Art, Science and ChemistryLeyton Orient (0) 1 AFC Bournemouth (0) 0 Nelson; Terry, Thelwell(capt), Mkandawire, Palmer; JJ Melligan (sub Demetriou 74), Chambers, Thornton, Corden (sub Oji 88); Gray, Boyd. We talked at Crewe of the science of football, the need, in this day and age to abandon the art and instead dissect a game with a certain clinical accuracy. And one could describe our lads` approach to the none-too-vaunted Cherries as just such a careful and clinical operation, a safety play to ensure success or, at the very least, to insure against failure. And, if such it was, some will be disappointed at a perceived unwillingness to take too many risks, to indulge in the art of football, while others will rejoice, with the perceptive Ian Ochiltree, that, at last, we have a team, indeed a squad, on which we can rely; a squad which is capable of a great deal; a squad which is constructed, as all should be, on the foundations of a very solid defence, set for its third shut-out in five games. The Cobra sits at neither extreme but rests content that the squad is still in its infancy; content, perhaps, that risks should not be taken for the moment; but ever hopeful that, as timepasses and the chemistry asserts itself amongst Martin Ling`s disparate collection of wannabees, then the science will become second nature and we shall once again see the art of the beautiful game flow more readily from these our would-be heroes.Speaking to the Gallery faithful before the match, Martin did his best to deflate any overblown expectations we might have had. OK, the Cherries finished hardly any better than ourselves last season and the bookies had marked them down for certain relegation this term but they came to us with an unbeaten away record and, as Martin reminded us, any team with Darren Anderton in its midfield would be looking to play football and must be respected for that. Few of us needed reminding how often the said Darren Anderton had tormented previous Orient teams. And herein, perhaps, lay the first piece of the scientific equation. For Adam Chambers, as it seemed to us in the Gallery, had been deputed to keep Anderton quiet, and, if he was largely successful in so doing, then the price paid was a less-than-usual free-ranging role for this most influential of midfield playmakers. Happily, Sean Thornton was returned from his enforced rest and, when it really mattered, here was another influe ntial character who could raise his game in a trice and seek to take control.We have known for some time now that the game`s first fifteen minutes are, in our textbook, exploratory. A period in which we probe the opposition, learning, if we can, what they are all about, how they set out their stall, which particular tactic or tactics they will deploy, and all this without exerting ourselves overmuch but rather conserving the energy for what will surely be the more demanding episodes of the game. A week ago, this proved our undoing, as two goals were shipped in short order. Not so today, though as Orient kicked off, heading South yet again, the early exchanges were anything but comfortable. Successive throws, orchestrated by Anderton, bring a corner, a deflection off Corden. Terry heads out. Cherries are indeed playing some good football, as our manager predicted. Joe Kuffour is in for the return but Stuart Nelson holds and gives long. Bournemouth return and Corden intercepts for Palmer to clear. Soak up the early pressure. Going to textbook. Five minutes in and Orient`s riposte. Boyd nods on a throw to Thornton, Palmer and Corden who holds, runs with the ball and delivers a near-perfect through-ball to Chambers, sadly just too late, for he is tackled. Now Corden to Thornton who sweeps crossfield to Melligan but his shot-cum-cross, neither fish nor foul, is easily cleared. Bournemouth break speedily and a deflection off Paul Terry wins a corner. It is high and Stuart Nelson rises to hold, setting Melligan free with a quick throw. This time, his cross across the box is better. Boyd is up for it and we win a corner. Thornton takes, with his customary accuracy. Tam goes up for it strongly and his header passes barely a yard wide of the left-hand post. Bournemouth come away and a good deal of excited shouting can be heard from both Manager and Assistant manager, apparently directed at Sean Thornton, who probably doesn`t hear. Cherries again. Thornton, as often, intercepts. Boyd tussles with Gowling who passes back to `keeper Begovic. Thornton again, intercepting the kick and giving long for Gray. Bournemouth win a throw close to the flag. The ball is swept acrossfield but no-one is there to receive. Cherries come again down the right and Aiden Palmer settles for a corner. It is long, yet lacking in power and dribbles pathetically across the line for an Orient goal-kick. We put together a good move, Chambers, Palmer, Corden and Chambers with a through-ball to Boyd but he is offside. Fifteen minutes. Plenty soaked up. Cherries have the best of it. Textbook still. Boyd to Terry whose cross finds Gray but he scuffs the ball and misses the chance. Bournemouth clear. Palmer intercepts. O`s come again. Thornton through to Boyd who is brought down. Referee Paul Melin ignores the incident and gives the first indication that he may not be seeing as much as he might. Typically, the Cherries break away and a shot goes happily over the crossbar. Twenty minutes in and, as Adam Boyd goes up successfully for a Nelson goal-kick, giving Bournemouth a throw by the corner-flag, one reflects that his heading is improving, albeit it will not last the ninety minutes. From the throw, Anderton gives a fine ball, long down the left flank. The ball is crossed and Tam heads away for a corner on the right (East Side). Russell Perrett goes up for the ball, connects and falls to the ground, Manager Kevin Bond engaging in histrionic claims for a penalty which referee Melin again diplomatically ignores. Cherries clear the goal-kick, Thelwell intercepts the return and sets Gray free. He beats his full-back, wide right and puts in a huge cross. Boydy goes up with Begovic, but the `keeper holds. Now the visitors have a free-kick in the centre-circle for an infringement. The kick is taken with a moving ball but Melin ignores this and the resulting shot is deflected for a corner on the right, the second time that the visitors have gained significant advantage from the referee`s refusal to uphold the laws of the game. Orient clear. Melligan is floored. Nothing is given. Thornton clears. Boyd is fouled. Nothing is given. The Law Librarian is now apoplectic, blue in the face, though whether entirely at Melin`s antics, or rather at our resident referee`s insistence on defending the man-in-the-middle, it is hard to detect. Unfair advantage the Cherries again. A throw five yards inside the halfway line. They sweep forward and Kuffour sets Anderton free with only Nelson to beat. With incredible anticipation, Stuart is off his line and out to narrow the angle and block the shot. Palmer clears to Corden who finds Thornton. He makes ground and cuts inside to let a forty-yard effort whistle over the bar for a goal-kick. Chambers intercepts. Terry passes back to Nelson and a long ball for Boyd goes harmlessly away for a goal-kick. Now Cherries with a cross which Tam heads out. Cherries again down the right, a cross and Chambers concedes a corner. The Cobra notes that, unusually, we really seem to be under the cosh. The cross is big but Stuart Nelson holds and sets Chambers free down the right. On to Melligan. Goal-kick. Chambers intervenes. To Thornton, Boyd, Palmer and he back to Nelson who gives long only to find Boyd flagged offside. Orient fans irate at what they judge to be another wrong decision. Bournemouth again. Tam is up for the ball and is fouled. Nothing given!! A throw by the flag, a cross and a shot. Unfair advantage again. It is wide. We have a goal-kick. Half an hour in and we have had slightly more of the second quarter though the visitors are very much still in the game if not actually on top. Cherries again, now down the left. A cross which Stuart Nelson has to fist away under huge pressure. Another throw by the flag. Orient clear to Corden who is tackled from behind (probably fairly), Cherries again but we win a free-kick for a foul on Palmer five yards from the flag. Now Chambers to Melligan but his cross is poor and Begovic fields at the near post. Melligan has looked slightly out of sorts today and some say he was signalling a sore throat at an early stage. We win a throw in mid-Cherry territory on the left. Gray, Thornton, Melligan, a cross to the far post, Palmer heads back in, the ball is cleared. Orient attack again but concede a free-kick for a foul. Now Thelwell is fouled on the edge of our box and we are awarded a free-kick at last to howls of sarcastic applause. Nelson takes halfway into our half. It is cleared. Thornton retrieves. To Melligan, back to Thornton and on to Gray who crosses. Corden at the far post appears to have an open goal and somehow contrives to miss with an on-target shot but the eagle-eyed professor reports that it was, in fact, a brilliant save by `keeper Begovic who turns around the post for a corner. With the benefit of hindsight, Wayne might have done better to welt the ball rather than place it. Thornton with the corner. Chambers heads on. Another header is cleared wide and Terry is fouled horrendously by Kuffour. The free-kick is awarded but no yellow card is deemed fit for display. Thornton with the kick to Corden who tried a shot from great distance. It is blocked and Kuffour clears. The last five minutes, strangely, see the tempo raised by the Orient with some tigerish tackles in mid-park by Thornton and Tammy Mak, in particular, an attempt, perhaps, to re-assert ourselves. A minute extra is added as Tam is left to clear twice from a free-kick for offside against Melligan. All the talk at half-time is of the referee though some will have wondered what is passing a few floors below in the bowels of the West Stand. Indeed, as the second half begins, there are those who already have Demetriou pencilled in to replace Melligan. The early second-half exchanges seem to replicate the closing first-half moments, with two-way traffic and scares at either end but Orient are definitely moving into a higher gear. Bournemouth soon earn a free-kick in mid-half. Neil Young gives short to Anderton who crosses for Tam to clear. Cherries again. Tam again. Chambers fouled. Free-kick Orient. Chambers to Melligan and a high cross which Begovic holds. Now Melligan wins a throw ten yards from the flag. Terry to Boyd who holds, runs and loses the ball. He recovers and finds Thornton who runs into the box and shoots. Barely a yard over the bar! Cherries again and a cross which Paul Terry clears. Adam Boyd wins a corner on the right which Sean Thornton takes. To Chambers and Melligan and partially cleared. Corden`s shot is blocked. Throw Orient four yards from the corner-flag. Corden to Thornton to Chambers to Melligan and eventually to Gray who runs on and shoots but the shot is saved. Palmer from the kick to Corden and Thornton who runs on and feeds Gray but the pass is intercepted. Thelwell breaks up the counter-attack and gives to Melligan and on to Boyd who is fouled. Free-kick O`s in mid-Cherry territory. Thornton takes and aims an arching kick for Tam. Goal-kick. Long. Nelson fields. Orient win a throw ten yards into enemy territory. Gray with the cross and Corden hits the post. Excitement now cranked up and roars of support come from the South Stand, the North and the West (and probably the East, too) all independent of each other. Bournemouth again with a cross which Nelson goes down to hold at the post. Gray and Thornton win the midfield challenge and a through-ball is put out nervously by Begovic for a throw. This to Thornton who is fouled. We wait a minute while Gray replaces his boot. The kick is cleared. Orient retreat and Nelson fields. Boyd is fouled and we have a free-kick. Boyd fouled again. Another free-kick. Thornton with the kick outside the angle of the penalty area. Headed out at the far post. Palmer back to Melligan, a cross which is deflected and cleared. Anderton breaks away and gets in a long cross which Nelson holds. To Corden, Thornton, Melligan, Boyd, Terry, Thornton and Boyd again and Chambers who is dispossessed. Nelson fields again and gives long. Ten minutes in and a much better effort by our lads. Now Melligan`s cross is blocked for a throw to the Orient ten yards from the flag. Terry to Melligan. A cross is deflected, another is cleared. Bournemouth come away and Aiden Palmer gets in a great tackle, going on a wonderfully confident run and covering thirty yards before, in some embarrassment, he runs into trouble and gives away the ball. The price of inexperience! Paul Terry restores order by giving away a free-kick, the benefit of experience! Anderton takes, midway into our half on the left. Chambers clears. Brett Pitman is brought on to replace Joe Kuffour. Gray concedes a free-kick. Orient clear to Gray who is deemed offside with a very late flag. Cherries break down the left and Nelson goes down at the near post to hold a very dangerous-looking cross. Chambers to Palmer who is dispossessed. Chambers regains and shoots from thirty yards with Melligan wide open on his right! Orient again and a Melligan shot-cum-cross is deflected for a corner on the right which Thornton comes to take. The cross is poor, too deep, and easily cleared. Palmer recovers, Boyd is fouled and another Orient free-kick repelled. Thelwell hoofs the clearance into the east Stand. Throw Bournemouth eight yards inside the halfway line. A dangerous cross which Thelwell clears. Cherries again with a cross from the left. Nelson is up for it and clears. Bournemouth again. Boyd is fouled without recompense. Cherries are caught offside. Now Melligan is floored and we have the free-kick. Ryan Garry is booked. Twenty minutes in. Much more Orient possession and dominance but no goal. The wiseacres have Demetriou already on for Melligan and Efe Echanomi to replace a striker, probably Boyd who is clearly tiring somewhat as his ability to get up for the headers is waning. Martin Ling is evidently among the wiseacres as the aforesaid pair can now be seen to be warming up. Cherries bring on Jean-Francois Christophe for Warren Cummings. Boyd is penalised by the corner flag. Bournemouth free-kick and Boyd is spoken to by Referee Melin. Terry intercepts the kick and passes back to Nelson who kicks long. Boyd, Gray, Corden, Thornton and back to Palmer who makes ground and centres for Boyd. Back to the goal and closely marked, Adam controls, turns his man in a trice and calmly slots into the left-hand corner of the net for the game`s opening strike. 1 - 0 Orient and definitely now on top. The would-be substitutes are instructed to sit down again. Change of plan. Thornton to Melligan to Corden now breaking down the right. Thornton`s high cross, Tam is up for it but Begovic goes down to save. Now Thornton concedes a throw on the right. Anderton breaks down the right and from the cross a header goes narrowly over the bar. Goal-kick. Close call. Bring on the substitute after all. Demetriou replaces Melligan who is clearly unhappy at leaving the arena. Martin Ling is careful to have more than the usual few calming words with him. Cherries again down the left now. Anderton again with the cross which Nelson fists away and Demetriou clears. Fifteen minutes to go.Palmer gives away a throw under pressure from Anderton. Pitman takes a dive and Terry is shown the yellow card. Free-kick on the edge of the "D". Anderton to take. Arguably the moment of greatest danger so far. Nelson leaves a huge gap to his left (right as we look at the South Stand). Anderton blazes way over the crossbar. Melin has a word with Terry. Cherries in the ascendant. Throw on the left, fifteen yards inside the halfway line. It finds Anderton. Another throw. A cross from the left. All go up for it. It is deflected for a corner on the right which Anderton takes. Tam is up and gives a corner on the left. Anderton again. A good cross but Gradel is penalised and Orient have a free-kick. Ten minutes to go. Nelson with the kick in the penalty area. Gray is fouled but without comment from Melin. Orient looking better now. Self-belief among the crowd, at least, with chants of "We are top of the League" reflecting the feeling that we will certainly hold out. Five minutes left and Oji makes a debut appearance in the league, replacing Corden, a safety play by the manager, running the clock down as well. Chambers to Demetriou to Boyd who shoots from just five yards out and fires wide! Three minutes are added. But we have done enough and another win, the fourth in five is ground out to the mixed relief, surprise and joy of the home crowd. Plenty of positives to take from the game. The shut-out for one. Boyd`s ability to carve something out of nothing moments before many would have had him substituted. Thornton`s return and his ability to change up a gear for the asking. The solidity of the defence with the goalkeeper seemingly able to repel boarders single-handedly when all else has failed. The apparent success of the game plan, the scientific approach to winning. But more yet, the Chemistry of this side. Let one example suffice. A poor referee by recent standards and those of this division and many a niggle from an opposition bent on unsettling us. Previous Orient sides would have resorted to retaliation, back-chatting the referee. Would have lost their cool. Red cards even. Not this lot. They got on with the game and plugged relentlessly away until the tide turned. One returns to Martin Ling`s big picture. It is a long season. Four of our next six games are against top (or winning, in the case of Leeds) sides. This careful, scientific way is no bad way to start. Soon enough, we shall look for a greater self-belief, a realisation that this side could do great things. And with that, perhaps, will come a day when we take the game to the opposition from the outset and once more demonstrate the art of the beautiful game. For the moment, though, P5 W4 D1 L0 F8 A3 Pts 13. Not bad. Let`s hope for a big turn-out in Somerset.COBRA posted by Cobra 8:20 am . . .
Leyton Orient (0) 1 AFC Bournemouth (0) 0
