Page 36 - All at Sea Fanzine Issue 68

36
All At Sea Issue 68
From the set piece, Michael Turner positioned himself at the far post and his movement completely bamboozled Wigan defender Dan Burn, taking him one way and then arcing round to almost on the goal line. The pace of the ball in from McLaughlin, coupled with the ick from Cox which took out several defenders, meant Christian Walton could only watch as Turner nodded home from three yards out.
Wigan could clearly play but no matter what they tried, they were met everywhere by harrying blue shirted men who seemed downright a ronted that anyone could come here, to Roots Hall, and expect to walk away with the points. Michael Timlin was particularly fearsome, and someone that Wigan’s orchestrator Powell will be seeing in his nightmares every time he closes his eyes for a week.
Alongside him, Dru Yearwood, still a child, was also magni cent and showed tenacity to go with the calmness on the ball that we have come to expect from him over the last few games. This is a mid eld partnership that would have probably have been third or fourth choice for many a few weeks ago, but they were the perfect combination of aggression and guile.
But all this talk of tenacity and desire shouldn’t mask the fact that we can play a bit as well. Ben Coker and Michael Kightly look in tune on the left hand side and the two started the move that led to the second goal. Kightly received the ball from his left back, checked back and played a 20-yard pass along the ground inside to Simon Cox, who shifted the ball one way and reversed it the other to slide the ball into the penalty area for Fortune, who had already pointed to where he wanted it. Burn was the wrong side of him and the striker held him o to slide the ball under Walton for the second.
Fortune celebrated his second goal of the season in front of his former fans with a mock stooping limp, presumably a retort to taunts about his age and usefulness. If that had been the call from the 400 or so visiting fans (poor numbers for league leaders), it was well wide of the mark.
Cox could even have had a third, ring over from inside the box. At the other end, Ferdinand and Turner were composed and
Will Grigg didn’t have a sni . In fact it’s di cult to remember an e ort from the visitors in the rst half, aside from a whipped free kick that Oxley sted away comfortably and a wayward nish from Powell.
The second half was always going to see a backlash from the beleaguered visitors but Anton Ferdinand nearly made it three when his goalbound e ort was blocked by Burn, who was having rather a busier game than he expected.
On the hour, Gary Roberts and James Vaughan were brought on (not a bad pair to be able to send o the bench), and Vaughan didn’t waste any time in halving the de cit. Timlin dwelt on possession too long on 67 minutes and Powell was able to set Byrne on his way, crossing accurately for Vaughan to deliver a neat ick into the far corner.
A nervy nale was surely in store than and Wigan did look lively after their goal, enjoying plenty of possession. The most heartstopping moment was, with the ball pinging alarmingly around the six-yard box, Yearwood’s clearance struck a Wigan man but fortunately bounced the wrong side of the post.
Freddie Ladapo was introduced with around 20 minutes left and showed he will be a handful for defenders with his pace, strength and trickery.
With seven minutes remaining, Ben Coker dug out a deep cross which was headed away by Burn. Cox had anticipated it and, with his back to goal, brought the ball down with one touch and shot low and hard on the turn. It was too much for Walton, who could only knock the ball out to the waiting Kightly, who red home left-footed into the net, sparking more late celebrations in the south east corner of Roots Hall.
Southend could even have had a fourth when sub Shayon Harrison’s clever footwork worked an opening, but he dragged his shot just wide. At the other end, there were calls for a penalty when Vaughan looked to be pulled down, but nothing was given and Southend held on for arguably the most satisfying win of the season so far.
Jamie Forsyth @Jaimundo_ESX