Southend vs Walsall: Luke Leahy looking for a response to defeat

After losing at home to Doncaster, Dean Keates’ men went away to Oxford and won.

After losing to Accrington Stanley, they outplayed Shrewsbury Town before beating Bristol Rovers a few days later.

Defender Luke Leahy has demanded a similar response from Walsall at Southend tonight after their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Luton Town on Saturday

“After the previous two defeats, the gaffer has got a reaction from all of us and that is what we need to do because the fans were brilliant again,” said the left-back.

“They turned up and made a lot of noise. But us lads couldn’t send them home happy.

“Hopefully they will turn up Tuesday. I know it’s a long journey on a Tuesday night, but hopefully they will be there and they will see us get three points.”

Leahy wanted to speak to the media after Saturday’s defeat because he felt he owed it to the supporters to take some responsibility after a result he described as ‘a wake-up call’.

“It just wasn’t good enough throughout the whole team,” he said. “It was flat from the warm-up.

“It was slack and it was slow. And then we just weren’t good enough in every area of the game.

“The simple stuff, the pressing, the sitting back, the long balls. Everything wasn’t good enough.

“We took a big loss at Luton but the best thing is that we have got a game on Tuesday to put it right.

“We need to make sure we are on it right from the warm-up, because if you are lethargic and slow in the warm-up, you can go inside for 10 minutes, but you’re only going to come out and be slow and lethargic again.”

But Leahy has happy memories of Roots Hall, where Walsall won 3-0 last season in a memorable match in the snow.

“Erhun (Oztumer) got a hat-trick,” he smiled. “We went down on the Friday and I can remember even on the Saturday morning we weren’t sure if the game would go ahead.

“But I’m glad it was because we won 3-0 and it was a comfortable result.

“I’d take a 1-0 win from an own-goal on Tuesday just to get us back going.

“The important thing for us is to go there and do the basics properly. That’s the biggest thing in football.

“That’s what Luton did, they got it up to the two strikers and played off them.

“If you do the basics right – which we have done all season really – then we can go there and get the three points.”

Despite Saturday’s defeat, Keates is expected to give his players the chance to right the wrongs from Luton and so changes will be minimal.

But Southend have been playing 3-5-2 in recent weeks, which means the Saddlers boss could add an extra body into midfield and switch to a 4-3-3.

Wolves loanee Connor Ronan could drop into central midfield in place of Zeli Ismail to facilitate the tactical tweak.

Having started the season on a seven-match unbeaten run, the Saddlers have now lost three out of their last six in the league.

If they want to keep in touch with the top six and keep their dream alive, they need to show the same grit they have after previous set-backs this season.

But lose, and they will be dragged further towards the congestion in mid-table.

The opposition: Shrimpers yet to get home form up to speed

While Southend United have enjoyed a steady resurgence on the road after an indifferent start to the season, their home form is yet to catch up.

An unbeaten run of five games followed mid-September’s head-scratching and soul-searching 2-0 defeat to struggling Shrewsbury Town, but three of the four wins gathered during that run were on the road.

That undefeated streak was brought to a gut-wrenching end with a stoppage-time defeat to Coventry City on Saturday – the match played at Roots Hall, of course.

In fact, 13 of the 20 points Southend have garnered this season have been away from home.

Combine the Shrimpers’ wretched record on their own patch this campaign with Walsall’s good away record, it appears a perfect opportunity for the Saddlers to bounce back from Saturday’s defeat at Luton Town – their first on the road this season.

And it was at Southend last season that Walsall enjoyed one of their finest away days, Erhun Oztumer scoring a superb second-half hat-trick on a snowy day when most of the country was tucked up in the warm rather than braving the cold to follow their team.

The Saddlers’ claims are further enhanced by the fact Southend’s key man – former Albion striker Simon Cox – will miss the game after picking up the first red card of his career in Saturday’s loss to the Sky Blues.

Cox apologised for seeing two yellows and then a red, but he had done more than enough in the previous five games – scoring five goals – to pull his side away from the bottom four to within touching distance of the top six.

He will likely be replaced by top scorer Tom Hopper as Theo Robinson’s partner up front in the 3-5-2 system that has served Chris Powell so well in recent weeks.

Hopper was relegated to the bench for the first time since his summer move from Scunthorpe, but came on to score his seventh of the season in 13 appearances.

He will lead the line in a different way to Cox, using his physical presence to disrupt the Saddlers’ back line rather than drop into the hole like Cox.

Former Saddler Sam Mantom is a doubt for the game, but that could pave the way for another ex-Walsall man, Jason Demetriou, to return in midfield. Teenager Elvis Bwomono kept Demetriou out of his usual right wing-back slot on Saturday.

Likely line-up:

Subs: Dunn (gk), Johnson, Wilson, Osbourne, Ismail, Gordon, Kouhyar.

Southend United (3-5-2): Oxley; Turner, Moore, Hendrie; Demetriou, Dieng, Yearwood, Mantom, Coker; Robinson, Hopper.

Pie and a pint:

The pub in which Southend were formed is now away fans only. A very short walk from the ground.

Memory lane:

Oztumer’s treble in March did for the Shrimpers, who had insisted the game went ahead despite awful weather.

Key man:

Walsall have scored just once in their last four outings, so a goal from Andy Cook would be welcome

Danger man:

Dru Yearwood

Southend’s improved form coincided with two factors – a switch to 3-5-2 to utilise their impressive wing-backs, and the return of 18-year-old Dru Yearwood to central midfield.

Chris Powell has placed plenty of faith in the teenager and has been repaid in spades.