|
|
|
|
Beeby booby blights Slade opener: Leyton Orient 2-1 Brighton
|
Posted by David Snowball
at
Sunday, March 08, 2009
|
Albion fans once had a lot to thank Richard Beeby for when he awarded the decisive penalty kick in the club's 2004 play-off final against Bristol City.
At Orient the same official was guilty of evening up a much-derided decision by awarding a soft penalty which gave the home side a totally undeserved route back into the game.
Albion, with five debutants in their line-up, totally dominated the first half at Brisbane Road and led just after a quarter of an hour when centre back Matt Heath prodded home a loose ball in the six-yard area after Orient's keeper Jamie Jones failed to grasp the ball.
It was all very comfortable for Brighton until shortly before half time the diminutive Al Bangura challenged for a high ball and caught an opponent with his trailing arm.
It didn't look malicious but with the Orient faithful baying for a red card, Beeby took his time before brandishing just a yellow card.
Straight from the resulting free kick, there was an innocuous challenge in the Albion penalty area which looked like a fairly routine clearance by Heath until the official stunned everyone by pointing to the penalty spot. It certainly felt like it was directly linked to righting the perceived wrong of the previous decision.
Orient's recently returned veteran goalscorer Scott McGleish stepped up to bury the spot kick past Brighton's new great Dane goalie and the momentum of the equaliser galvanised Orient to run out in the second half with a lot more determination.
It wasn't long before the crossbar was rattled by a McGleish shot and Albion generally were second best as the home side tried to press home their superiority.
The ponderous McLeod not surprisingly gave way to Seb Carole and to enable him to forage on the right, Tommy Fraser was withdrawn to be replaced by back-from-suspension David Livermore.
Unfortunately, with Craig Davies snatching at the few good chances that came his way and Lloyd Owusu appearing to struggle with a hamstring injury after an impressive earlier stint in which he won a fair number of headers, Albion never really looked like getting the hoped-for winner. Just when it seemed proceedings would peter out to a draw, Sean Thornton picked up the ball around the edge of the area and fired home an unstoppable winner with some aplomb.
There was no way back for Albion as Orient did a highly professional job of running down the clock.
Player ratings
Mikkel Andersen - looked a little edgy and stuck to his line when he needed to be a bit more commanding
Andrew Whing - familiar Whingy display; wholehearted and some impressive runs in support of more forward players. But passing was wasteful at times.
Matt Heath - commanding and eventful debut. Got on the scoresheet by being in the right place at the right time. Penalised harshly to hand Orient their equaliser.
Adam El Abd - another wholehearted display from the stand-in skipper. Didn't deserve to finish on the losing side.
Gary Borrowdale - tidy debut at left-back. One or two understandable communication issues.
Tommy Fraser - surprise inclusion wide right of the midfield four: it hasn't worked before and didn't work today. Substituted.
Al Bangura - energetic debut and showed good touches at times. Quite evident he hasn't played much recently but showed promise for the run-in.
Jason Jarrett - a bit of a frustrating afternoon for him and less effective after being booked for a cynical trip.
Kevin McLeod - can't work out what his problem is; he's got a sweet left foot but he looks like he's labouring. Unsurprisingly subbed - again.
Craig Davies - at times looked like he was posing a threat but seemed to lack a killer touch and wasted some good half chances.
Lloyd Owusu - looked like quite a handful and won a high percentage of high balls in his direction. Looked to be struggling with a hamstring pull towards the end.
Subs
Seb Carole - never really got into it.
David Livermore - good to see him back after suspension. Not an impact player, though. Had one header from edge of the area which was easily held.
By Nick TurrellLabels: League One, Leyton Orient, Nick Turrell
|
|
  |
|
Orient Report: "French connection key to Orient victory"
|
Posted by David Snowball
at
Friday, February 16, 2007
|
Report By: Nick Turrell
The signing of Alexis Bertin could well prove to be a master-stroke by Dean Wilkins.
While Bas Savage took all the plaudits for his performance against Orient, there was an unsung hero role for the Frenchman.
Bertin played as the holding player in a midfield diamond and did the job superbly, breaking up play and feeding quality passes through to his more advanced team-mates.
In only his second full game for the Seagulls, the man from Le Havre laid down a marker for how that role should be played and, no disrespect to Adam El-Abd, showed that it shouldn't just be about breaking up play, but creativity too.
His tireless running and chasing enabled Hammond and Ward to express themselves further forward and gave Cox the opportunity to cause havoc down the right side.
Hammond, of course, got in a great forward position in the penalty area to slot home the first goal, and it was Cox, latching on to Bertin's pass, who set up Savage for an emphatic finish to make it 2-0.
Big Bas did well to get on the end of another deep right wing cross to head back across goal for Joe Gatting to stab home from close range.
And substitute Elder neatly flicked on a raking punt forward into Cox's path for him to run through and notch the fourth.
One other performance of note came from Sam Rents, returning at left back, who has pace and dead ball precision which adds a dimension to the team.
A final word about Nick Ward. The QPR Aussie looks comfortable on the ball but is a bit of a leg dangler when it comes to anything physical. But if the new-look diamond can continue to play to his strengths, I'm sure it will be rewarded with goals.Labels: League One, Leyton Orient, Nick Turrell
|
|
|
|
A Good Thrashing!
|
Posted by David Snowball
at
Sunday, September 17, 2006
|
ALBION fans were all smiles for a change after Orient were given a good thrashing at Withdean.
The only pity was that the Seagulls didn't rattle up an even higher score - - it could easily have been six, such was Albion's superiority.
Orient were undone by the 15th minute dismissal of their centre back and captain. Paul Reid opened the scoring two minutes later, and, by half time, a 3-0 lead was established thanks to a stunning left foot belter from Adam El-Abd, turning in from the right wing, and a well-deserved, tight-angled drive from Dean Cox, who just got better the longer the game went on.
It was a shame Dean Hammond didn't convert a penalty awarded for a shove on Reid, but the rest of his play sitting as the holding player in a diamond midfield was excellent most of the afternoon.
Reid revelled in his preferred central midfield role, and was unlucky not to grab a second when a thumping free kick from the edge of the box rattled a post and bounced to safety.
Alex Revell worked his socks off to good effect in opening up opportunities for others and linking the play effectively. The other Alex, Frutos, showed glimpses of a return to the sort of form he displayed last season, giving the Albion a good looking balance wide on the left.
Albion were so on top Kerry Mayo even had the opportunity to display some silky showboating skills to take the ball out of a tight situation.
Georges Santos had probably his best game since joining the Albion, but spoilt it by conceding a penalty with a blatant foul right in front of the ref.
Credit to substitutes Jake Robinson and Doug Loft for combining to notch the injury time fourth goal. Jake got behind Lockwood and pulled it back delightfully for Loft to nod home in the six yard box.
The only disappointment was the size of the crowd - 6,003 - but a few more performances like this, together with a rise up the league table, will bring the stayaway fans back.
Nick Turrell
Labels: League One, Leyton Orient, Nick Turrell
|
|
|
|
LOOKING FOR MORE NEWS? Check out
our latest stories...
|
|
|
