Southend show they’ve learned the hard way

A case of sour grapes from Ronnie Moore

Southend United have learned the hard way that gifting teams two-goal starts in the first 15 minutes is rarely a productive venture. So it’s good to see they are learning from their mistakes as they turned the tables on 2nd placed Rotherham to record an excellent victory.
At a blustery Don Valley Stadium, the Blues were in front after just 32 seconds, Ryan Hall meeting Sean Clohessy’s excellent cross on the volley from six yards out.
Then, when the exiled home side failed to pick up Blair Sturrock at a Hall corner 12 minutes later, the manager’s son doubled the lead, flicking a header into the roof of the net.
Southend’s stubborn first half performance was so effective that the closest the home side got was when Graham Coughlan temporarily lost his bearings, looping a wayward back-header over Glenn Morris, but fortunately the ball dropped wide of the post.
In fact, the Blues wasted a gilt-edged chance to increase their lead when Sturrock’s cross to the back post was met by Louie Soares, but after Andy Warrington had brilliantly palmed away his first effort, the former Aldershot winger could only head the rebound into the side netting.
The second half saw the home side predictably ramp up the tempo and pin the Blues back, but they held firm until just after the hour mark, when centre back Nick Fenton reacted first to stab home a loose ball in the box following a corner.
It was the first evidence of sloppy defending from Southend, and fortunately the last as they held their hosts at bay for the remainder of the game, much to the frustrations of the Rotherham supporters, who despite their lofty league position still saw fit to sing “what a load of rubbish” at their favourites.
Boss Ronnie Moore, who has a track record of throwing all the toys out of his stolen Scouse pram when his sides have lost to Southend, also laid into his men, calling them “naïve” and saying they had “lost to one of the poorest teams in the division”. Make that twice, Ronnie. Dickhead.

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