the buck stops with the manager when we are outplayed by a "footballing" side!
Crewe Alexandra in the playoffs last May for example! We got exactly what we deserved out of those two legs. Nothing!
I suspect that with only 18 pros on the books, we'll be ok until about late October before injuries and suspensions start impacting upon our selection processes, so it'll be interesting to see what the manager does in the loan market.
Obviously, we are missing Freddy Eastwood's threat up front, otherwise we wouldn't be needing to rely on a defender pushed up top to bail us out. If there is anything left in the pot, then we need at least two players to bolster our numbers. We need a Mark Bentley type midfielder and a solid defender.
AussieShrimper
says...
9:29pm Wed 5 Sep 12
These are some pretty smart players we have on this squad...and PS is a good manager with an impressive "street" reputation...so where does this fall apart?
The U-18's don't seem to have any trouble scoring and this is the same team philosophy...or is it?
Maybe a smart guy with access like Chris Phillips can ask some questions
Or maybe the game plan is not to get promoted and have to build the new stadium?
Dumain
says...
9:39am Thu 6 Sep 12
I am disappointed he hasn't given the young players a chance. There is no point Bentley being there not to play or at least be second choice. Last season when Morris was injured he brought another keeper in on loan. I rated Johnny Herd. Perhaps I got that wrong as he was released after one season at Ebbsfleet. Crawford also wasn't given a chance but is now one of the top scorers in the Conference. He has dropped down a division and I can see him coming back to the League.
As for Southend under Sturrock I feel it is all doom and gloom at the Hall with the long ball and the negative tactics.
S.D. Shrimper
says...
12:44pm Thu 6 Sep 12
Three games unbeaten this season so far, 17 games unbeaten and only missed out on instant promotion by one point last season, he can't be doing to much wrong.
AussieShrimper
says...
4:22pm Thu 6 Sep 12
Playing as a team like the U-18's might not be so bad rather than everyone going it alone.
Thoughts????
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