Donohue's Marks Out Of Ten

GK Darryl Flahavan | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals Conceded: 1 | Rating: 8.5

MotM: Flahavan came into the team today with the fans having mixed feelings on his appearance. Warming up with Farnborough Town employed, but Southend loanee Craig Holloway, many fans chanted his name, some even shook his hand, whilst others mumbled about Darryl’s goalkeeping frailties. However very few could complain about Darryl’s performance. His main criticism failing to claim was answered early on and continued throughout the game as he caught a number of balls in the air.

Then Flahavan’s real ability showed through. Using his agility Darryl pulled off at least two world class saves that are very rarely seen in League 2. Darryl’s shot-stopping ability shone through as Mansfield piled on the pressure at the end on the first half as the Stags had a succession of four corners. A quality game from Flahavan who could do little about the Mansfield goal.

RB Lewis Hunt | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7

Hunt was again consistently good in defence as his competitor for the right back place, Duncan Jupp, watched from the sidelines. As well as Hunt’s great defensive ability he contributed well to the attack making a number of attacking runs outside of Mark Gower.

CB Spencer Prior | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6.5

Without really ever excelling Prior was a solid player at the back. Prior got his head to a number of balls and can be pleased with his overall performance. On the downside Prior took a couple of knocks throughout the afternoon and with very little cover for the central defensive positions Southend need Prior fit.

CB Adam Barrett | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7.5

Another commanding performance from Barrett who yet again could be described as a ‘brick wall’ in defence. The ex-Mansfield man was not shown up at all and coped particularly well when pacy Derek Asamoah entered the frame at half time. In the air Barrett was, as ever, a threat from set pieces heading one over the bar in the second half.

LB Che Wilson | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7

Another solid performance from Wilson who spent a lot of the time creating a symmetry to Lewis Hunt by overlapping the midfield thus creating width and attacking chances for the Shrimpers. Wilson weaknesses were shown when he failed to make his clearances fall to blue shirts.

RM Mark Gower | Minutes on pitch: 75 | Goals: 1 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 8

Gower, almost back to his former self before being substituted, assumedly to protect his fitness for the rest of the season. Gower made a lot of threatening runs with and without the ball and then sent the travelling army mad with a nicely taken goal after taking a free kick and then linking up with Freddy Eastwood.

Gower looked as if he was the missing link to Southend’s play in previous games, as in this game he drifted into the middle of the park being very creative in the process. Gower’s one problem of the day was being on the right wing and losing a number of opportunities to shoot because of this. Gower usual mode of play is to ‘cut in’ from the left wing before shooting towards the far post. He has scored like this against Canvey Island in the FA Cup last year and against Bristol Rovers in the LDV Vans Trophy also last year to name but a few.

CM Carl Pettefer | Minutes on pitch: 70 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 8

Before the game a mate of mine, hypothesised, ‘I bet you Pettefer’s like a Roy Keane in the middle,’ and he certainly wasn’t far from it as he was biting influence in the midfield. It worked well for Pettefer as his defensive and attacking abilities were used to the maximum. In attack he could drift in and out of the wings without his lesser crossing ability being shown up. In the defensive side of the game his battling and tackling abilities shone through. I would certainly like to see Pettefer play in central midfield again.

CM Kevin Maher | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7.5

A good performance from Maher who done a lot of the unnoticed hard work in the middle of the midfield. Tackling hard was the name of Maher’s game today as he won the ball before getting the attack going. Maher’s set pieces also improved today as they all past the first defender and sometimes caused confusion in the Mansfield defence.

LM Nicky Nicolau | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 8

Another great performance from the ex- Arsenal man who was joined by former Arsenal squad member and current Southend loanee Craig Holloway. Nicolau used the left wing to great effect as he spent much of the time on the ball dribbling around players before putting quality balls into the penalty area. Nicolau’s ball of the match was a cross right across the face of goal that Bramble almost got on the end of that would have made it two one to Southend. Nicolau received a lot of abuse from the Mansfield Town supporters however he kept most of them quite with his dazzling football abilities.

CF Lawrie Dudfield | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7

A full game for Dudfield, something that he had not experienced for a while and it appeared to take it’s toll on him towards the end of the match. Dudfield as ever ran his socks off with and without the ball and competed for long periods in the air. However again Dudfield didn’t have a clear cut chance and ended up frustrated without a goal yet again.

CF Freddy Eastwood | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 1 | Rating: 7.5

Eastwood came in for a lot of stick last week for what was a below average performance however today he proved his doubters wrong, but this time not with a goal but with an assist. This was only his second assist of the season but a neat interchange with midfielder and goalscorer Mark Gower looked very good. Eastwood’s game looked far different today as his passing ability looked much better than I have every seen it and for once Eastwood chased balls down rather than standing still. If Eastwood plays like this regularly then he will be one of the best players in the league as he his guaranteed to score goals over the rest of the year.

RM Wayne Gray | Minutes on pitch: 15 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7

Gray ran hard, as ever as he entered the frame, however his running didn’t pay off. Gray was denied what appeared to be a clear penalty by sub standard referee Kevin Friend. Although Gray didn’t do an awful lot in his fifteen minutes he looked dangerous every time he got the ball and therefore it will be interesting to see if he is included in the first team for the game against Swindon in the LDV Vans Trophy on Tuesday evening.

CF Tesfaye Bramble | Minutes on pitch: 15 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6.5

A quick fifteen minutes for Bramble who could have won the game in the dying minutes had if have got a touch on Nicolau’s cross. Other than that event, it was a quite day for the international footballer who may also start in the week against Swindon. It will be interesting to see Tilson’s selection policy.