torquay united v southend united - 14/4/2012

[bixieupnorth]

phew thought eastwood had scored then, ellis booked for late challenge

[bixieupnorth]

3 mins added but a man down at present so imagine itd be 4 or 5

[bixieupnorth]

crawley finished 1-1

[bixieupnorth]

just gotta hope they slip up again on tuesday, who we supporting then, northampton is it??

3rd with 3 games left

[westbaygull]

3rd with 3 games left

How do you know this..? :slap:

[Glostergull]

If Creepy draw or lose today. I can't see that they will have much joy for the rest of the season. Now they have the prospect of 5 suspended having been sent off. How can they possibly fill that big a gap. Hope it badly affects them for the next 3 games.

[bixieupnorth]

i looked at the tables after final whistle honestly j!!

[westbaygull]

Thanks for your hard work and multi-tasking this aft Bix. Not a bad point, all getting a bit tense now tho'

[bixieupnorth]

wont those suspended be back on tuesday, or were their bans doubled??

[Jeff]

Wasn't there, but I'll take that.

Given Southends league position and away record, that was the toughest match left out of the 4. We didn't lose, so chances are that'll keep us out of reach of Southend now.

Importantly, Crawley dropped points on a home banker for them. Plus they got another man sent off - they'll now be without both (i think) first choice central midfielders (Torres and Akpan), so although theyll get Davis back at Centre half they are still going to have to reshuffle the pack a bit.

They also have games in the next week against in-form Northampton and at in-form Dagenham (neither of whom are safe), plus a last day of the season trip to Accrington which is always a horrible place to go. From our corresponding fixtures, we took 4 points. If Crawley take more than 5 they'll have done well and deserve to be ahead of us.

Regardless, it's clearly going down to the last day. Let's just hope we're in the driving seat by then.

[bixieupnorth]

hmm northampton so in form that they lost 1-3 at home to bradford!! crawley will win and we'll be in the playoff positions on tuesday i'm afraid

from then on who knows?

[Jeff]

hmm northampton so in form that they lost 1-3 at home to bradford!! crawley will win and we'll be in the playoff positions on tuesday i'm afraid

from then on who knows?

Erm, we lost at home to Bradford too - what does that say about us? And this is Crawley who could only draw at home with Wimbledon, who have been out of form for months (cue a crushing home victory next Saturday then!).

I did say they'd do well to get more than 5 points from those 3 games. I think Crawley would be nailed on favourites, but I'm not as convinced it's as foregone a conclusion as you do.

If Crawley return more than 8 points from their 4 remaining games, given their managerial situation and player suspensions, they'll have done really well. If they don't, 6 from 3 will be enough for us. That's achieveable and not outside the realms of reality.

[costablancagull]

I agree with Jeff.Its a funny old game as someone said.Crawley have the jitters and Nothampton & Daggers need points.Nothing is a certainty

[Plymouth Gull]

Tough conditions, a ref who seemed to lose the plot in the second half and Southend looking for a point (surprisingly) meant this one finished 0-0. Southend were playing all the tricks in the book, diving, time-wasting etc, which was surprising as I expected better sportsmanship than that. Moshni should have gone, if not for his dump tackle on Oastler in the first half, then for the numerous times he was called up for a foul in the second half. Both sides hit the woodwork once, Jarvis' header hitting the outside of the post, Ryan Hall cracking a 25-yard free kick straight onto the face of Bobby's crossbar. The conditions worsened in the second half as the rain poured steadily (which also brought to the fore there may be leaks in the roof of BB!?!) The ref booked four TUFC players, Mansell got one for putting his head in to win a header when Hall's foot was high (daft one), Ellis got one for dumping Moshni on the floor which was fair enough. I can't remember who else got booked. Lathrope I think in the first half for a challenge from behind that won the ball, but as it was Anthony Grant, who spent more time feigning injury than on his feet, who was challenged, the ref was sucked in.

Moshni was a threat in the air, one of the best aerial threats I've seen all year - it isn't often at this level that you see someone have such ability heading.

Southend were better than us in the second half, I thought, created more chances but none that really forced Bobby into serious saves, only one or two. Disappointing attendance.

Glad Crawley dropped points, just hope they do it again on Tuesday/Saturday. We've got our two toughest games out without a defeat, so I think we can take 7 points minimum from the final 3, possibly all 9.

As for the Torquay fans who sang 'only one Steve Evans'... I never, ever thought I'd hear that at Plainmoor.

[bixieupnorth]

I'm just trying to see if my betting luck can transfer to Crawley