Coming on the back of four consecutive wins in different competitions, being held to a goalless draw at home to struggling Burton Albion felt a bit frustrating. However with the games coming thick and fast over the festive period and a congested middle of the league table there are still grounds for optimism going forward.
Burton at Home
Whether it was the fact that it was another 12:30 kick-off, or that Burton clearly came with the intention of trying to be hard to break down and not get beaten, or that we were expecting a bit more from Orient after a decent run of results (most likely a combination of all three); but the whole match last Saturday just felt a bit flat.
There was very little in the way of goalmouth action at either end, and the overall feeling as I walked out of the ground after the match was one of frustration. It is completely understandable that Burton came to sit deep, stay organised and to challenge us to open them up, but once again the fact that we couldn’t find the all-important breakthrough made it feel like two points dropped.
Speaking after the match gaffer Richie Wellens reflected on “a little bit of a frustrating day, [a performance that was] a little bit pedestrian at times”, which seems to sum up the way most of us were feeling after the match. It is however a fourth clean sheet in a row and one defeat in our last ten matches, so there are definite grounds for continued optimism.
A Potentially Pivotal Festive Period
We now head into a hectic run of five league matches in three weeks before the third round of the FA Cup against Derby. While it might be a tad overdramatic to suggest that this spell will make or break our season, it is true to say that how we fare will determine our ambitions for the second half of the campaign.
The run starts with a trip to Yorkshire tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting of course. The Tykes currently sit in 7th place in the table and while they sit just a point outside the play-off places, just two of their eight wins have come at home. We ran them close at Oakwell last season and but for some late drama we may have come away with at least a point if not all three. Of course it is a big challenge against one of the bigger clubs in the division but perhaps we might take encouragement that Barnsley are unlikely to sit deep and try to frustrate us, which might give us the space we need to truly threaten them. Having said that though it does feels like a draw would be a very credible result.
After that it is a run of games against four of the six teams that currently sit below us in the league table, with three at home and just the New Years Day trip to Bristol Rovers seeing us travel. We saw on Saturday the approach that will likely be adopted by Crawley, Cambridge and Shrewsbury when they visit E10. However, if we can learn the lessons from the Burton match, find a way to open them up and score the crucial opening goal then there is every reason to believe we can add to our points total from all three home games.
It is difficult to known what to expect from the trip to Bristol, we beat them fairly comfortably just a few weeks ago, but we have to believe they will be out for revenge, but at the same time it would be a brave side that would set up for a point at home.
Making predictions is always a dangerous practice but if we can say win at least two and draw one, possibly two, of those matches then it is likely to move us up what is a very congested middle of the table.
Brisbane Road Stadium Tour
On Tuesday as a birthday present the missus treated me to a tour of Brisbane Road hosted by the one and only Barry Galvin. While obviously, like most of you reading this, I spend a considerable amount of my time at the ground, it was fascinating to see behind the scenes into some of the areas that us fans don’t get to see. Most specifically the inner sanctum of the home dressing room and the gantry from which the commentators and press watch the matches. If you haven’t had the opportunity to go on the tour yet, I would highly recommend it. With an extra special mention to Partnership Account Manager, Pa Lette, for making it even more special.
Donation to the JE3 Foundation
On Wednesday, which would of course have been Justin’s 55th birthday, I had the immense honour of donating the first year’s proceeds from my book “You don’t choose your football Club, it finds you.” to the JE3 Foundation. In the end we managed to generate a total of £1500 to the cause that is so dear to all of our hearts. I can only, once again, offer a huge thank you to everyone who has bought a copy, hopefully our contribution will help the foundation in some small way in their ongoing invaluable work.
If you haven’t managed to buy a copy yet, I believe there is still a very limited number behind the bar in the Supporters Club, and of course it is still available on Amazon (https://football-nerd.org/2024/01/16/breaking-news-new-orient-book-hits-the-shelves/), I am led to believe that it would make an ideal Christmas present for any O’s fan, or football fan in general, mind you I would say that wouldn’t I!
Finally before signing off for this week, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has read, commented, liked or mentioned these weekly musings. It means a hell of a lot! I hope you all have a wonderful break over the festive period, the O’s do us proud and we head into the new year reinvigorated and looking up the table rather than over our shoulders. Until next time…
Up The O’s!
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