Well that was all very frustrating wasn’t it? Taking nothing away from Wycombe who were more than deserved winners and looked very much as if they had another gear or two to move up into if they needed, the fact that they didn’t really have to tells you everything you need to know about Orient’s “performance” last Saturday.

Given the morale boost of the hard-fought win over Rotherham, I think many Orient fans went into the game at Adams Park feeling a bit more reassured that we might be starting to get ourselves back on track in terms of form and momentum.

That feeling was to last just over four minutes until an uncharacteristic loose pass from Ethan Galbraith acted as the perfect through ball for Fred Onyedinma, who simply drove forward and fired home. Even at that early stage I think most of us in the away end knew we had an uphill struggle if we were going to get anything at all out of the match. Any sign of a response, or semblance of fighting spirit from us, were conspicuous by their absence.

It came as little surprise when Wycombe made it 2-0 in added time before the break. This time Dom Ball, surprisingly filling in at right back in the absence of the suspended Tom James, made a mess of an attempted clearance and was dispossessed by Cameron Humphreys, who set up Daniel Udoh who had time to turn and slot home while our defence watched him. Boos rang out from some of the travelling support as the teams left the field at the break.

The second half wasn’t to get any better as we laboured through it, creating very little at all. Eventually the match was settled (if the outcome was ever in doubt!) just before the hour mark when another misplaced pass allowed Wycombe to counter quickly with Humphreys rounding off the break by placing the ball between Josh Keeley’s legs. It was another thoroughly disappointing display by Orient which provoked a frustrated angry response from those fans who were still there at the end.

Speaking after the match a clearly disappointed Richie Wellens suggested that: “They were better than us in every single area, every aspect of the game, duels more importantly…they were just far too good for us.” It is difficult to disagree with any aspect of that conclusion. Yes it was a bad performance and while there is no shame in being beaten by a better team, for me the way in which we failed to compete at all was the most disappointing aspect of the whole display.  

Thinking back to just over a month ago and the end of September when we had just beaten Reading and Stockport in successive away league matches and then given Peterborough a real match in the 2-2 draw at Brisbane Road; it is hard not to start wondering where things have gone wrong.

At that stage we were far from perfect, but there were real signs that we could compete in League 1 this season allied to the hope that we were starting to put our difficult start behind us. Since then we have played out a disappointing goalless draw with Wrexham, lost at home to an average looking Exeter, lost at Lincoln and Northampton, just about scraped a win against Rotherham and now capitulated against an admittedly in-form Wycombe. I am sure I am not alone in thinking we are drastically underperforming.

While defensive mistakes have undoubtedly played their part over recent matches, it is the ineffectiveness of our attacking play that has been the most concerning/ galling aspect. When discussing Wycombe’s attacking play last Saturday, Richie suggested: “They have strikers that are jumping in, leaning in, being effective, being horrible, and really difficult to play against.” When was the last time we could say that about our forwards?

At the risk of repeating myself ad nauseum, our front three just seem so passive, they simply don’t cause opposition defences any real problems. Undoubtedly they aren’t helped in any way by the often slow, laborious way that we move the ball, but I lost count of the times against Wycombe that I was shouting at our front line to show even the slightest sign of movement and desire to get at Wycombe’s defence. Instead we seemed to trundle through the game to its inevitable conclusion.

If the performance at Wycombe had been a one-off, a bad day at the office so to speak, then it would have been easier to take, but the evidence of the campaign so far suggests it is a real issue with our play, not an isolated substandard performance.

So where do we go from here? First and foremost we should stress that despite our lowly league position of 20^th, there is still a very long way to go in the season, 33 matches to be precise, and there are grounds to believe that the players we have simply aren’t playing at the level that they are capable of. If that isn’t the case and our squad really is as poor as it is playing, then that really doesn’t bear thinking about. Those performances against Reading, Stockport and Peterborough suggest that this set of players is capable of more.

We have been a bit unlucky with injuries to an extent, but you have to wonder why we so often look so lethargic and off the pace. Is it fitness? Is it attitude? Is it the style of play? Is it something else?

Whatever the underlying reasons. It seems clear that something needs to change and quickly. Maybe the cup tie at Boreham Wood this Sunday comes at the right time, gives us a chance to reset, to rethink our approach, to work on playing more quickly and with greater intent.

Obviously we all hope for progress in the cup, being the victim of another “giant killing” really doesn’t appeal(!), but the main focus of the coaching staff and players has to be on being better and more up for the fight in our next league match at home to Blackpool a week tomorrow. If we aren’t and put in another surrender of a performance as bad as the one at Wycombe, then maybe it really is time to start worrying.

Up The O’s!