Swindon Town - 22nd February 2014

Orient return to the top of League One with victory over Swindon.

A quick review - With a lot of focus being understandably put upon the game at Griffin Park it was important Orient didn't lose their focus, and they didn't as they were rarely under threat from a weakened Swindon side. 2-0 probably wasn't a fair reflection of the difference in quality of the 2 sides. 

Both penalties came from great play from Chris Dagnall, who I felt put in his best performance since Crewe away last month. The 1st, he put a lovely through ball to Odubajo, who drew the foul from the full back. For the second he played another great ball behind the defence, and Mooney was bundled over by Troy Archibald Henville.

I'm not sure if Archibald-Henville's first sport is football, but his performance yesterday certainly suggests it shouldn't be. The phrase "bull in a china shop" is probably the most apt way to describe what was one of the worst individual performances I've seen since Geraint Williams decided to give James Scowcroft a run out.

Swindon looked pretty jaded after their JPT defeat in midweek, something Orient fans can relate to having gone out at the same stage last season. However, despite this they will need to improve drastically to find themselves in a play-off berth come the end of the season. Ironic jeers greeted the play from the away end after they finally managed to work the ball out wide, only for the winger to find the TJS with his cross.

Man of the match - Lloyd James took his penalties well, and what I mean by that is that he scored them. With our penalty record this season, it wasn't surprising that most fans (and even some of the players) were unable to watch. Thankfully Lloydinho was able to give the keeper the eyes and send him the wrong way each time. 

It wasn't just Lloyd who had a good game though. The defence was as solid as it has been all season, and it was nice that Omozusi was able to slot straight back in having missed the last couple of games through injury. 

Dagnall up front was superb too, setting up the two penalties and was also unlucky not to have a couple of goals himself - one effort dropping agonisingly against the post and another effort being ruled out for a push, which nobody apart from the referee saw. 

What next? - Colchester United. Another home game for Orient and with Wolves and Brentford having a couple of games in hand, it's important that we make these home games count. If we perform like we did yesterday though, I see no reason why we can't pick up another vital 3 points. With the team seemingly settled again with a reliable goalkeeper at the back and with a very strong bench should we need to change things around, it's setting up the last dozen or so games nicely. What's also nice is that we are now level on the same points as Tranmere finished on last season - so the chances of us "doing a Tranmere" seem pretty slim not don't they?

Up the O's!

Follow me on Twitter! - @lauriehann

Stevenage - 18th February 2014

Orient return to winning ways against Stevenage

A quick review - A game in which Orient had things pretty much sewn up by the end of the first half. The first goal came about after some nice interplay down the right. Dagnall probably should've done better with his initial effort but it came back to Odubajo who made no mistake. With the second goal, Mooney, Dagnall and Cox pressed very well high up the field and on an evening where Stevenage were very direct from the back, the one time they weren't was taken advantage of as Dagnall and Mooney exchanged passes to make it 2-0. I'm not sure if there was a shout for offside when the ball went to Mooney but a 2nd goal was the least the O's deserved.  There was only one real effort of note from Stevenage in the first half, Jimmy Smith taking advantage of his ghost-like presence to hammer a shot straight at Jakupovic.

In the second half Stevenage did improve and were unlucky not to grab a goal with some great defending from Clarke preventing Darius Charles from breaking through and big Edin making a great save in injury time. Trevor Kettle also had Graham Westley boiling over after turning down loud shouts for a penalty, Westley throwing a tantrum that a toddler would've been proud of.

Man of the match - It was a much more assured performance from the O's, particularly after the last home game against Bristol City. Jakupovic (one dodgy kick aside) was commanding in goal with one particularly excellent save in injury time, Sawyer was much improved at left-back, James had an excellent game in midfield and Dagnall was lively up front. Standing out though was Moses who provided a constant threat all game on the right. He also supported Cuthbert well in defence and more than deserved his goal.

What next? -Swindon Town. With Brentford facing Wolves this weekend, this could arguably be classed as the biggest game of the season so far. With 2 more home games to come, followed by 2 very winnable away games, it sets up the Brentford game in front of the Sky cameras nicely. We now have 64 points on the board, a total we reached with only 4 games remaining last season. With 14 games remaining we've got a great platform to reach our initial 75 point target quickly and who knows where that will take us to the end of the season. With Omozusi hopefully to return this Saturday we could have a fully fit squad to pick from, and with Lisbie getting a rest last night, it's boding well for the next few games.

Up the O's!

Follow me on Twitter! - @lauriehann

Rotherham United - 1st February 2014

The O's suffer only their 4th league defeat of the season at Rotherham.

A quick review - It's never nice losing to Steve Evans.

The first half was a largely forgettable affair, going behind early on to a goal that could easily have been avoided whilst chances were at a premium up the other end. We were lucky not to fall further behind as we struggled to cope with the crosses coming in. It was only after Slade changed things round, bringing Mooney on for the ineffective Simpson, that things picked up, Odubajo finishing with aplomb to level it up. But in difficult conditions we lost it to another goal that should've been avoided, Revell scoring with what was to be fair an excellent finish after sloppy play from the O's.

The manner in which the goals we conceded was most disappointing. For the first goal Cox gave the ball away too easily on the left, and with no pressure on either the impressive Pringle who swung the ball in, or the striker left unmarked in the middle to nod home.  For the second, in a desperate attempt to launch a counter attack, Alnwick contrived to kick the ball about a 3rd of the way down the pitch (something more regularly seen during the half time game between the Under-8s) and with no pressure on Revell from the back 4 he planted a decent finish in the bottom corner. Both could easily have been avoided and who knows what the end result could've been.

Take nothing away from Rotherham though, they adapted well to the windy conditions and on balance they probably deserved the 3 points. Shame about the fat embarrassment who ran on the pitch after the winner though, given the freedom of the O's 18 yard box until Romain tried to usher him off. Rumours that it was Steve Evans are yet to be confirmed. What the "stewards" were doing was unknown at the time, but after the game it became clear that they were all busy holding up metal fences outside.

Man of the match - Unfortunately, there's not many candidates this week with a host of players playing below the high standard they've set themselves this season. If I had to pick one player though it would be Omozusi. Resolute in defence as always, he was also one of the few O's players who were able to find their teammates with a pass. In fairness the conditions were atrocious, but it's a shame so few players managed to adapt. An honourable mention to Dagnall who did superbly to set up Mo's goal, doing what's known in League 1 as a "Mo" by skinning the full back before clipping in a great ball.

What next? - Peterborough. Although this result is a setback, with 5 out of our next 6 games coming at home we've got an excellent chance of re-claiming a spot in the top 2. Hopefully with Mooney getting closer to full match fitness and Lisbie confirmed to not be out for long by Slade, we'll see a more effective striker pairing from the start than Simpson and Dagnall. With a bit of luck, we won't have to play in a galestorm this time and Slade will be able to keep his hat on. 

Up the O's!

Follow me on Twitter! - @lauriehann

Crewe Alexandra - 18th January 2014

The O's again come from behind to return to the top of League One.

A quick review - Well I think the less said about the 1st half, the better. Aside from a couple of comfortable saves early on for Jakupovic (he's got long hair, but we don't care) and half a shout of a penalty against Odubajo I can't remember much else, although that may be due to the fact I felt like I was slipping into a coma.

The second half brightened up, but only after we fell behind to a flukey opener, the shot deflecting over Jakupovic leaving Byron Moore the easy task of nodding in from 0.12 inches. On the balance of play it probably was a fair reflection, but back came the O's roaring with all the vigour of a Gladiator (the Roman kind, not John Fashanu), grabbing two quick-fire goals. The first came from a lovely ball through from Cox, and finished with authority by Dagnall. The second was again a confident finish, but was probably aided by Crewe's defence still failing to clear the ball at the 108th attempt.

Credit must go to Crewe though, for large periods of the game we were 2nd best and they could easily have levelled it in injury time as a shot hit Clarke and drifted just wide.

It would also be nice if Andy Woolmer could ref Orient every week. Of the last 6 league games he's refereed the O's, we've won all 6.

Man of the match - Chris Dagnall. Not since Wayne Purser has such an impact been made by an O's debutant. Ok that may be a slight exaggeration but after two classy finishes, some excellent link-up play with Lisbie and Cox and a terrier-like desire to chase after the ball it's very difficult to remember a more impactful display on debut. Aside from him, Jakupovic was finally tested and did very well - the coaching from Dearden paying off, although I don't think Big Kev appreciated the "he eats what he wants song" pre-game, turning round to give the finger (with a smile it must be noted).

What next? - Coventry City. With Stevenage still in the FA Cup, we have a bit of a rest now before we play Coventry for the 8th time this season. It also gives us the chance to avenge the team who inflicted our first defeat of the season. I'm not really sure whether the extended break will benefit us or not - often with Orient we play better when our fixture list is pretty congested. What is good though is that it will give key players like Lisbie, Vincelot and Mooney the chance to return to full fitness. If Mooney does return it will give Slade a bit of a headache with 6 strikers to choose from (and that's presuming Simpson's injury will keep him out for a while). Still, that's not a bad problem to have.

Up the O's!


Follow me on Twitter! - @lauriehann