20 March 2011

Brentford 2 Leyton Orient 1, 20/3/11

A game in which... Orient dominated possession with slick passing and incisive attacking, creating numerous chances as they did so. Unfortunately this was entirely confined to the second half of the game, by which time they were already 2-0 down. I'm not suggesting the team were asleep in the first half, but Jimmy Smith was wearing pyjamas, Adam Barrett was snoring and Elliot Omozusi was curled up in the foetal position sucking his thumb.

Still, we can hardly blame them - the team have been on a hell of a run. And, like Konnie Huq's career as a TV presenter, everything has to end sooner or later.

Moment to savour... A jaw-dropping Jamie Jones save deep into the second half that saw him palm a fierce ball over the crossbar despite the fact he was already travelling in the wrong direction in mid-air - presumably anticipating a Matthew Spring own goal attempt.

Head in hands moment... The ease with which Myles Weston turned Matthew Spring to set up Brentford's second goal. The Orient midfielder wasn't simply left for dead, but read his last rites, embalmed and cremated too.

King for a day... After a run of games in which he's struggled to make an impact, this was a return to form for Scott McGleish. He made so much of a nuisance of himself in the second half, Brentford must have felt like they were tasked with babysitting a Red Bull-guzzling toddler.

Boo boy... Gary Alexander, apparently. The former Os striker took a lot of stick from the away fans, not least for his unnecessary cupped ear celebration of his goal. Who do you think you are, Gary, Nicklas Bendtner? (Actually, don't answer that.)

In the dug out... Probably not much else Russ could have done today, save for reminding the team the game started at 3pm, not 4pm. And what's the deal with dropping Terrell Forbes for Elliot Omozusi in the centre of defence?

What would Martin Ling have done? Sung the praises of Brentford's number 29. "Their striker really impressed me," he'd say. "Reminded me of a slightly older Gary Alexander. What? Oh, it was Gary Alexander."

Play-offs? Opposition teams are now clocking on to our tactics (for example, stopping us from playing it out from the back every time Jamie Jones has the ball) but the play-offs remain in our own hands and there's two winnable home games coming up. As Cher once sang through a mouthful of Botox: "Do you believe?"