Southend United v FC Halifax Town: time to put the cup nightmare behind us

There is no changing what happened. What Kieron Dyer and his players can change is what happens next. FC Halifax Town arrive at Roots Hall on Saturday and, for once, I’m not looking for a grand speech about putting things right. I want a team that looks as though it has a plan, knows its jobs and plays with the intensity we have seen so often in the league.

Third place is worth remembering

For all the anger about the FA Cup, I don’t want us to lose sight of the bigger picture. Southend are third in the National League after 13 matches, with 27 points. Eight wins, three draws and just two defeats is a good start by any reasonable measure.

We’ve enjoyed some terrific moments already. Six goals at Gateshead, a strong response against AFC Fylde and then that 94th-minute winner from Sahid Kamara at Boston. When this side moves the ball quickly and runners support the attack, it can be a joy to watch. There is enough quality here to make this a serious season.

But we have also made too many afternoons hard work. One clean sheet in 13 league games tells its own story. We cannot keep asking our forwards to score two or three every time the opposition has a spell of pressure. After the cup exit, I’d like an organised, convincing home performance almost as much as I’d like the three points. The two things should go together.

Halifax are arriving in form

Anyone expecting an easy afternoon because Halifax sit tenth needs to look beyond the league position. John McGrath’s side have 20 points from their opening 13 league games and have been building momentum.

They beat Solihull Moors 2–0 away, then put four past Gateshead in a 4–1 home win. Their FA Cup run is alive too, after a 3–2 victory over South Shields, and they’ve been finding the net regularly. This is not a side coming to Essex simply to sit in two banks of four and hope for a point.

There is a familiar face in Shaun Hobson, who knows Roots Hall well. More importantly, Halifax have enough attacking options to punish a loose pass or an untracked runner. We should respect that without being frightened of it. We’re the home side, we’re third, and we ought to be setting the tempo.

Halifax player to watch: Zak Gilsenan

For my player to watch, I’m going with Zak Gilsenan. He can create a problem with his delivery and his set-piece ability, but he is more than somebody who stands over a free-kick. Give him room near the box and Halifax have a player capable of opening a game up.

He scored twice in Halifax’s 4–1 win over Tamworth earlier in the campaign and remains one of those players I would rather see facing his own goal than ours. Conor Carty offers a threat through the middle, while Ben Tollitt and Amari Morgan-Smith give McGrath further ways to change an attack. We will need to defend as a team, not just hope our centre-halves tidy everything up.

What I want from Dyer’s team

The question after Berkhamsted isn’t whether every player who started that game deserves to be dropped. It is whether we can get back to the understanding and balance that brought us into third place. I hope Dyer makes that the priority.

Fitness will have a say, particularly after the problems for Harry Cardwell and Promise Omochere at Boston. I’m not going to pretend I know who will be passed fit by Saturday. But whichever eleven are available, the basics must look familiar: midfielders offering an outlet, support for the man up front and enough cover behind the ball when our full-backs go forward.

I’d also like us to start on the front foot. We gave Boston a goal almost immediately and found ourselves chasing the game. We cannot keep using an early setback as the signal to wake up. Halifax have been scoring freely enough that they won’t need inviting twice.

Last season’s results won’t win this one

There are happy recent memories against the Shaymen. Southend won 6–2 at The Shay and 3–0 at Roots Hall last season. Nine goals across two meetings is a lovely statistic to look at. It isn’t worth a single goal on Saturday.

Halifax’s current form should make sure nobody treats this as a repeat waiting to happen. The first challenge is to win individual battles and make our passing count. Then, when opportunities come, be ruthless. I’d rather take a well-earned 1–0 than spend the afternoon expecting another six.