Following a super pre-match get together with friends over a couple of beers we got the team news from tinker-man Nathan who is presumably still using the scratch card approach to team selection. Nathan had recalled “in fine, fine form” Cook, dropped O’Donnell in response to concerns voiced by the Bury Park shopkeepers regarding footballs landing on the fruit & veg stalls and additionally Vassell was rested and given a place on the bench. Well, what’s to worry about? We, after all, were playing against an almost relegated to the National League side; indeed a side who were fielding youngsters and having real difficulties paying their players. Demoralised Orient’s form has been dreadful of late losing 9 of the last 10 games and conceding 28 goals as ever, what could possibly go wrong!
In addition to tinkering with a winning side that had in the last two games dominated Blackpool from the 91st minute and scraped a very fortunate win at Barnet, NJ/PH reverted away from that winning formation to his “007” theme of diamonds are forever: why oh why? I suppose our management duo’s thinking is along the lines of “if you give a monkey a bar of soap and put him in a bathroom shower, then eventually one day, the monkey will stop eating the bar of soap start washing with it”; similarly if you keep using the diamond at home then it’s bound to work one day. Anyway, onto the game: well the first half did not produce the avalanche of goals that we may have wished for but to be fair we did create some chances. One lovely move in which Cook cutting in from the left placed a beautiful teasing ball that ran across the front of goal and only needed the slightest of touches but other chances were to follow. The returning Cook suffered an injury after about 20 minutes and had to be replaced by Gambin and I would guess from the way that Cook left the pitch that will be his season over. We did take the lead through an absolutely superb long ball “Glen Hoddle Style” to Hylton from Olly Lee. Now Hylton showed real skill as he controlled the ball, ran into the area and slotted the ball into the corner of the net; lovely move, lovely goal. We did have other chances in the first half including two shots from Gambin one of which was met by a very good save from the Orient keeper. So, there the first half passed with the Town winning by a single goal but not really dominating Orient as much as we may have wished. Now what happened at half-time is anybody’s guess; did Paul Hart give the type of inspirational talk that he gave post-game; who knows? What we do know is that in much of the second half we were just not there. Orient equalised with a penalty when a shot from range made contact with Rea’s arm and the referee judged penalty. Orient then took the lead with terribly sloppy defending down our left-hand side but to be fair a class finish from Abraham: oh, dear not going to plan! Thankfully complete embarrassment was avoided when substitute Vassell ran onto a lovely pass from Hylton to slot the ball past keeper Sargeant. So there we have it a draw against another of the bottom of the table clubs. Yet Orient could still have won the game when in a breakaway in injury time, the Orient substitute ran through on goal and looked certain to score only for Justin to make a superb last-ditch tackle to keep intact our point. That tackle was up there with other great tackles in my opinion: Fraser Franks at Macclesfield and Alex Lacey at Braintree. Overall Impression: We were ok the first half but not dominant. In the first 25 minutes of the second half we were just downright poor and once again the midfield became a wilderness for LTFC players. Yet, despite managing to avoid victory against a poor National League elect side, we remain in 4th place as other teams looking to take a place in the playoffs also had a bad day. So we stumble on towards the playoffs and it really is a stumble yet thankfully other teams are also stumbling. After a terrible six-match run starting with Stevenage when promotion was within our own hands, we ride our luck a touch and collect 7 points from the last 3 game; yet it is really not convincing stuff. As we are now 6 points clear of the 8th placed club, we will probably find it difficult not to qualify for the playoffs but you never know with those scratch cards. So, we are in with a chance and to my way of thinking it’s our turn to have that little bit of luck in the play off’s and despite our horribly boring presentation this season, particularly at home, I reckon we will do it. I should say that the views I express are as I see our performances: I tell it as I see it and am not a member of either the "happy clapper club" or the "we are doomed club" but comments such as post-Newport “Newport is a difficult place to come to” just drive me wild: never mind, onwards and upwards! Some thoughts on individual performances: Moore: coped well with things he had a chance with: he had no chance with that well-struck penalty. Justin: his passing was off target in the first half and often over hit but his saving tackle in injury time preserved a point. Cuthbert: a bit of a mixture; sometimes looking heavy-legged other times making good clearances. Rea: did ok for the most part and maybe the penalty award was a bit harsh. He is still not showing the consistency and quality we saw in the first 3 months of the season. Sheehan: one of our more thoughtful performers yesterday but he left his shooting boots at home it seems. Lee: third game on the trot that I have been impressed with born again Olly: beautiful pass to Hylton for the opening goal and that was not the only impressive pass: keep it up mate, you are winning me over! Pelly: not a good game from our Pelly, one he will want to forget. D’Ath: looks like he will be a decent player for our club and gave a lot of effort yesterday. Cook: one nice bit of skill early on with that ball across the area but picked op what looks like an early season end with that injury. Marriott: great turn and shot just over the bar in the first half but otherwise not his best day. Hylton: where would we be without our best player both in terms of his individual performance and his team contribution. The Substitutes: Gambin: decent game and unlucky not to score; always looking to get involved. Vassell: wished he had started the game; just how tired did Nathan judge him to be after Barnet? Gray: only had a few minutes on the pitch. Luton: Moore, Justin, Cuthbert ©, Rea, Sheehan, Lee, Pelly (Gray 85), D’Ath, Cook (Gambin 24), Hylton, Marriott (Vassell 66). Subs: O’Donnell, Potts, Smith, King (GK) Yellows: Gambin, Cuthbert Orient: Sargeant, Kelly ©, Collins, Mezague, Semedo, Pollock, Adeboyejo, Dalby (Abrahams 46), Alzate (Koroma 80), Ochieng (Moncur 88), Clark. Subs: Grainger, Liburd, Alderson, Happe Yellows: Ochieng, Sargeant Ref: Brett Huxtable
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Hi there, welcome to my site where I chronicle various things about the Hatters, a team I have followed since the mid 60’sArchives
December 2017
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