[choirboy]

To me the match today v Southend seemed a very tough and bruising affair to be involved in as a player. My initial impression of Southend after the first ten minutes was that they were a 'Robust' and 'Uncompromising' physical team. I also thought that they would be very difficult to break down.
Having said that I thought that we had started well in the first twenty minutes. Then when Big Ben made the misjudgment that led to the Southend goal and the subsequent injuries to Humphreys and Maxted, we seemed to lose our flow going forward. The match became very bitty and was not helped by some unprofessional play which made the job of the officials much harder. To his credit the referee today was not afraid to make bookings in the first half to try and exert full control of the match. In the second half the play continued as in the first half and we seemed to lack the 'guile' to really break down their defence. Of course Southend, like Oxford, looked like they could score on the 'Break'.
A real moment of pure 'BRILLIANCE' finally unlocked the away defence when BARLASER struck the ball beautifully for a wonderful strike to make it deservedly level. I was spectating in my usual place in the Clayton End and the shot came absolutely straight towards me! It was struck so sweetly that the ball did not deviate or spin or swerve....it just BIGGER and BIGGER as it hurtled towards me and INTO THE CORNER OF THE NET!
After the goal the match returned to being a messy and very physical match.
In the end I feel that it was a hard earned point against a team who make it very difficult to play against.
I thought that the vocal support from The Ultras in the Clayton End was magical and it was nice to see 'Andy Cap' making an appearance as the players came onto the pitch.
ON STANLEY ON