Southend United 3–1 Tamworth: Dyer’s half-time changes find the answer

The chances were there, but the goals were not

Seven thousand three hundred and twenty-eight supporters were at Roots Hall, with 27 making the trip from Tamworth. We went into the evening expecting Southend to ask plenty of questions of a defence that had conceded 19 times in seven matches. It was not that we failed to create opportunities in the first half. The frustration was that they kept slipping away.

Kamara fired wide early and there was a false dawn in the eleventh minute. Leon Chambers-Parillon struck the post and Harry Cardwell put away the rebound, but an offside flag ruled it out. There is little more irritating than celebrating a goal that never counted, especially when you know the side ought to be capable of finding another.

Kyle McAdam, fresh from that astonishing Carlisle goal, did good work to intercept a pass and send Cardwell through. Cardwell nudged the ball past the advancing Jas Singh, but his effort went the wrong side of the post. Tyler Lyttle’s timely challenge later kept Chambers-Parillon from reaching a Daley-Campbell cross.

To give Tamworth their due, they did not come simply to sit in their own penalty area. Nathan Tshikuna made Duncan work, and Ryan Howley curled an attempt narrowly off target. Ben Goodliffe needed treatment for a head injury and played on wearing a bandage. At the break it was goalless, but it had certainly not been without incident.

From a fan’s point of view, though, it felt like the first half had drifted away. We had enough attacking ability on the pitch to be ahead and somehow had not made it count.

Dyer makes his decision

I doubt anybody expected quite such a dramatic response to that opening 45 minutes. Dyer sent on Sam Austin, Lewys Twamley, Promise Omochere and Massiah-Edwards for Hartigan, Kamara, Cardwell and Popoola. Four changes, and effectively a different attacking shape.

You can argue about whether some of those substitutions should have been required in the first place. That is fair. But I would much rather have a manager who recognises that something is not working and changes it than one who waits until the seventieth minute and hopes for the best. It was a bold call and it worked.

Within minutes the tempo looked different. Oldaker had a shot blocked, Omochere was denied by Singh from a Massiah-Edwards delivery and Twamley tested the goalkeeper from distance. Austin then slipped Massiah-Edwards through, although his effort went straight at Singh. Southend were playing with urgency and making Tamworth face their own goal.

Chambers-Parillon breaks the deadlock

The breakthrough finally came on the hour. Oldaker worked his way into the area and found Chambers-Parillon, who finished to put Southend ahead. Three successive matches with a goal for Leon, and five league goals in all. He is becoming one of the players we look towards when a match needs someone to take responsibility.

Seven minutes later, Omochere doubled the lead with a diving header from McAdam’s cross. It was a terrific moment for a player already building a reputation for coming up with the important intervention. Yeovil winner, Carlisle assist, now a goal of his own at Roots Hall: he has certainly not wasted the chances he has been given.

At 2–0 I started thinking we might actually get the straightforward finish I had been asking for. Naturally, football decided otherwise.

A reminder, then an answer

Almost immediately after Omochere’s goal, Tshikuna found the space to drive a powerful shot past Duncan. Two up became 2–1, and Tamworth had life again. That goal was disappointing because it came at exactly the moment we needed to take control and make the visitors believe the contest was over.

Fortunately, Sam Austin had other ideas. Tamworth failed to clear a corner in the 81st minute and Austin met the loose ball with a volley into the roof of the net. His first goal of the season, and the one that made the remaining minutes much easier to watch. After the sharp reply from Tshikuna, I thought it was especially pleasing that Southend did not retreat into themselves. We found another goal and finished the match on our terms.

Good problems for a manager to have

Omochere is making it harder to leave him out. Massiah-Edwards gave Tamworth problems, Twamley was willing to try his luck and Austin combined his link play with a well-taken goal. Chambers-Parillon keeps scoring and Oldaker had an important part in the opener. That is a good collection of individual performances, but the real positive was how they worked together after the interval.

The balance still needs attention. Tamworth had chances in the first half and their goal came too quickly after we extended our advantage. If Southend want to challenge the leading sides, that concentration must improve. We cannot keep letting opponents back into matches simply because we have just scored.

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