Orient Break Crawley Curse

Leyton Orient give fans added Christmas cheer with Boxing Day win over Crawley Town at Brisbane Road.

In a frantic opening exchange, Orient and Crawley both had chances. Shaun Batt flashing the ball across the face of the Crawley Goal that evaded Chris Dagnall, Jobi McAnuff and Crawley defender Ryan Dickson. Up at the other end, ex-Arsenal midfielder Conor Henderson took a strike just wide of Adam Legzdins’ goal.

Cox celebrates goal with ball boy

Orient then won a free-kick just outside the Crawley box; although Orient had appealed for a penalty after Dean Leacock (a former Orient player) appeared to handle the ball with Dagnall right behind him. However, the referee stuck to his decision after consulting the linesman. Dean Cox and Andrea Dossena both shaped up to take the kick, but Dean Cox was the player who stepped forward and put the ball right in the top corner of Brian Jensen’s goal.  That had O’s fans rejoicing after the first direct free-kick scored by an Orient player since Martin Rowlands in January 2013. Hopefully the next one isn’t as far away.

Crawley then got a soft equaliser. Dossena gave away a free kick that was floated into the box and, after Matt Harrold headed against the post, former Orient midfielder Jimmy Smith poked the ball at goal and it appeared to cross the line and it was given, making Orient’s day at the office seem a harder task. A few minutes after, another Crawley free-kick was just about scrambled away by the hosts who, with Adam Legzdins in goal, looked nervous every time the ball came into their box.

Dagnall's flying header

Then Orient found the net again. Dean Cox with the pinpoint cross, met by Chris Dagnall with a flying header to score his sixth of the season. A great moment for the Liverpudlian, who had just returned from suspension, as he had been out of favour at times but his replication of Robin Van Persie’s goal against Spain at the World Cup was well taken and a sigh of relief could be felt around Brisbane Road. The game quietened down after that, but a speculative Jimmy Smith effort didn’t go unnoticed.

The second half continued in a similar way to how the first half ended. Orient looking dangerous in attack whilst looking shaky at the back, with Andrea Dossena and Adam Legzdins seeming either lackadaisical or nervy. Orient’s substitutions were all down to injury, however, as Shaun Batt had already been replaced by David Mooney in the first half with an as yet unknown injury. Dean Cox would be replaced by Bradley Pritchard due to a back spasm, and Adam Legzdins went off with a shoulder injury and was replaced by Gary Woods. Then, with the Orient fans present having prepared themselves for a nervy end to the game, Orient found the net again. A scramble led to David Mooney having a shot parried by Jensen, but Mooney gobbled up the rebound to make it 3-1 to Orient by slamming the ball into the roof of the net. That was Mooney’s fourth goal of what hasn’t been a totally productive, although injury hit, season for the Irishman so far.

In the six minutes of stoppage time, Orient killed the game off. Good wing-play from Bradley Pritchard led to a powerful cross that Dagnall was able to just tap home for goal number four. His seventh of the season, and second of the game, from someone who Orient will have to try and hold on to in January. That was the last action of one of the more flattering score lines of the season for Orient.

Man of the Match: A tough decision as there was a minor gulf in class between those who played well and those who didn’t, but the award is shared between Dean Cox and Chris Dagnall. Cox is such a key cog to this team and Dagnall has always given 100% effort to the cause even if things haven’t gone his way. Without these two components, Orient’s all round game lacks energy and creativity.   Josh Wright also deserves a mention for always making himself available in midfield throughout the game, while Shaun Lowry was produced a solid second half performance in, an otherwise slightly shaky looking, defence. 

We Need To Talk About Orient…

Only 12 months ago I was of the opinion that Leyton Orient would be promoted at the end of the 2013/14 season. However, a weak ending to a good season became a poor start to this one. So what’s gone wrong?

Ouch, that hurts...

The first nail in Orient’s coffin was, no doubt, the mediocre end to last season which culminated in a penalty-shootout defeat to Rotherham in the Playoff Final at Wembley. Potential suitors for players from both clubs were present, including Brentford boss Mark Warburton (in a scouting capacity) and Preston manager Simon Grayson (as a pundit for Sky Sports). Now, I’m not blaming managers of other clubs for our demise, but Brentford’s capture of Moses Odubajo left a gaping hole in the Orient team that still hasn’t been filled.  While the departure of Jamie Jones may have seemed rather less of an issue at the time, Orient’s failure to find a keeper as good at instilling confidence into their own defenders has now become a very big problem.

Jobi's Had Anuff

Odubajo’s replacement, Jobi McAnuff, doesn’t possess the skill, versatility or speed of Odubajo and seems to play in 10 minute-per-match bursts, if he shows any interest at all. Jones’ two replacements, Gary Woods and Adam Legzdins, have also looked like square pegs in triangular holes. Woods’ command of his area and distribution are better than Legzdins’, but both keepers’ decision making isn’t exactly the most convincing.   The outcome, too often witnessed this season, is Orient’s habit of conceding soft goals.  A number of which have been conceded against the run of play.

It’s not just McAnuff and the keepers that haven’t been brilliant either. Captain Nathan Clarke isn’t exactly a fan favourite, but his very convincing Steven Gerrard impression in the home game against Coventry and the away League Cup game at Plymouth, both led to goals, proved why the injury he picked up (and played all the way to penalties with) at Wembley in May seems to have taken away the edge that he brought with him in 2012. Mathieu Baudry also proved that he can be, and often is, erratic and prone to taking unnecessary risks in defence. Baudry certainly is Orient’s David Luiz, the not-so-well-disciplined defender who may be better on the bench. This brings me on to poor old Gary Sawyer who, despite playing well of late, will lose his place to Andrea Dossena when the Italian returns from injury and be left with a seat on the bench.

In midfield Orient are missing Lloyd James in the centre. It’s not that Josh Wright’s performances have been poor; it’s more that James plays the “Lloyd James role” better than Wright. Elsewhere I see fans on social media saying that they don’t quite understand what Bradley Pritchard’s role is. To me it’s quite clear. He is the more intelligent remake of Jimmy Smith who will play in almost every position and, thus, not be able to nail one down completely. Marvin Bartley did actually get a good run of form going. ALERT!!! ALERT!!! THE INTERNET HAS CRASHED!!! No seriously he did, before he got injured…again. Speaking of injuries, striker Darius Henderson is due to return soon.That is unless he takes the other meaning of striker and asks for a contract termination. The ex-Watford striker hasn’t really shown the form that helped him propel The ‘Orns to the Premier League, despite having ex-Millwall teammates Shaun Batt and Shane Lowry on hand to help him settle. All of Henderson’s strike partners (all EIGHT of them, to be precise) haven’t been prolific, reliable or even available in some, if not all, matches. The main highlight being the 4-1 win at home to Crewe, which was to a large extent due to perhaps the only exceptional performance by any Orient striker so far this season, i.e. an “on fire” Chris Dagnall scoring one and making the other three.  If only we could see about more of that from Orient’s now considerable strike force, but too often, in other games this season, periods of Orient pressure have failed to produce goals when they have been needed.

It’s not just on the pitch where there have been problems. The new owners have what ex-manager John Sitton would call “Airy Fairy Fantasies” of Leyton Orient becoming this big footballing power from East-London, however, if Mr. Becchetti is reading please take note. This cannot be achieved by continuously sacking managers before hiring ones with a career win percentage of 11.11%, and who can’t speak the language of the country he/she is working in.

Also, things between fans have got heated, with fans first abusing players after away defeats at Gillingham and Bradford, followed by an attack on the local newspaper’s Twitter account for (in my opinion) a rather amusing if not totally true tweet about Jobi McAnuff’s booking at Barnsley. Anyhow, it’s tough enough for players and journalists without receiving abuse from their own followers.

Not the fight we were hoping for Hendo...

Having just mentioned one booking, it might be worth also mentioning the very high number of bookings and sendings off gathered by Orient players so far this season.  Clearly, the resulting suspensions, coupled with the ever present injury list, has not helped the club at all.   The growing total of yellow and red cards is worrying for another reason though in that it suggests a lack of discipline which also can’t be helping the cause very much.

On a happier note, a merry and safe Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all reading and I hope to see many O’s fans at Brisbane Road on Boxing Day for the Relegation 12 pointer against Crawley. Up the O’s. 

Orient Finally Break Home League Duck

Leyton Orient finally recorded their first home league win of the 2014/15 season against a lacklustre Crewe Alexandra side on Saturday afternoon at Brisbane Road.

In a game that the O’s dominated, they were on the front foot from pretty much the word go. With Chris Dagnall having two early runs that caused some problems for the Crewe defenders and home debutant Andrea Dossena having a volleyed cross/shot easily held by Crewe keeper Ben Garratt. Dagnall would again run down the Orient left before teeing up Millwall loanee Josh Wright whose shot could only find the Crewe keeper.

Crewe eventually came close to scoring as Brad Inman rounded Orient keeper Adam Legzdins, but his shot was cleared powerfully by O’s Right-Back Elliot Omozusi. It would be a breakaway from Orient that would lead to them opening the scoring 23 minutes in.

Plasmati opens the scoring

Chris Dagnall again made hay down the left flank before his left-footed cross picked out the head of Italian striker Gianvito Plasmati, who only had to head down and across the goal to score his second goal in two games. The 6’6” Italian had a quiet game on the whole, but his major contribution was the goal and what an important goal it transpired to be. Being very aware that one goal wasn’t enough, the O’s would double their lead about 10 minutes later.

The ball came to Josh Wright, who looked up and saw Dagnall lurking with intent in the box. Wright’s cross seemed to be heading slightly too far to the right of Dagnall and away from the goal, but the Liverpudlian forward adjusted and stretched his body brilliantly to rifle a half-volley past Garratt and into the back of the net. The goal was just what he deserved and would add further zest to what was a brilliant performance from the man who missed the crucial penalty in the shoot-out at Wembley in May. This ended the action in the first half, but the second half was further development from a good first half performance.

Dean Cox and Nathan Clarke each had their chances dealt with by the Crewe defence, as did Vito Plasmati, before he was replaced by last season’s top scorer David Mooney. However, it would be Mooney’s partner in crime Dagnall who’s run at goal that would create another goal.   Dagnall’s shot could only be parried by keeper Ben Garratt, and Cox pounced on the loose ball to slot it home for 3-0. A cool finish from one of Orient’s Wembley scorers made a home win seem even closer, but after Andrea Dossena was substituted for Gary Sawyer after about an hour of play, it seemed to change the dynamic of the game.   We then saw a period of the game in which the Orient defence became nervy and the whole team seemed to sit back and allow Crewe more room to come at them.  Sure enough, Crewe nearly found a way back into the game. A shot from range hit Nathan Clarke, before it bounced up in a great position for Anthony Grant to fire a shot from all of 20 yards out, giving Adam Legzdins no chance as it flew past him into the top corner. Crewe then created further chances, but Marcus Haber skied the ball over and Jamie Ness found Adam Legzdins in seeming unstoppable form, with the former Derby keeper producing a world class save to thwart the on-loan Stoke midfielder.   Had that chance gone in for Crewe, Orient fans would have been in for a very nervous last 5 minutes or so.

From the resulting Crewe corner, Orient broke and Chris Dagnall found substitute Mooney, who finished his chance and the game superbly with his first goal in 11 games. That proved to be the end of Orient’s goal scoring, but before full-time Scott Cuthbert had a shot blocked by the Crewe defence. A 4-1 home win for Mauro Milanese’s side, who had only won once at home all season before that, moves Orient up to 19^th in League 1. Crewe, on the other hand, fall to the bottom of the table, piling more pressure on boss Steve Davis.

Andrea Dossena's volleyed cross/shot

Man of the Match:  Many candidates as Orient played very well, but one constant in all four goals was Chris Dagnall. The man who missed the crucial penalty at Wembley delivered what was his best performance in an Orient shirt since signing from Barnsley in January. A very tough call, but Dags’ work rate and pace caused Crewe all sorts of problems and his goal was superbly taken. Mentions also for Romain Vincelot, Andrea Dossena, Josh Wright and Scott Cuthbert. 

Orient, How We Got This Far...

As I, as well as most Orient fans, prepare for the biggest game in the club’s history, I take a look at the Orient’s season and look forward to a day out at Wembley this weekend.

What a Start

Eldin: "Bosnia's Number 1"

It says something about the strength of Orient when they went all the way up to Carlisle on the opening day of the season and won 5-1, the only bad points being Carlisle’s goal (coming from a questionable penalty) and Nathan Clarke’s injury. In fact 12 games unbeaten from a team that only had a 19 man squad before a ball was kicked is quite something. The performances were impressive and the football was slick, but the defeat at Coventry in October opened the door to patchy form until the arrival of Eldin Jakupović.

Goalkeepers

Shwan Jalal: Nervous

This season has carried on the theme of previous seasons of late; the theme of many goalkeepers. Jamie Jones was the first choice up to his injury over Christmas.  Jake Larkins played well when called upon immediately after Jones was injured, but was dropped in favour of fan favourite Eldin Jakupović.  After Jakupović’s first recall to Hull, Ben Alnwick’s disappearance was as quick as his arrival.  It was the low point of the season for the Os as well, because his very short term replacement, Shwan Jalal, had a stay at the Matchroom Stadium that Orient fans will prefer not to look back on. Jakupović then returned for a while the steady the ship before his second and final recall by Hull. Jones was by then ready to come back, thankfully, but surely one big reason that the automatic promotion push failed was the forever changing wearer of the gloves. It never helps a defence when they don’t have complete confidence in the man behind them. Rumour has it that, to fill the unexpected void left by Alnwick, Russell Slade was actually trying to loan in Jalal’s Bournemouth teammate Ryan Allsop (a former Orient favourite) but was told to have Jalal. Anyway it’s happened and we move on.

Strikers that can’t score

Simpson: 100% effort, 0% goals

We’ve seen it before haven’t we? Jamie Cureton, Michael Symes and David Mooney mark 1 (2011/12 version) ‘couldn’t hit a barn door with a banjo from a yard away’. Yet again there have been a couple this season: most noticeably Yohann Lasimant, who has hardly ever come off the bench, and Robbie Simpson, whose stoppage time miss against Preston in November set the tone for his season. Luckily Mooney mark 2.5 and ‘Super’ Kevin Lisbie have got 39 goals between them in all competitions, and January signing Chris Dagnall has now got the goals flowing after a quiet spell that followed his two goal debut. The problem I have with that is that even in some games where the Mooney/Lisbie partnership hasn’t produced goals they have still tended to keep ‘Dags’ on the bench without much of a look in. I’m happy to concede though that having 4 strikers like Lisbie, Mooney, Dagnall and Batt provides a good balance of attacking options, with Batt often proving difficult for opposing defences to handle when coming off the bench. Finally, having said something about strikers who can’t score, some mention ought to be made about two midfielders who can. Dean Cox and Moses Odubajo, who score and create chances, have been a revelation on the wings. Full-backs sometimes look baffled when the pair switch wings or have ‘free’ roles, while some opposing defenders have been seen to freeze at the sight of

Odubajo running directly at their goal. Cox’s determination and industry makes up for his lack of height while his leadership led him to captain the team twice in 2012/13. Besides, Mooney’s red card obtained while standing in as captain should mean he is unlikely to be offered the armband again any time.

Coxy is used to celebrating

Going Up?

Let’s not tempt fate…

Watford Sting Toothless Town

Beppe Sannino's Watford side beat Mick McCarthy's Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon at Vicarage Road. 

In a rather underwhelming first half, Ipswich had the better of the opening 15 minutes. Frank Nouble was a thorn in 'Orns wing-back Davide Faraoni's side. But Johnny Williams' movement was stretching Watford's defence, with a shot from Williams not convincingly dealt with by Manuel Almunia, who was lucky that neither Anthony Wordsworth nor Daryl Murphy were following in on the Watford captain's risky punch away. But, and against the run of play, the Hornets then took the lead. 

Riera celebrates with Daniel Tőszer

The ball came to left wing-back Albert Riera, who took on Ipswich right-back Luke Chambers, before leaving him for dead and cutting inside and unleashing a curling shot past ex-Bristol City goalkeeper Dean Gerken into the back of the net. The ex-Liverpool player showed why he might well be loaned back to Watford when he starts his contract at Udinese in the summer with a goal that would be more expected in front of the Kop at Anfield. 

After Watford had taken the lead, the remainder of the first half settled into more of a balanced contest. The first half ended with a good chance for the visitors, with Nouble’s athleticism causing havoc down his sides left, before the ball came to Johnny Williams. However, the on loan Crystal Palace man couldn’t find the target with his shot missing the goal by a relatively small margin. 

As they had in the first half, Ipswich started off the stronger side with Williams feeding Frank Nouble, but the ex-West Ham striker got too far underneath the ball and sent it flying somewhere in the direction of Stevenage. Watford’s repost was a shot by Troy Deeney that, despite being on target, wasn’t challenging Dean Gerken. 

The game was about to get more frenetic, however, when after having been put under pressure by a back pass Manuel Almunia had little option other than to gift Ipswich a throw in. From it, Nouble’s deflected cross found Anthony Wordsworth. His side-foot finish was a very easy one in truth, with poor marking from Swede Joel Ekstrand, and a lack of authority from Almunia gifting the former Colchester man a rare goal. Town would then have another chance when another Johnny Williams cross was headed towards goal by Luke Hyam, but Almunia tipped the ball on to the bar, before Daryl Murphy fouled Albert Riera before missing the rebound. 

The save by Almunia would be the turning point in the game. A free-kick from Daniel Tőszer floated on to the head of Gabriele Angella, the Italian defender getting a free run on goal and flicking the ball past Gerken for Watford’s second of the afternoon. Mick McCarthy accused his defence of “Switching off” at that set-play, and they did in all fairness allowing Angella to bag his eighth goal of his first season in England. And as if the “Yellow Army” weren’t getting enough enjoyment from watching their team, Watford would score again. 

Scorers Riera and McGugan celebrate with Almen Abdi

Davide Faraoni had the ball on the right wing and passed it to Tőszer, who managed to avoid the temptation of going down under the challenge of two Ipswich defenders but lost the ball. Luckily for Watford, Lewis McGugan pounced on the loose ball to get Watford’s third.

The former Nottingham Forest midfielder managed to thread the ball through the legs of both Christophe Berra and Dean Gerken on the way into the net. That was the end of the goals, but that wouldn’t stop both teams having two similar chances to add to their tallies.

First, Stephen Hunt, on as a substitute for Ipswich, took the ball down before volleying just over. Watford sub Sean Murray would also take the ball on the volley, but his dipping shot didn’t dip enough for a fourth. 

Man of the Match: Albert Riera was a threat down Watford’s left flank, scored the goal of the game, and received a standing ovation when he was taken off for Daniel Pudil late on. The former Liverpool and Manchester City man is set to join Udinese in the summer but, as most of the players in Watford’s match day 18, may be loaned back to Watford next season.

Gillingham undone by fluent Os

David Mooney scores Orient's first goal of the game

Leyton Orient returned to form with a 5-1 thrashing of a lacklustre Gillingham side on Saturday afternoon at Brisbane Road. The match itself started, like every other match in the top five divisions, seven minutes later than usual as a mark of respect to the 96 Liverpool fans that had died at Hillsborough in 1989, but Orient seemed unaffected by the relative sombreness of the occasion. At the heart of what was an excellent first half performance by them was the quality and, at times, incisiveness of their passing, which enabled them to dominate play and helped to revive their main strikers, all of whom had been rather quiet for several games. 

Orient’s first goal came following a great passing move down the left-side that found Everton loanee John Lundstram, who’s beautifully weighted through ball gave David Mooney what looked like a tight angle to shoot. But shoot he did, and drilled his shot past former O Stuart Nelson to score his 19th goal of the season in all competitions. With the goal timed at just five minutes, Gillingham fans and players must’ve been expecting a long day at the office. However, even the most optimistic Orient fan couldn’t have envisaged what was about to happen.

 A few minutes later Orient left-back Elliot Omozusi received the ball from Lundstram, and advanced into the Gillingham penalty area before finding Mooney. The Irishman managed to turn 2 Gillingham defenders and laid the ball off to Dean Cox, who scored his 14th goal of the season with a right footed 20-yard pile-driver which flew into the corner of the net.

And it was Cox switching the play to Moses Odubajo that set up the third of the afternoon. The young wide man, who has been scouted by Tottenham recently, baffled Gills left-back Joe Martin before firing in a powerful cross for Kevin Lisbie, who used the power from the cross to head home past Nelson, giving the Gillingham bench plenty to consider. Orient, on the other hand, were flying high and scored again about 30 seconds later.

 Almost straight from the restart, dawdling by right-back Elliott Hewitt allowed Lisbie to knick the ball from the young Welshman, before heading straight for the Gillingham penalty. As Lisbie cut in from the left, his strike partner Mooney anticipated his intentions perfectly, latching onto a perfectly weighted squared pass to bag his 20th goal of the season. The striker is currently having his best season in England and, despite inconsistent form recently, is only two more goals away from 20 league goals. Gillingham fans were probably wishing that they had a striker of Mooney’s calibre as the goal prompted a notable exodus from the visiting supporters' stand for some early refreshments. Those who weren’t heading for drinks were chanting “We want our money back”, which was justified considering Orient’s whirlwind 35 minutes. Gillingham hardly posed a threat all half and were thankful that Orient didn’t score again.

The second half was a more cagey affair, but with 12 minutes to go, after a Gillingham corner was cleared by Lundstram, Lisbie knocked the ball down 40 yards out for Mooney’s replacement Chris Dagnall. Dagnall then ran forward to the edge of the Gillingham penalty area, with both Jake Hessenthaler and Adam Barrett desperately trying to usher him to a safe area. Just as it began to look as if Dagnall’s chance to score had gone, he managed to slot the ball between the two defenders and past Nelson for goal number five. The goal itself led to a great number of Gills fans heading for the turnstiles. But those who stayed were to witness a late consolation.

Joe Martin’s cross from the left came all the way to Craig Fagin, whose volley hit defender Mathieu Baudry, who was trying to clear the ball, before finding the net. The Gillingham fans that had stayed then began ironic chants of “Easy, Easy, Easy”, which was greeted by laughter from around the ground. But the damage had already been done and Orient fans could go home happy with the result.

Man of the Match: There were several really good performances from Orient players in the game and picking a single man of the match isn’t easy. However, Orient’s domination of most of the game was made possible by the excellent central midfield pairing of Romain Vincelot and John Lundstram pulling a lot of the strings. Vincelot looked back to his best, but Lundstram showed why Everton may need him in a few years’ time. His tackling was spot on, his passing was top notch, and even experienced players like Nathan Clarke were looking for the Liverpudlian at times which just shows how good this young man is. My man of the match award therefore goes to John Lundstram.