So for the third season in a row the O’s got off to a losing start. As optimistic as I was trying to be going into Saturday’s match at Huddersfield, at the same time deep down I was also a little bit concerned that the sheer turnover of players and the relatively short turnaround after being in the play-off final, would likely mean that it might take a little time for the team and squad to gel. So it was to prove.

While on the face of it I don’t think our performance was terrible, we did seem to be off the pace throughout the match. Once again sloppy defensive errors proved to be our undoing. Maybe it might have been a different story if new striker Aaron Connolly had found the back of the net with a very early chance that crashed back off the post before he fired the rebound over, but we can’t deny that Huddersfield did a better job of creating and then taking their chances.

The injuries that deprived us of two of our most influential and important players in Idris El Mizouni and Omar Beckles, and the fact that five of our starting eleven were making their competitive debuts for the club (albeit Josh Koroma having played for us six years previously), inevitably impacted our performance; but there just seemed to be a lacklustre feel to our play. 

Going 1-0 down after just 7 minutes from a header from a set piece by a poorly marked big centre back (something that has been an all too common error over recent times!), meant we were always going to be chasing the game, but did we ever truly look like getting back into it?

When Alfie May converted from the penalty spot 10 minutes into the second half, it felt right there and then that the game was up for us. The quadruple substitution with just over 20 minutes remaining, which saw Jack Moorhouse, Joe White, Jack Simpson and Zech Obiero replace Tom James, Sean Clare, Azeem Abdulai and Tyreeq Bakinson, seemed to be a roll of the dice to see what might happen, but ultimately did little to impact the outcome of the match. Ruben Roosken’s third goal in added time just seemed to sum up our afternoon.

Speaking to Dave Victor after the game, a clearly irked Richie Wellens suggested that the performance was “extremely poor”, our play was “too slow”, we were “immature” at times, and that Huddersfield could have scored more if it hadn’t been for Tommy Simkin. The young loanee keeper certainly looked the part for me and made some impressive and important saves. 

While it is always disappointing to get off to a losing start, it is of course still very early days in what is a very long season. The important thing now is to pick ourselves up, get some points on the board and quickly, and to not have a prolonged poor run to start the season again. While we recovered remarkably well from a poor start last season, surely it has to be preferable to establish some early momentum.

It won’t be easy of course as next up we face Wigan, who ran out comfortable 3-1 winners at home to Northampton in their opening match. Then after the League Cup tie at home to Wycombe on Tuesday, we face Stockport at home before travelling to newly relegated Plymouth. 

Richie also suggested that we can anticipate further arrivals before the end of the transfer window, with the first of these being announced on Monday: 19 year old winger Lemar Gordon signing from Fulham. The departure of Dan Agyei and the fact that Sonny Perkins was subbed at half-time for Ollie O’Neill at Huddersfield suggests that this is a position that we have been looking to improve. It is also clear that we need another striker to either share the workload with or complement Aaron Connolly, although at the time of writing there doesn’t seem to be an announcement imminent.

Beyond further additions, we really need to establish a first choice starting line-up, and quickly. If they are sufficiently fit we have to assume that both El Miz and new club skipper Omar Beckles will go straight into the starting line-up. If Michael Craig is fit will he start or is Tom James still deemed to be the starting right back?

Another key question is what is our preferred set-up in midfield? In the pre-season matches against Tottenham U21’s and Watford we seemed to play with a more traditional 4-3-3 formation with one holding midfielder and two further advanced, or will we revert to the trusted 4-2-3-1 of previous seasons? If it is the latter who will play at number 10? What involvement is planned for young loanees Jack Moorhouse and Joe White, are they seen as ready to start, or will they be given time to learn the ropes and adapt as Jamie Donley did so effectively last season?

I suspect we might start to see the answers to some of these questions in the next few matches, although it is a fine balance that needs to be struck between bedding players in and picking up points. Here’s hoping for a more encouraging performance tomorrow afternoon!

Up the O’s!