Orient 2-2 Saints - Post Match Reaction

[rick1976.4.38]

i have one problem with james taking the corners,there is never any pace on them,they are always lobbed in,is it just me or anyone else agree

[Um Bongo]

Ok here are my ratings, no description, just Football Manager-esque.

 

Davis 6

James 6

Jaidi 7

Trotman 6

Harding 7

Wotton 5

Hammond 6

Schneiderlin 7

Lallana 6

Waigo 5

Lambert 8

 

Connolly 7

Antonio 7

 

Nice to hear the chant wasn't it

 

Just back as well. First half we were below par and nothing went for us. Couldn't click and went long ball far too often. Ref didn't help with his bizarre decisions. Hammond was clearly still injuried and shouldn't have started the game. Waigo did well, running at the left back. Lambert got sod all for him once again, seems he would have to have his throat slit for the ref to give a free kick.

 

Second half, came out up for it, poss pen appeal (Though schniderlin prob dived) and they scored from the counter attack. Battered them throughout the second half, we knew if we could just get one goal we would be able to at least get a point. And we did. Lambert in the right place to get one back, then it was all about the fans. The noise was brilliant, and when we equalised, it was mad. People on the pitch, and their fans started leaving

 

Could have won it with more chances, but i'll take a point from being 2-0 down.

[teamsaint]

interesting that in the 8 game form table the top 5 have almost identical records.

(Leeds Millwall Norwich Saints Colchester all W5 D2 L1)

 

What is a little worrying is that we are keeping far too few clean sheets- perhaps one reason for Wotton keeping a starting place? given the stats, not really sure if its working.

 

For all that, Swindon seems a long time ago now,and at the end of the season it might look an OK point.

[Saint_clark]

Hammond shouldn't have played (look nowhere near fit) and Antonio should have started.

This, coupled with going a goal down so soon, f*cked our heads right up.

Was gutted Connolly didn't get a chance to shoot right at the end there (when Lallana slid the ball through for him) - damn that defender with his last ditch tackle!

[Saint_clark]

i have one problem with james taking the corners,there is never any pace on them,they are always lobbed in,is it just me or anyone else agree

 

I thought they were fairly mixed to be honest. If a couple of headers had been a little more powerful we probably would've scored more, it was cleared off the line at least 3 times.

[monosaint]

On current form we will make the playoffs.. With 13 points out of the last 18 we have collected over 2 points per game which would take us in to the playoffs based on the last two years. Not impossible..

[red&white56]

i have one problem with james taking the corners,there is never any pace on them,they are always lobbed in,is it just me or anyone else agree

 

I agree - our corners lacked any real threat. It was obvious that we had been practising because James was giving different signals before each corner but they all appeared the same. At least some of them got over the head of the first defender! But there was invention - i.e. a short corner to confuse the defense.

[RedAndWhite91]

Nice to hear the chant wasn't it

 

Yeah! Proper loud in the ground, and singing it on the tube was great fun... Top effort

[saintrich]

If Lallana had taken what sounded like two gilt-edged chances we'd have won easily.

 

For those who were there, were they that gilt-edged?

 

 

Yes, sidefooted wide from about 10 yards.

[Killer]

Davis 6-not much to do, a few dodgy clearances

James 7 - fairly solid, not great corners

Jaidi 6 - v. good in the air, a few sticky moments

Trottman 7 - good game apart from the own goal

Wotten 6 - played fairly well first half, looked to pass it on the deck surprisingly

Hammond 6 - workmanlike performance, had a few good chances first half

Morgan 7 - added class to the middlefield

Lallana 6 - drifted in and out of the game

Papa 6 - good threat but poor end product

Lambert 9 - class above, won everything in the air and quality in and around the box

[Um Bongo]

Davis - Didn't look too confident for some reason, kicking was 50/50. 6/10

James - Made a cracking tackle near the end. Did ok. 6/10

Trotman - Not his best match. Maybe the early blow to the head affected him. 5/10.

Jaidi - Bit shakey at times, won everything in the air. 6/10.

Harding - Did well and gave vital space on the left in the 2nd half. 7/10

Waigo - Took their left back on quite a few times. End product not brilliant. 6.5/10

Wotton - Rubbish. Gave away the free kick for the first goal and generally looked lost. 4/10

Hammond - Injuried, and made no impact on the game whatsoever. 4/10

Schniderlin - Did ok, should have probably score with at least one of his chances. 6.5/10

Lallana - Loads of running, deft touches and lovely link up play. 8/10

Lambert - Getting better and better. MOTM for us, second goal was a screamer. 9/10

 

Subs:

Connolly - Helped change the game, unlucky not to score. 8/10

Antonio - More running and with Connolly again helped change the game. 7/10

[Saint_clark]

Davis - Didn't look too confident for some reason, kicking was 50/50. 6/10

James - Made a cracking tackle near the end. Did ok. 6/10

Trotman - Not his best match. Maybe the early blow to the head affected him. 5/10.

Jaidi - Bit shakey at times, won everything in the air. 6/10.

Harding - Did well and gave vital space on the left in the 2nd half. 7/10

Waigo - Took their left back on quite a few times. End product not brilliant. 6.5/10

Wotton - Rubbish. Gave away the free kick for the first goal and generally looked lost. 4/10

Hammond - Injuried, and made no impact on the game whatsoever. 4/10

Schniderlin - Did ok, should have probably score with at least one of his chances. 6.5/10

Lallana - Loads of running, deft touches and lovely link up play. 8/10

Lambert - Getting better and better. MOTM for us, second goal was a screamer. 9/10

 

Subs:

Connolly - Helped change the game, unlucky not to score. 8/10

Antonio - More running and with Connolly again helped change the game. 7/10

 

Agree with all of that except Jaidi and Morgan. They played better than that IMO.

[Wilko]

My thoughts:

 

Lambert is a goal machine.

 

Jaidi and Trottman are dominant in the air.

 

Antonio is built like a brick **** house. They don't usually build wingers like that.

 

I have no idea how Orient managed to get 2-0 ahead, but we didn't really trouble their goal until Lambert's first strike.

 

Great atmosphere and good fun singing on the tube. "Harry Redknapp's mother is a whore. She's a whore. WHORE."

[Saints foreva]

Morgan needs to grow some balls and have a shot every now and again.

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

Decent point after being 2 down with 20 minutes to go. Feel it's a measure of how nicely we're coming along that I'm disappointed we got ourselves into that position in the first place!

 

Can't make my mind up whether we should start with Antonio and Connolly now because they're having a major impact when thrown on but is it partly because they're coming on fresh, when defenders are tiring?

[Saint_clark]

Morgan needs to grow some balls and have a shot every now and again.

 

He did on a few occasions, however sometimes he had better options.

[Saint_clark]

Anyone else wondering if Davis will be pulled up by the FA for pushing that Orient fan?

[RedAndWhite91]

Morgan needs to grow some balls and have a shot every now and again.

 

I must admit I was getting a bit frustrated that none of the players wanted to have a pop at goal. As one bloke near me shouted - "We're not Arsenal" - We tried to walk the ball into the net too often.

[Tractor_Saint]

So, those at the game today, I'm always really frustrated that we never seem to go down the wing down to the oppositions by-line and cut crosses back from there... sounds like Papa was trying to do that regularly today but not with much success.

 

So, was the (dubious) commentary today on the button with the way Papa played? Was he getting in those positions but just not getting the final cross in?

[Bucks Saint]

He did on a few occasions, however sometimes he had better options.

 

Worst aspect of Morgan's game. I like him a lot but his shooting is woeful and that's probably why he does instinctively have a crack when he has a chance sometimes.

[Bucks Saint]

Worst aspect of Morgan's game. I like him a lot but his shooting is woeful and that's probably why he does instinctively have a crack when he has a chance sometimes.

. Does NOT I mean. Doh

[Saint_clark]

Worst aspect of Morgan's game. I like him a lot but his shooting is woeful and that's probably why he does instinctively have a crack when he has a chance sometimes.

 

Which is fair enough. His shooting is poor, so he looks for the pass.

It worked well V MK Dons for Hammonds goal.

[Saint_clark]

A bloke sat behind me said the fan threw a punch at davis?

 

I don't know what led up to it but Davis definitely pushed him.

Unrelated, but on the Orient forum they are all talking about how the ref was biased towards us.

He was not biased in either direction, just sh*t - like all the refs in this league. Anyone else see that short Orient player powerbomb Harding right down on our touchline?

[Genk]

We deserved a draw at least. How Lallana missed that chance in the first half was incredible, straight into the keepers hand. Then when he missed the chance in the second half after the goal mouth scramble, I honestly thought it wasn't going to be our day. But two good goals, Lambert's second being pure quality, earned us two thoroughly deserved points. Jaidi looked a bit dodge today, but Connolly looked fantastic when he came on once again. It was all us pushing for the winner and was gutted not to have got it. Nevermind another winning run in the league will start with the demolition of Brighton

[saint boggy]

I don't know what led up to it but Davis definitely pushed him.

Unrelated, but on the Orient forum they are all talking about how the ref was biased towards us.

He was not biased in either direction, just sh*t - like all the refs in this league. Anyone else see that short Orient player powerbomb Harding right down on our touchline?

 

yeh, i saw that!.....SOOOOO blatant, it's untrue, and the ref WAS looking in that direction, but i noticed that there were players standing in his line of sight, so could be forgiven for not giving it...... in which case though, why the hell didn't the Lino give it???? :confused:

[Hodgey]

When we went 2 goals down I didn't think we would get back into it as the players loked so crestfallen. So credit to them for their continued belief. Orient were extremely average and that is putting it kindly - make no mistake this is two points dropped. So how can we improve ?

1) James - I know a lot of people on here think he has fantastic delivery but I don't agree. He doesn't have the pace a full back needs and for every 1 lofted cross that a striker takes advantage of there are 10 that would not be out of place in the sunday league. If he is our best corner taker then there is something very very wrong as lofting a ball into the box is food and drink for most keepers even in this league - also not good enough defensively, it worrys me how many crosses (and subsequent goals) come in unopposed from our right.

2) 4-5-1, I get why Pardew does it, when he took over, away from home we were fragile so packing the midfield to win the battle and outplay teams from there makes sense, however it means you need to make a sub and inevitably no manager would ever make a sub after 25 mins which is when we need to go to 4-4-2.

3) Has anyone else noticed that Scneiderlin and Hamond look miles better when Wotton is off the field. I'm not having a go at Wotton here as I think he is playing well but Pardew needs to ensure that if all 3 are on the pitch that they understand what their roles are - to me all 3 sit back far too much yet when they are down to 2 they seem to know when to go forwards and when to sit back - very strange.

 

Yes luck didn't go our way today, but our finishing was also poor and I'm still very unconvinced about our set piece play both defensively and attacking which in this league is worth c 20 points alone. Encouraging but at the moment not good enough to hit the play offs.

[saintjinksie]

i have one problem with james taking the corners,there is never any pace on them,they are always lobbed in,is it just me or anyone else agree

 

100% his corners are balls, surely morgan can take a decent corner. its not as though he is ever on the end of them in the box anyway.

[Rasiak-9-]

I don't mean to be pessimistic but I left slightly disappointed we didn't win, despite the fact we didn't play at all well, which has got to be a good sign.

 

We really were terribly unlucky with things today, the ref, the ball not dropping for us, the manner of their goals, yet we still came away with a point.

 

Just frustrating as we could have spent these next two weeks outside the relegation zone had we got the win.

 

Anyhoo. We do still need to sort things out in defence. The goals we conceded were poor and Jaidi/Trotman are just two slow to work as a partnership. The fact that we don't have a pacy defender to cover causes them to panic at times it seems (e.g. Trotman's own goal) and if we do want to get promotion, then most of the wins we'll need shouldn't need more than two goals.

 

Mnyeah - kinda thought we should have won it...not on the basis of the performance but on the basis of the utter ****e we were playing

[Kingsbridge Saint]

Showed some spirit to come from behind, but with the form we took into the game, we should have won that really. If we aspire to getting to the play offs this season, need to win those. If we aren't then I guess the draw is fine. Happy with October overall though.

[northam soul]

Good day out and deserved to win.

For me we looked far more dangerous when connolly came on with his intelligent running and touches.He also frees up space for lambert which is why we seem to do better when pardew changes it every game, which does beg the question why we dont start that way.

As for the atmosphere i think because we were spread over the whole side of the ground its very hard to get both ends singing together , one will be singing one song while the other sidesomething else.

Have to agree about james corners he just lobs them in there.They need to be hit with pace and curl into the box.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Leyton Orient fan reaction - some blaming their manager for his substitutions .

 

http://www.leytonorient2.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=222797

[Andy_Porter]

Felt like a win in the end for me, we should be winning those game but a draw given the circumstances was a decent result. For the first time in a while I was still confident at 2-0.

 

I don't think playing 4-4-2 from the start would have made a massive difference really, we just defended poorly and couldn't finish when we played 4-5-1 as soon as we went 4-4-2 we looked more of a threat with Antonio running at tired legs, Connolly looked brilliant as well, such an intelligent footballer really compliments Lambert. If we had finished one of our chances in the first half then we would have won the game no matter what formation, you just get games like that.

 

The next league game against Brighton is massive, we need three points if we're going to get that play off spot, anything less and we lose momentum. For the Bristol game on Friday I'd like to see us stick to 4-5-1 and start Mellis and Antonio in place of Schneiderlin and Waigo.

 

Hopefully we can get Connolly fit enough to start every week, we're going to be scoring for fun with him and Lambert together. They compliment eachother perfectly and they've hardly played together they will just keep getting better as a partnership. The only problem is having to drop one of the midfielders.

[Evil Monkey]

'He stands just over 6ft 3 Ricky...Ricky.'

 

I was singing that in my sleep last night!

 

Great day out all things considered. Shame about the first half, thought we looked poor and unlikely to break Orient down. Hit it down the channels alot, but failed to get much further. Second half was better. Created several chances, and I really thought we were going to nick it the way we were playing at 2-2. Antonio is a diamond, as is Connelly. Would love to see them both start on Friday (assuming we can extend Antonio's loan deal).

[eelpie]

So, those at the game today, I'm always really frustrated that we never seem to go down the wing down to the oppositions by-line and cut crosses back from there... sounds like Papa was trying to do that regularly today but not with much success.

 

So, was the (dubious) commentary today on the button with the way Papa played? Was he getting in those positions but just not getting the final cross in?

 

He was fast as usual and giving their LB a torrid time, battling right up to the by-line and getting some amazing crosses between line and defender that didn't seem to exist. The problem was that he wasn't getting much support from Hammond, probably because Dean's injury was restricting his movement.

 

A curious thing was that most of the action was crowded into the other side of the pitch for 70 minutes and Waigo was often having to drift into the centre to support Rickie, presumably to instructions. Orient defended in depth, were pretty solid and more organised than ours it has to be said.

 

I believe that there were two significant reasons why we improved when the superb Antonio and Connolly came on. Papa had played a good part in tiring their defence, and 4-4-2 gave welcome support to the injured Hammond.

 

It would be intersting to see how we fare if Antonio comes on first against Brizzle. Whatever, Papa and Michail are a potent combination on the right whichever order they play.

[Whitey Grandad]

Leyton Orient fan reaction - some blaming their manager for his substitutions .

 

http://www.leytonorient2.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=222797

Interesting comment on there about Papa...

 

'...was troubled by the pace of their number 9, but thankfully said player was beyond dreadful - a contender for the worst footballer I've seen play in League One.'

 

Does anybody who went to the game share that view?

[S-Clarke]

Interesting comment on there about Papa...

 

'...was troubled by the pace of their number 9, but thankfully said player was beyond dreadful - a contender for the worst footballer I've seen play in League One.'

 

Does anybody who went to the game share that view?

 

Quite a few of them are saying that. I think it's because he looks so gangly, uncomfortable and inconsistent in his play at times - which is great in a sense, as defenders have no idea what to do with him.

[nick1579]

I do. He is shockingly bad. He think's (or plays like) a tricky winger but he's lacking one essential quality - he can't beat a man. Awful.

[rallyboy]

had I not been there I would have been horrified when we went two down but that's the first time for years that I never had any doubt - we were always going to get something from the game.

It was just one of those freakish matches that happen over a season, you dominate yet the ball won't go in, we hammered their goal, nearly scored, but they go up the other end and fluke a second.

Not saying we were brilliant but it was a really encouraging performance and they were petrified when we attacked in the second half and will now be on an open top bus ride celebrating the point.

 

Two points dropped, yet a great comeback that was so nearly complete...

 

As for their manager saying they were the best team, he must be mentally ill.

 

And the BBC stats of 51-49 possession? - ludicrous, had to be near 65-35.

[Genk]

100% his corners are balls, surely morgan can take a decent corner. its not as though he is ever on the end of them in the box anyway.

 

Fair point that his corner wern't great against Orient but to be fair to him, in previous games they have looked alot more dangerous than Lallana's did at the start of the season.

[benjii]

they have some bitter fans....

 

''Cheated out of a win. A deliberate handball in the build up helped set up the equaliser. If there was ever a day when a football club was consumed by its own ego and smug it was Southampton today. Thinking they could walk in and easily win purely for being called Southampton, showed why they are where they are.

 

1-0 down within 44 seconds, a few of them looked quite shocked, well to be fair they weren't the only ones as we are one of the worst teams in this league. One of our best players Mkandawire has to go off with a deep cut to his head despite scoring. On comes Ashworth, who to fair be coped well. Southamptons only chance in the first half was missed by Lambert, who somehow missed from 6 yards.

 

Second half, the inconsistent Townsend from a breakaway delivers a pinpoint cross and it comes off Jaidi for another classic Own Goal.

 

Now, we don't have the quality players and fitness that Southamptons do. Williams subs didn't work. Scowcroft came on and offered nothing. Southampton, after alot of pressure deservedly pulled a goal back, they put us under alot of pressure and got their deserved equaliser, thanks to the ref not spotting a handball in the buildup.

 

We put up an excellent fight, if Southampton and their fans didn't have their heads up their own arses they'd have strolled to a victory.

 

A draw was a fair result, but not in the circumstances from which Southampton got it from.

 

The fact that the travelling Southampton supporters were celebrating a point against one of the worst teams in this league says it all about them. Naive and a bit fickle.''

 

 

What a complete idiot.

[benjii]

Just back from the game,happy to have got the draw in the end given the circumstances,2 unfortunate goals to concede!! Predicted the result in the build up thread,was very much a wake up call for the fans that thought all we had to do was turn up today to win 3 points.

 

Agree that the 4-5-1 really isn't working,Lambert looked ****ed off up there on his own,the game completely changed once Antonio and Connelly came on,like others have said its nice to have that bit of quality in the bench to bring on.

 

No one performed too badly,Jaidi and Trotman looked strong as usual and won pretty much everything in the air. Davis couldn't have done much about either of the goals.

 

James' corners were woeful,why is a left footer not taking them so they swing inward,simple isn't it?

 

Waigo was getting a lot of the ball down the right wing,but his crosses were either going straight to the keeper or instead of trying to turn his marker he'd try and play for a throw or corner,needs to show a bit more confidence.

 

Wotton did alright,played a couple of great through balls which unfortunately amounted to nothing.

 

Lambert took his goals well,the second one was a cracking volley,hope we hold on to him should we fail to get promoted. Just wish we could win when we take a massive away following!

 

 

Yeah, our form's rubbish isn't it?

 

FFS - we battered them with a 4-5-1 and we battered them with a 4-4-2.

 

Being able to switch effectively mid-match is an excellent string to our bow.

[benjii]

The Orient fans are basking in the after-glow of their cup final draw, I wouldn't pay a blind bit of notice to any of them.

[SaintRobbie]

 

Yeah, our form's rubbish isn't it?

 

FFS - we battered them with a 4-5-1 and we battered them with a 4-4-2.

 

Being able to switch effectively mid-match is an excellent string to our bow.

 

Agreed 100%

[Kaiser Soze]

Morgan and Lambert were the best players on the pitch. Thought Wotton had an ok game. Hammond, Davis, James and Lallana were below-par. I think half the side went out there thinking we could turn Orient over without even trying.

 

Good day out but two points lost in my opinion.

[Saint_clark]

Morgan and Lambert were the best players on the pitch. Thought Wotton had an ok game. Hammond, Davis, James and Lallana were below-par. I think half the side went out there thinking we could turn Orient over without even trying.

 

Good day out but two points lost in my opinion.

 

Lallana was awesome in the second half. The guy NEVER stops running.

[Saintjersey]

Sounds like I missed a cracking game, but a big thanks to EoA for sending me txt updates.

 

Think this will go down as the kick in the a*se that all teams need as they get really into their stride.

 

When did we last come back from 2 goals down away from home to get a point?

 

We were 2-0 down at Norwich last season and came back to draw 2-2. Was a good game.

[AlfredKo]

Tortman looked doggy in this game.

[alpine_saint]

Tortman looked doggy in this game.

 

Why, did he try to shaaag the leg of their centre forward or pee against it ?

[dubai_phil]

We were 2-0 down at Norwich last season and came back to draw 2-2. Was a good game.

 

thanks

[krissyboy31]

The slightly more extended highlights are up on the BBC and Sky Saints pages. Lallana's miss was quite bad but his first time pull-back for Lambert's first goal was class.