Introduction
Southend United beat Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park for the first time to keep our play-off hopes alive going into the final day of the National League season.
Goals from Jack Bridge, Noor Husin and Shaun Hobson gave us a 3-0 win, and after seventh placed Boreham Wood were beaten away by now champions Wrexham and at home to Gateshead on Tuesday, Southend sit three points off of the play-off places with one match of the regular season remaining.
In this article I am going to focus on Wes Fonguck’s influence on our performance after he was restored to the starting eleven.
Starting Lineups
Scunthorpe lined up in a 4-4-2 formation.
Southend went with our usual 3-5-2 formation. Steve Arnold played in goal, behind a back three of Hobson, Ollie Kensdale and Louis Lomas. Cav Miley sat at the base of the midfield with Husin and Fonguck ahead of him. Jason Demetriou and Jack Bridge were the wing backs, and Callum Powell partnered Harry Cardwell in attack.
Build-Up
When in possession, this midfield structure enabled us to create space in the centre of the pitch by pushing our central midfielders wider.
With Scunthorpe’s two central midfielders marking Husin and Fonguck, and one of their strikers dropping to mark Miley, space was created for either one of our strikers to drop into to receive a pass, or for one of our centre backs to carry the ball into.
In this instance, Hobson brings the ball forwards into the space. Scunthorpe’s two central midfielders move centrally to close down the space, but this leaves Fonguck and Husin free.
Hobson manages to pass the ball to Husin who is now in space, and he finds Bridge on the left who can cross the ball into the penalty area.
Final Third
When we had progressed play into the final third, we looked to get Fonguck into the last line of attack in an attempt to overload Scunthorpe’s defensive line (5v4).
To counter this, Scunthorpe had one of their central midfielders drop deeper to mark Fonguck, but this left space in the middle of the pitch for us to pin them back and sustain pressure.
In this example, it’s actually Hobson who provides the width from the right after receiving a pass from Demetriou, who has inverted from his wing back position into the midfield.
Hobson’s cross is half cleared, but because Scunthorpe have been pinned back, Husin is in space and able to help recycle possession, meaning we begin another attack and sustain pressure.
Finding Space
Here, Fonguck finds space in the centre of the pitch to receive a pass from Bridge.
He then plays a diagonal pass to Demetriou to switch play to the opposite side of the pitch.
Demetriou’s cross is half cleared, but possession is recycled and the ball ends up with Powell who’s shot is saved.
Receiving Passes Between The Lines
Probably the most impressive thing about Fonguck’s display was his ability to receive the ball between Scunthorpe’s defensive and midfield lines.
In this instance, Fonguck receives a pass between Scunthorpe’s defence and midfield, bringing a Scunthorpe central midfielder with him in the process. He’s able to lay the ball off to Cardwell, who’s shot is blocked and goes out for a corner kick.
The final example shows Fonguck again receiving a pass between the lines. He draws a Scunthorpe centre back out of position as he has positioned himself between their defence and midfield. Husin picks ball up and drives into space which has been vacated by the centre back.
Scunthorpe’s right back comes across to cover this space, which in turn creates a bit of space for Bridge. Husin passes the ball out to Bridge who crosses into a dangerous area, but his cross is cleared.
Summary
These qualities possessed by Fonguck — his ability to find space, receive the ball between the lines, and push up to the last line of attack — are traits which can potentially make him a very useful player when it comes to breaking teams down.
I don’t think he has the same physicality as our other midfielders to be able to play in a midfield two, but that ability to play 10 yards further up the pitch compared to, for example, Harry Taylor makes him very important.
He can cause confusion for the opposition as they’re not sure who should be picking him up when he positions himself between the lines, meaning he’s either able to find space for himself in dangerous areas, or create space for others through manipulating the opposition’s shape.
Shrimper Stats 
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