O's fan's view: 'We just couldn’t get a foothold' (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Leyton Orient fan Rowland Lyons shares his thoughts

5:10pm Wednesday 1st February 2012 in Sport By Rowland Lyons

The O’s served up an absolute shocker of a performance last Saturday against a team that has been struggling of late.

It’s seven home defeats now and it really does make you wonder whether home is where the heart is. Granted, there was a reasonable turn out from the home support. But, once the visitors had taken the lead – albeit fortuitously – all you could hear were the voices of the 700-strong travelling fans.

If we are to have any play-off aspirations, Brisbane Road needs to become a fortress – and this latest reverse on our own patch frustratingly comes after a season’s best display only seven days beforehand. Away wins are no good if you can’t capitalize on your home form.

It was patently obvious that the one up-front game plan was never going to work against the likes of the giant Magnus Okuonghae. Or did we actually have a game plan? However we set-up didn’t work in the cup against Gillingham. So, how was it going to pay off against Colchester? It certainly did for the U’s and it was strange that a defender in Karl Duguid should be playing wide out on the right.

It was the veteran’s cross that led to our own goal and their formation contributed to them stifling our play. To be honest, they kept their shape and we failed to break them down – it was as simple as that. Frustrating too that the former ‘U’, Kevin Lisbie, couldn’t convert either of his presentable chances, but it was just not our day when the ref failed to award a ‘nailed-on’ first-half penalty.

That set the scene for the remainder of a forgettable afternoon and despite Gavin Massey’s early second-half ‘miss of the century’, we just couldn’t get a foothold.

It should have been a day of celebration, with Dean Cox extending his stay at E10 for another three years plus. But elsewhere, we are lacking in the full-back department and Terrell Forbes is not a long-term right-back solution. Moreover, I don’t really think loan signings are the key. But, during this period of the season – aka the transfer window – unless a player is out of favour, who really is going to let someone go – unless it’s for decent money?

A few more home results like this and we could find ourselves nervously looking over our shoulders towards the dreaded League Two trapdoor.

And the games don’t get any easier with a trip to a potentially frozen North in the shape of Oldham at Boundary Park this coming Saturday. We hardly ever win there – so what better time to turn the tables!

Keep the faith.

Up the O’s.