Comeback kings still dreaming, says Phil
PHIL BROWN described his side’s comeback win at Cheltenham as season defining for play-off hopefuls Southend.
Second-half goals from substitute Barry Corr and Kevan Hurst saw the Shrimpers storm back after Byron Harrison had opened the scoring at the end of the first half.
“We had numerous chances in the first half with Kevan’s quality on the right, but it wasn’t quite falling for us,” Brown said.
“The way we conceded before half-time was the most disappointing thing and some harsh words were said, but I didn’t feel the players really deserved it as it was a decent performance.
“But at 1-0 down, it’s a definitive moment in the season and we knew we had 45 minutes to keep this season alive.
“We made two substitutions from a strong bench, trying to be positive with a 4-2-4 formation and two great goals got us the win.We grabbed hold of the game after that.”
Cheltenham boss Mark Yates admitted he cannot wait for the season to finish as his mid-table side allowed yet another lead to slip away.
Yates was particularly upset with the defending for Southend’s goals, which arrived in the 64th and 67th minutes.
“We took David Noble off with an injury and went to pieces and it’s not down to organisation, it’s about having steel and standing up to things and we’ve not done that,” Yates said.
“Southend went direct, put balls in the box and we buckled. Scotty (Brown) made a great save, but we stopped doing our jobs for 10 minutes and that was pathetic from the players – I am really angry about that.
“In the first half we were the better side, but losing David was a blow and we started doing the basics wrong as a team.
“Maybe it’s time to give one or two kids a game, but I can’t wait for the season to end and we have five games to get some points and we are playing for pride now. There were not enough leaders out there for us.”
Brown denied Hurst in the 16th minute before a looping header from Lee Barnard cleared the bar by inches, but Cheltenham scored in the final minute of the opening period.
Jermaine McGlashan was tackled on the edge of the box and the ball fell for Harrison, who smashed in his 14th goal of the season.
But the introduction of Corr had an impact when he slotted a shot into the bottom right corner.
Three minutes later Hurst was allowed to stride through and after a heavy touch, he was still able to beat Brown and score.