County 1 Leyton Orient 2
It certainly wasn’t looking that way for the opening 20 minutes, but the League Two leaders dig in (with a little help from the ref) and take all three points back to the capital
Dear County fans, Stopfordians and any Orient fans joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Sunday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
Yesterday was a strange one. Obviously you never enjoy a defeat, but having made the league leaders work extremely hard for all three points, most County fans leaving Edgeley Park were still full of confidence and optimism that we’re capable of a crack at the play-offs, even if we’re probably not quite top three quality just yet. Jonathan Baker aka Geordie Hatter, and Mat Roper, editor of the Leyton Orient fanzine Pandamonium, share their thoughts from the O’s first win in SK3 since 2009.
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Des Junior
Yesterday’s match in one word:
Jonathan - Frustrating.
Mat - Victory!
Pre-match thoughts:
Jonathan - After publicly and airily predicting an odd-goal win through the week, by matchday lunchtime I'd tempered my bullishness in consideration of the table-topping credentials of our capital-provenant visitors. I was ready to take a draw, and fancied it could finish 2-2.
Mat - It was going to be a tough one. County on a right roll, big home crowd. Would have taken a point.
Post-match thoughts:
Jonathan - On the one hand, a battling odd-goal reversal against the league leaders is surely no disgrace, and whatever the result our season was never going to be defined by this single game in mid-November, so I'm not overly put out. But on the other hand, I felt, especially once we'd opened the scoring, that the game was there for the taking, and that our failure to capitalise on Hippolyte's opener gave them all the encouragement they needed to claw their way back into it. Meaning we ultimately missed out on the opportunity not just to gather the three points but also to lay down an important statement of our credentials vis-a-vis a promotion push. So that's a touch frustrating.
Mat - Absolutely massive win for us. Could have crumbled first 20 but it’s a win that really makes a statement.
Verdict on County:
Jonathan - See above! I think what I would add here is that as the match wore on, some of the tactical/matchplay naivety that had stymied our early-season progress seemed to creep into our play. The referee was clearly going to whistle for every touch, so we played into the opposition's hands by constantly giving him decisions to make through needless close-quarters contact. And as the game became consequently more stop-start in nature, the cohesion of our passing game faded, with too much reliance on the long ball.
Mat - Very good going forward and in the final third. Caused us some real headaches first half hour. Easy to see why you guys were on a roll.
Verdict on Orient:
Jonathan - Unspectacular but brutally efficient. Resilient in adversity. Knew how to play to their strengths. You can see why they're top.
Mat - We were superb, particularly second half. Grew into the game, managed the second 45 brilliantly and controlled most aspects of the game.
Top Hatter:
Jonathan - Wootton I thought once again proved tireless up top and kept possession well, acquitted himself courageously in his one-to-one battle with their brute of a centre-half. But I'm going to go for Akil Wright. I thought he was the player who most evidently stuck to the good habits that had got the team rising up the league, and his use of the ball was again beyond criticism.
Mat - Sarcevic or Hippolyte.
Top O:
Jonathan - I thought they were collectively effective rather than studded with individual star quality. But it was hard not to notice their big number nineteen. A commanding performance at the heart of their defence.
Mat - Darren Pratley.
Atmosphere:
Jonathan - I was at my usual station low down in the upper tier of the Cheadle End, central. Atmosphere noisy and supportive throughout, with the singers keeping the encouragement going even in the spells of greatest adversity. Shame the Orient fans didn't bother showing up, would have made for a proper League atmosphere if so!
Mat - It sounded like the crowd were well behind the home team but grew a little frustrated after seeing such a fast and decent start unravel a little.
Hopes for the rest of the season:
Jonathan - Before the game I might have said we were looking a very strong bet to reach the play-offs. On immediate reflection afterwards, I still consider that objective eminently reachable, but certainly stretching. So… still hopeful.
Mat - Wow, most of us O’s fans are pinching ourselves. I have talked about the gaps. Gaps to 4th and to 8th which are now “huge” for this stage of the season. Yesterday was a massive win and I don’t expect many to go to Edgeley Park and win 2-1. We simply have to stay consistent from here on in, but to not get promoted from here would be a really bitter pill to swallow.
The British Library receives a copy of every single book published in the UK. In the same fashion, Des Junior believes a detailed record of every County game should be preserved for the history books. So here’s the full story of our 2-1 defeat at home to Leyton Orient on Saturday 19 November 2022, as told from Des Junior’s three County-related WhatsApp groups…
10.55am: A fella in the boozer just asked me to name three Qatar players. I said George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.
3.06pm: 1-0 Hippo. Absolute quality. We’ve been on it from the start.
3.08pm: Superbly worked move. Every player calm and precise. GET IN!
3.20pm: Thought Wootton should have scored then but it was a very good save. Good game so far. Can’t see this staying 1-0.
3.21pm: 1-1. Thought there was a foul when that came in. Great header though. Bastard.
3.24pm: I do wish we’d learn to defend long throws.
3.52pm: Really good game for half an hour. Cancelled each other out since, I think. Two decent teams. We should have scored a second though.
3.54pm: Spot on. Probably the best two teams I've seen in this division. Pleased with the performance but disappointed not to be ahead.
4.21pm: Worst pitch invasion ever that.
4.28pm: 1-2. Clear shove on Madden. No penalty. Shite ref. They break and score from a corner.
4.58pm: Wootton fouled. No pen. Fuck off. Full-time.
5.26pm: Happy with the performance there. Disappointed with the goals that we conceded and that we didn’t get a second when we were on top. But if that’s the best in this division then we have nothing to fear. On Orient specifically their fans seem to think they’re a class above this division but I don’t buy it based on today. They’re very good defensively and they’re clinical, so that will win them a lot of games, but they’re not a cut above the other 23 in my opinion.
5.27pm: The table seems to suggest they are, to be fair. Being clinical is all it takes really.
10.54pm: We’re in The Sun and Castle. Linda’s on the karaoke doing ‘Islands in the Stream’.
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Stockport photo of the day
Edgeley Park
Ian Dooley gets his copy of Where’s My Towel? A Life in and out of Football signed by Steve Massey at his book launch. Thanks to all the County fans who went along yesterday. We’ll pop details on the website once the book goes on sale on Amazon on 1 December.
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Today in SK
🎸 Following on from a sold out debut headline show, Untold River takes to the stage at Bask with a very special stripped set. 5pm. Tickets £5.