Donohue's Marks Out Of Ten

GK Darryl Flahavan | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals Conceded: 0 | Rating: 7

As the Darryl and Bart debate rages on Flahavan done his chances of securing a permanent place in the first team no harm by commanding his area very well. In the first half you could hear the loud call of ‘Darryl’s’ as Flahavan caught a ball with four players around the ball. However Darryl let himself down a little in the second half as he came to collect a cross that he only managed to punch. This fell to a Swindon attacker who headed towards goal. Flahavan needed Adam Barrett to help him out who cleared off the line. Other than that it was a quite night for Flahavan who had very little to do. He can thank the defence for this who dealt with Swindon’s attacks very well. Flahavan even had the confidence to use his chest to save a shot deep into the second half!

RB Lewis Hunt | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 8.5

A very good performance from Hunt who did very little wrong all night. In the opening minutes of the game Hunt did not allow his left-sided opponent Grant Smith quite and therefore not allowing Swindon attacking chances. Hunt also dealt with the Robins long ball game very well as he headed the ball away on a number of occasions. Very little got past Hunt tonight. Going forward Hunt was equally impressive. Hunt found his relationship with Pettefer reformed after a one match and it worked to great affect as Hunt covered a lot of ground down the right side and put a number of good balls in to the penalty area. Hunt also had time for a small jinx to send to Swindon defenders the wrong way as he put another effective ball into the area in the process.

CB Spencer Prior | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 8

This was one of the better games for Prior who is clearly wishing to visit Cardiff come the 10^th April. Prior used so many of the assets that he has to dismiss Swindon’s attacking force out of the LDV Vans trophy. One instance that I can remember is when Prior used sheer strength to muscle Sam Parkin off of the ball, in the process diffusing a dangerous attacking situation. He also used is fantastic ‘football brain’ to drop off when needed and to know when to commit himself for tackles. During the opening fifteen minutes in the first half when Swindon spent a lot of time attacking Prior was crucial to minimising the number of efforts Swindon had on the Southend goal.

CB Adam Barrett | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 8

Barrett must be very pleased to be into the area final with his local team and you could see how much it meant to him at the end of the evening as he celebrated fully with clenched fists. However it is Barrett’s former club Bristol Rovers that Southend will now face in the two-legged area final. Who would bet against Barrett scoring a winner to deny Bristol Rovers of a Cardiff dream!? He must have been the only person in the ground not wanting Leyton Orient to beat Bristol Rovers and in the process setting up a ‘local’ derby match.

However tonight Barrett was his usual self and contributed to the game well again. Barrett was part of the successful defence and managed to distribute the ball very well when going out of the back four. Barrett had only one chance from a set piece from which he headed over. Barrett did ‘score’ tonight but in was disallowed due to the referee ordering a retake of the corner. The whistle had gone long before Barrett got his final touch into the net.

LB Che Wilson | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7.5

No moans for Wilson who had a very good game. He linked up very well, again, with Nicky Nicolau as well as sticking to his defensive task. In defence Wilson often found himself pegged back in the first half and having to clear the ball into touch. However this was perfectly understandable as Southend were under pressure at the time.

RM Carl Pettefer | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7.5

Pettefer returned to his position of right midfielder as Mark Bentley slotted into central midfield and Gower was rested. Pettefer worked very hard and found his real usage during Southend’s poor start to the game as his good tackling ability was needed in the midfield. This was also needed in the second half as Southend looked to close down the Swindon midfield as the Robins looked to create chances and an equaliser. Pettefer was also very composed when he got the ball and I felt that his and Maher’s passing abilities were used to their full potential as Southend looked to slow the game down, when in possession, in the second half. Pettefer was even involved in some pretty impressive ‘Oles!’ towards the end of the game the Shrimpers were easing through the Robins defence.

CM Mark Bentley | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 6.5

A quite night from Bentley who tried his best to get into the game but failed to find possession on a number of occasions. Up to Southend’s first goal it was hard for all of the Southend midfield as their Swindon counterparts closed them down very quickly. Bentley fell foul of this problem but also found it hard to stamp is authority on the game after this. Perhaps this was because of pernickety referee Phil Joslin who penalised Bentley on at least four occasions without giving him so much as a talking to or maybe this was because Bentley was targeted as a potential dangerman and was being marked closely. Despite Bentley’s problematic game he still had two chances. One blazed over the North Bank goal whilst the other produced a good save by keeper Rhys Evans (more from him later!) as Bentley lashed a shot from close range.

CM Kevin Maher | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 1 | Rating: 8

Maher took a while to get going this evening but when his play dramatically improved he dragged the teams performance with him, such is the influence of the Blues skipper. Maher began to look like that player who guided Southend to Cardiff last term in this competition as he battled for every ball going as well as getting most of his set pieces spot on. But the factor that makes Maher that one step up from other players in this division is his passing ability. Few League two or even one players would have picked out the pass that Maher sent through to Lawrie Dudfield to make the score 1-0 and few League one or two players would have had the ability to allow the passing to go through them for much of the second half allowing their team to create such a number of good chances. It’s by no fluke that Maher has amounted fourteen assists this season.

LM Nicky Nicolau | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 1 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 9

Motm: By far the best performance I have ever seen from Nicolau in Southend colours. He was really that good going forwards and backwards. In the first half when Southend were struggling he showed everyone the reason why he was brought to the club as a defender by doing everything that he possibly could have done to prevent a goal or any chances. To add to this he put a number of really great balls into the penalty area, to create a lot of worry in the Swindon defence. On one occasion a ball in to Lawrie Dudfield shaved the post.

After his goal Nicolau really began to excel as his passing, crossing and dribbling were absolutely out of this world. Nicolau even managed a nutmeg in the process which delighted the Southend faithful. Chants of ‘Oh Nicky Nicky, Nicky Nicky Nicky Nicky Nicolau’ could be heard all around the ground at the end of the game and rightly so for a really great performance from the former Arsenal trainee.

CF Lawrie Dudfield | Minutes on pitch: 90 | Goals: 1 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 8.5

I wrote in this column on Saturday about how Lawrie needed a goal and tonight it finally came. The thirty sixth minute effort was delightfully taken by Dudfield who had been sent through by Kevin Maher. As Dudfield went clean through on goal and goalkeeper Evans began to go to ground most expected Dudfield to simply slot the ball home. However Dudfield had the audacity to chip Evans and chasing defender O’Hanlon could do nothing more than to slide the ball into his own net.

The goal, however was not the only effort that Dudfield had all night. After beating defender Matthew Heywood for pace as Lawrie did for much of the night Dudfield blasted into the side of the North Bank net when it might have been a better option to cross the ball to Wayne Gray. It was a very successful night for Dudfield who looks to have secured himself a place in the team for Saturdays promotion battle against Darlington.

CF Wayne Gray | Minutes on pitch: 89 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0 | Rating: 7.5

Its not quite falling for Gray at the moment as the former Wimbledon (now MK Dons) man looks at the match against Leyton Orient on 7^th December as the last time he has scored. This is not to say that Gray performed poorly this evening and as usual done a lot of the ‘dog work’ that allows Dudfield or Eastwood the space as they have one less defender to deal with. Gray is also asked to win headers from Darryl Flahavan’s precise kicks; This is a job more accustomed to Drewe Broughton who came on at half time to make the 50:50 draw. Gray’s persistence paid off when he won the corner for Nicky Nicolau’s goal after chasing and winning the ball before cannoning against Jerel Ifil to win the corner. Gray’s effort was given the respect it deserved as he was clapped off as he was replaced in the closing moments by Freddy Eastwood.

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

Eastwood was only on the field for a minute and having only touched the ball on one occasion it would be difficult to give him any kind of mark. However with Eastwood a little off form and Dudfield and Gray linking up well it will be interesting to see who starts up front for Southend for Saturday’s promotion clash with Darlington.