That’s why you’re Going Down
Luton Town (0) 0 Leyton Orient (1) 1
Nelson; Purches (Capt), Oji, Saah, Palmer; Gray, P Terry, Chambers, Demetriou; Boyd (sub Thornton 80), Ibehre.
How many times, this season and last, have we pondered the thought “I wonder what Martin Ling will be saying in the Dressing Room at half-time to lift the troops after that display? And how often have we left the ground feeling that he must have said something right to have achieved a second half result? Well, certainly not last Tuesday!! So then, the after-thought. What can he possibly say to lift the squad by Saturday? Answer? “We need a 90-minute performance.” Brilliant, yes? Or “That was easy; I could have told them that myself.” So it is with football management. Art or Science? Or just a doddle? Why is it that an apparently brilliant manager (in the view of many) cannot reproduce the same form that effectively won the game at almost unbeaten Leeds when we play at home to the hapless Crewe Alexandra, whom we have already beaten at Gresty Road? Or is it nothing to do with management skills? Is it rather that, in this much more competitive division (more competitive and even even than the other English professional leagues) there is actually very little to choose between a play-off challenging side (who managed to lead the league for a couple of months or more) and an apparently relegation-doomed outfit. Except, perhaps, for the business of Administration (though even the added ten points would do no more than give them 19th place in lieu of the aforesaid Crewe.)
Statistics can lie, but are interesting all the same. Our heroes have won thirteen games this season, nine of them by the odd goal. The Hatters have lost fifteen times, ten of which were by the odd goal. Is there really that much between the two outfits? Indeed, is there a knack to winning by the odd goal or indeed losing by the same slim margin? The ever-perceptive visiting crowd at Kenilworth Road on Saturday saw a troupe of clowns in the homesters’ front-line. Shot after shot was ballooned high over the bar. “That”, we sang, “is why you’re going down!” Martin Ling, in praising the back four after the game, thought Stuart Nelson had had nothing really to deal with. A thousand and more FantasticOs will surely disagree from their vantage point behind Stuart’s net in the second half. There were plenty of close range efforts and more from distance, some of which, as noted, went high, wide and handsome, others of which Stuart was called upon to hold, palm out, tip over and so on. The point is this. A neutral could well have seen little difference between our failure to register against Crewe on Tuesday and the Hatters’ failure to produce a white rabbit on Saturday. The difference is that we succeed in tilting the balance our way (by the odd goal) more often than not, while Luton don’t seem to have that knack. Management skills or mere force of habit? Let us ponder the question.
Meanwhile, the Cobra’s journey to Bedfordshire was not without coincidence. The last time (recently) the wordsmith put pen to paper, the mood was sparked by a chance encounter with Kevin Scully, one of Bethnal Green’s finest. Last Thursday saw the Annual Meeting of the Trustees of the “Greencoat and Other Bethnal Green Educational Charities”, a remarkable body of some half a dozen trustees, at least one-third of whom are Orient supporters, in the shape of the Cobra and the aforementioned Rev Kev. And, alighting at Luton on Saturday from the first-class compartment of the St Pancras to Nottingham express (it has to be said in the company of a multitude of other apparently up-market traveller Orienteers), the Cobra was instantly accosted by none other than the self-same cleric, splendidly attired in Orient red stovepipe balaclava. He would prove a reliable guide to the ground and, as ever, a useful sounding-board for views on the game. But the coincidence was too much to be passed by. The coincidence was significant. Demons would be laid today. Coincidences maintained. In fourteen league games at Kenilworth Road, Orient had mustered fourteen goals, exactly one a game and one a game was maintained on Saturday. It was forty-six years, 1962, in fact, since our lads last won at Kenilworth Road in the league and that bogie was laid on Saturday. We had gone eight away games without a win, our longest such dry run of the season and that, too, is now behind us. Finally, it was 23 games since we last suffered back-to-back defeats, not a record we would want to give up lightly. Mercifully, that is now twenty-four.
The team that started was basically that which finished the game against Crewe, Tammy and Andy Barcham still injured, but Aiden Palmer replaced Charlie Daniels at left-back. Nobody told the Cobra whether Charlie was injured or whether this was merely a case of Buggins’s turn. One hopes the former, since Charlie, contrary to the view of some, offers attacking options which others don’t (remember Matt Lockwood?) and Aiden, though much improved this season, is still prone to be regarded by oppositions as a weak spot. Indeed, Luton would soon be directing most of their attacks down the right flank in an effort to expose that supposed weakness. Given the recent injuries, it was hugely heartening to see Sean Thornton and Alton Thelwell warming up with the squad beforehand even if, as transpired, the manager was not minded to bring either straight back into his line-up. Room would be made for Sean before the final whistle though, sadly, it would not prove a game in which one could disturb the defence to give Alton a run. And the football? To prove a point, the early exchanges were very definitely Luton’s, despite all protestations for an early, quick, forceful start. Clearly their motivation was greater than ours, spurred, too, by an early rendition of “Down with the Bournemouth, you’re going down with the Bournemouth.” No time to ponder that unique and stereotypical use of the definite article nor indeed, Luton’s somewhat scary use of Orff’s Carmina Burana to welcome the gladiators into the arena.
We chose to kick into the FO’s end of the ground which, while not entirely welcome, at least gave the wags a chance to remind Dean Brill of his less-than-fully confident performance at Brisbane Road a few weeks back. An early foray sees Terry find Demetriou, he on to Boyd and to Gray wide for a cross which is cleared. Calvin Andrew breaks down the left and crosses; we win a goal-kick, an early token of the Hatters’ ineffectiveness upfront. More Luton pressure before a free-kick gives us a breather. Terry takes quickly. The ball finds Boyd, to Chambers who crosses. Boyd again exchanges with Jason. Adam beats one and gives wide to Wayne Gray for a cross. Jabo in with a header which passes for a goal-kick. First real chance. To the other end where Palmer puts out for a throw from which Luton fashion a chance but the shot is high, wide and handsome. Throw Orient by the flag. Luton regain, Demetriou dispossesses. Terry to Jabo to Purches who breaks down the right and fires a low shot which whistles narrowly past the near post. Orient build again and win a corner on the left which Terry and Demetriou take short, passing back to Palmer for a rasping shot from twenty yards, but again wide. Now Orient down the right and Gray wins a throw by the flag. The ball drops nicely for Boyd who shoots. Shot blocked for a corner on the right. Jason takes. Much pushing around the edge of the box. Jabo shoots. Blocked again. Brill holds and Luton recover. They break down the right. Bell with a high cross which Nelson holds. Orient again but repelled and a free-kick conceded on the halfway line. Sol Davis takes. Demetriou clears. Luton again. Crossfield to the right flank again. Emanuel to Spring to Bell who is tackled by the ubiquitous Demetriou for a throw to Hatters some eight yards from the flag. The ball is crossed. Amazingly a free shot is allowed with only Nelson left in the breach. As amazing, the shot is ballooned high into the air for Stuart to rise and hold. Sighs of relief and first strains of “That is why you’re going down.” Nelson welts long. The ball off for a throw on the left, mid-half. Demetriou is embroiled with the diminutive Lewis Emanuel who appears to punch or butt our Jason, perhaps, it has to be said, in retaliation for something. Jason is seen to hold his face or nose. Emanuel will shortly change shirts and wear a numberless effort for the rest of the half, a move usually allowed only if there is blood on the original shirt. The decision seems clear-cut. A yellow card, perhaps for Jason. Red, for sure, for the hot-blooded Emanuel. Gasps of amazement when referee Joslin hands Jason the yellow card but restricts Emanuel’s penalty to the traditional “severe talking-to”. A clear cop-out from an official with whom we have had problems in the not-too-distant past.
Five minutes of end-to-end play with Luton attacking mainly down the right and tending to predominate. Jabo is penalised for an exceptionally high foot-up in the tackle and concedes another free-kick a few minutes later which results in a “stern talking-to”. Fifteen minutes in. The free-kick is on the right and Nelson rises well to hold. Orient resurge and Gray wins a throw a few yards from the corner flag. Purches crosses and Jabo flicks goalwards but Brill holds. Now Hatters cross from the right again. Nelson up but drops the ball under pressure, probably fouled. The ball is ballooned over the bar yet again. Stuart appears injured and requires treatment. We have the kick, be it goal- or free-. Orient win a free-kick five yards short of the centre circle for a foul on Jason D. Nelson to Gray to Terry and forward but cleared. Hatters again with a cross which Palmer clears. Luton again. Demetriou out to Boyd who is tackled somewhat fiercely by a former team-mate. Orient throw on the left, eight yards up from the flag. A patient build. Palmer, Terry, Boyd, Chambers, Palme, Terry, Palmer, Demetriou and a glorious backheel to Terry which catches the defence completely on the wrong foot. Paul’s cross is perfect and, as Davis fouls-up his clearance, Jabo Ibehre fires into the roof of the net via the underside of the crossbar. 1 – 0 Orient. Twenty-five minutes. Early by our standards. But very welcome. It will prove the match-winner and we will reflect that the scorer is very much the man in form. Indeed, perhaps the significant difference between these two apparently very disparate sides.
End-to-end play for a while with Hatters having more than their fair share of the action. Palmer gives away a tame corner which is cleared at the near post. Luton come again and switch the ball crossfield to the right flank for a high cross which Nelson holds well. Boyd to Gray on the half-hour and a fine cross which almost dips in at the far post but passes for a goal-kick. Now Boyd wins a corner on the left. Brill is up to punch clear but only to Paul Terry whose powder-puff return (a miscue surely) is cleared. Orient again but Jabo concedes a free-kick in mid-half on the right which Brill takes. Another infringement then gives Luton a dangerous free-kick on the edge of the box in the right channel. Once more, it is ballooned high over the bar and once again the massed choirs sing “That is why you’re going down.” Ten minutes left. Orient break. Boyd penalised for handball. Oji clears long and Brill comes out of his box, only just managing to win the ball. Luton attack down the right again. Nelson out to clear. Boyd is fouled but advantage is played. Chambers is floored and there is no redress. We are apoplectic. Luton return down the right yet again. A big cross. Stuart goes up, is fouled again, drops the ball but wins the free-kick and Referee Joslin now gives the stern talk to the experienced but aberrant Sam Parkin. From the kick, Purches to Gray who wins a throw just ten yards from the flag. Purches to Terry and back to Purches for the cross which Jabo nods on. The ball is cleared for a throw. Gray wins another throw just a yard from the flag. Cleared. Nelson to Chambers to Palmer to Jabo. Keith Keane in to hoof into the stand. From the throw, a Demetriou cross. Gray up but cleared. Chambers recovers and through to Gray but he is offside. Orient repel the kick. Through to Jabo who lays back for Purches to cross. It is cleared. Terry regains and on to Boyd who turns quickly and shoots, volleying on the turn, Brill just managing to hold. He gives long and Purches does well under pressure to clear to Gray. Luton come again, are repelled again. Palmer with a throw on the left. To Jabo and on to Boyd who is fouled. Free-kick on the left about three yards outside the box. Demetriou with the kick which is cleared. Adam Chambers tees up for one of his trademark shots when Paul Terry nips in and takes the ball from his toe!! Hatters clear and have time for one more huge cross, Nelson again holding safely, before half-time is called. We feel comfortable, if cold, and await the second, setting goal.
Orient kick-off, Nelson now with his back to the FantasticOs and the lively Demetriou soon wins a free-kick which he himself takes, Brill holding. Hatters clear and Palmer puts off for a throw five yards from the flag. A cross which Saah kicks high for a corner on the left which Morgan takes. Chambers with a great header to clear. The return cross passes for a goal-kick at the far post. Luton again and Nelson out to fire the ball onto the roof of the stand. Wasting time already??! Luton win a free-kick. Saah clears down the left. Jabo interchanges with Jason who fires a curling shot goalwards which Brill only just manages to hold. A brief period of Orient pressure ends with Jabo injured in the box, leaving time for the crowd to reprise “Where’s your money gone?” With a whole side of the ground devoted to “prawn sandwich” corporate entertainment boxes, it has to be said that this song seemed not a little incongruous. However, their problem remains. Luton throw in mid-half. A cross and Spring shoots high over the bar. Now a corner to Orient on the right. Demetriou takes and Jabo’s header is cleared off the line at the far post by Davis for a corner on the left. Jason again. Cleared at the far post again for a throw to the O’s. Luton now with the ball on the right. A cross which Purches clears. Morgan shoots. Again, high, wide and…. Nelson’s goal-kick is poor and Hatters return instantly with a good chance but a great tackle by Brian Saah, scurrying back, rescues the situation. Now Paul Terry’s cross sees Adam Boyd go down in the box. Joslin is unmoved and nothing is given. Kevin will assure the Cobra afterwards that it was a penalty! From the clearance, Calvin Andrew has a free shot from twenty yards which Stuart Nelson does well to hold.
Midway through the half and manager Harford begins to ring the changes introducing Paul Furlong for David Bell. Now Adam Chambers is fouled, as the tempo rises, and Sam Parkin is given the Yellow card. Luton again and a weak and woolly shot from Parkin brings a further round of “That’s why you’re going down!” Free-kick Orient just outside the box. Nelson takes. Gray up, Chambers in and concedes a free-kick. Luton shoot but it is wide, again. Twenty minutes left. Less even. Free-kick Hatters. A yellow card for Wayne Gray. Another free-kick. Sam Oji clears desperately. Hatters again. A cross and Paul Terry puts out for a throw. O’s clear and now Wayne Gray is fouled five yards outside the box, Demetriou again curling the kick which is cleared at the far post. Luton come again. A cross and a shot and Purches in with a great tackle to deprive Parkin and clear to Jabo. Hatters again and another cross which finds Paul Furlong with a diving header. Nelson bobbles the ball but holds at the second attempt. Twelve minutes left. Free-kick Orient for handball. Nelson takes. Jabo in and on to Boyd. Ball cleared. A series of throws to Orient. Sean Thornton is seen ready to come on and duly does so, replacing Adam Boyd, with Wayne Gray moving inside, Sean taking his customary but unwelcome wide-right role. A slightly strange substitution; an indication, perhaps, to Adam Boyd, that we cannot wait forever for his match-saving late goals, the more so with Jabo Ibehre in poaching form. The real motive, however, was surely to provide, without upsetting the industrious Gray, a fresh and more defensive wide midfielder for the game’s last ten minutes, a ploy which would evidently prove successful. A long throw from Palmer finds Gray whose through ball to Jabo is converted into a shot which passes only just wide.
Hatters are dominant for the next five minutes but come no closer than another high cross which goes well over the bar. More of the same! Throw Luton in mid-half. Oji clears. Luton again with a cross. Saah clears. Jason D is floored (again?) by the objectionable Emanuel who duly receives his thoroughly-deserved yellow card and another stern talking-to. Nelson with the free-kick. Wayne Gray up and on to Terry and to Jabo who is fouled. The ball is cleared. Palmer returns. Wayne Gray is downed but without redress. The ball is cleared. Jason D in with a tackle and he is floored. In seconds, a riot ensues with a huge melee of players, the young and explosive Jason clearly having been targetted for provocation throughout, ever since that first-half incident for which he was probably primarily responsible. One thing was clear. Referee Joslin lost control, the plot and seemed also to lose sight of the incident. For after a long-drawn out attempt to bring the handbags under control, yellow cards are awarded to Sam Oji and Steve Robinson who may or not have had anything to do with the fracas. A seemingly random judgment. It took more than three minutes to deal with this incident, so it was no surprise when the fourth official declared five minutes of added time, a welcome bonus for the Hatters but a mixed blessing, presumably, for the officials. As for the Orient, they didn’t look too fazed at the prospect of extra time. At the risk of offering hostages to fortune, the team seem to cope well with such situations these days. Possession football but sensibly so. Today, at least, there were none of the erstwhile antics at the corner flag which we have seen so often at Brisbane Road. Nonetheless, one little cameo from the experienced Sean Thornton is worth recounting. Collecting a Chambers clearance and heading off down the middle, Sean became aware that that passage was blocked. Turning through ninety degrees he took the ball in leisurely fashion out towards the left-hand touchline, a most bizarre turn of events in the ordinary way, but, in the circumstances a wonderful way to spend the last few minutes. Time still for one last big cross from the Hatters, which Oji clears. Then a final cross from the left and a Paul Furlong header which Nelson capably holds.
A comfortable win on balance, albeit by only one goal. A vast gulf between the two sides? Or just that one goal. Either view could be maintained. Stating the obvious, it is another example of the fact that sides with successful striking strikers tend to win. That said, we never felt we would lose, once Jabo’s effort went in. Much to play for now as some huge games loom. Vital that the crowd pulls its weight on Saturday. The home support, as so often in the past, has been a major letdown in the quest for points. And a solution to the original question? Good management or just good luck? Management indeed must be the answer. For in a division as competitive as this, a 1 – 0 win is worth its weight in gold. It is surely not luck, nor force of habit, that enables a side to churn or grind out 1–0 wins while others, towards the foot of the table, reproduce 1–0 reverses week by week. First a team has to be put together. Full marks to the manager for a brilliant Summer’s work. Then the squad needs to be bonded, a huge and important management task, requiring the skills of a trained psychiatrist. And then the maintenance of that spirit, the lifting week after week, game after game, and all without losing the support or respect of the players. And all this just to ensure an apparently tight 1–0 win and ensure those 1–0s more often than the 0–1s. No doubt in the Cobra’s mind. The management, or the management team, is all-important. And if, at times, the Cobra would have it differently, would rather, for example, see Sean or Alton returned to the side at almost any price, that is no more than a difference of opinion, a personal preference which should not be construed as a criticism.
And a postscript. A little angst, if that is right, at the fortunes of the Gas. For there, but for the Grace of God, went we. Watching that crucial goal go in over the weekend and hearing the dread sounds of “Goodnight Irene” yet again was almost enough to cause the tearing of the little remaining hair. But good luck to them, say all of us. And might they not now go one step better?
COBRA
