Leyton
Orient’s quest for League One survival took a turn for the better after they
defeated Yeovil Town 3-0 at Brisbane Road.
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| Dagnall celebrates his early goal. |
The game
had barely started when the first goal was scored. Some strong wing-play from Jobi
McAnuff led to the Jamaican running into a cluster of Yeovil defenders and
losing the ball, but the loose ball found Chris Dagnall, who seemed to have the
freedom of Leyton to pick the far corner of the goal and slot home for 1-0. It
was the scouse striker’s 12th goal of the season. With the goal timed at two
minutes it was possibly a sign of things to come and after Yeovil’s Adam Morgan
managed to clear the North Stand with a shot from just outside the box, Orient
doubled their advantage.
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| Hedges celebrates his strike. |
Marvin
Bartley made a strong run from midfield, before laying the ball off for Andrea
Dossena. The Italian full-back took a strike which was blocked, but much like
the first goal, the ball found another a red shirt. This time it was Ryan Hedges, who stroked the
ball in to the same part of the goal as Dagnall had previously. That was the
on-loan Swansea Winger’s second goal since joining in January. Yeovil fans were
then dreading the possibility of an absolute hammering at the hands of Orient,
as first McAnuff forced Scott Loach into a save, before Darius Henderson and
Chris Dagnall both managed to hit the post within minutes of each-other. In the
latter stages of the first half, Orient started to show signs of losing their
momentum, although Loach again had to react to a shot, this time from Marvin
Bartley.
At half
time, Yeovil manager Terry Skiverton told his players what he thought of their
performance in the first half, before sending them back out before the home
side and the officials.
The second
half started a lot quieter than the first, although a wild strike from Glover
Josh Sheehan only troubled the fans in the South Stand, while Ryan Hedges’
drilled cross at the other end only flashed across the six yard box without
much trouble. Alex Cisak made his first save in the 59th minute from Joel
Grant’s strike. All this before Orient finally put the game to bed.
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| McAnuff showing what he can do. |
Darius
Henderson made a strong, in-cutting run from the inside-right channel before
laying the perfect assist for Jobi McAnuff who simply had to tap home for 3-0
and for his third goal of the season. The two have frustrated Orient fans
throughout the season with below-par performances but combined really well for
this goal. It would be Henderson’s last involvement in the game before being
replaced by David Mooney. The game then settled down with a Yeovil corner only
finding the gloves of Cisak, before Chris Dagnall had a shot parried by Scott
Loach.
Then Orient
made two substitutions in five minutes, with Bradley Pritchard replacing Marvin
Bartley and Jay Simpson replacing Ryan Hedges. However, two minutes later
Orient went down to ten men as Mat Baudry damaged a hip-flexor, leaving Luke
O’Neill to join Scott Cuthbert at Centre-Back, Bradley Pritchard to fill in at
Right-Back, and David Mooney, Josh Wright and Jobi McAnuff forming a three man
midfield. The ten men nearly scored a fourth as Andrea Dossena’s cross was
headed behind by a Yeovil defender. That would be the last chance of what was,
in truth, not a classic game played between two struggling teams on a pitch
that’s seen better days. Nonetheless,
Orient deserved the win that left manager Fabio Liverani happy with his side’s
display, unlike Yeovil boss Skiverton who apologised to the travelling fans for
a poor performance.
Man of the Match: Like I said this match was no classic, as neither team
was particularly dominant throughout. One player who did stand out, however,
was Yeovil Goalkeeper Scott Loach, who literally saved his side from losing 6-0
or even 7-0. The ex-Watford and Ipswich stopper showed what made him popular
amongst Hornets fans with a display that, although it didn’t save Yeovil from
defeat, should help his personal recovery from this otherwise poor game.
