4:59pm Saturday 6th February 2010
Orient 1
Brighton 1
League One
ORIENT played out a feisty draw with fierce rivals Brighton & Hove Albion in a game that saw both goals stem from two horrendous back-passes.
First, O's keeper Jamie Jones made a mess of a poor pass from Adam Chambers to gift Glenn Murray the opener. But Orient hit back in the second half when Brighton gave away a free-kick in their own box that Scott McGleish eventually drove home.
Immediate signs suggested Orient would carry the momentum generated by their 5-0 thumping of Bristol Rovers in midweek into the game when Nicky Adams swung a dangerous ball into the box, which a defender sliced clear, only for the ball to fall at the feet of Adam Chambers, the midfielder blasting his effort over the bar.
But that was to be the only shot the hosts would muster for more than 40 minutes, as Brighton took over.
The dye was cast in the tenth minute when Chambers fired a back-pass to Jamie Jones, but the goalkeeper made a complete hash of his attempted first-time pass wide to Stephen Purches. The ball squirmed out to Murray, and the striker sold Jones a dummy to leave him flat on his back before knocking the ball into the unguarded net.
Orient had a golden opportunity to strike back within four minutes, Purches bombing forward and receiving a clever chest-down from Ryan Jarvis, but the right-back scuffed his shot and ended up sprawled on the floor.
After that, the visitors gained a stranglehold on the game and could easily have been five up by half-time, playing against ten men.
Defender Tommy Elphick should have done better when he found himself unmarked at the back post but he too fluffed his lines and Jones collected the ball.
Then, remarkably, the woodwork denied Brighton twice when McGleish skewed a header from Elliott Bennett's corner that bounced onto the bar twice before the danger was eventually cleared.
The Seagulls were celebrating just after the half hour mark when the excellent Liam Dickinson fired a superb ball across the face of goal that Murray clipped into the far corner, but the linesman had raised his flag for a marginal offside.
Five minutes later and Dickinson was in the thick of the action again, proving just why Derby County forked out £750,000 for his services in buying him from Stockport County 18 months ago.
The striker got the wrong side of Ben Chorley to collect a ball over the top and as he bore down on goal appeared to be hauled to the ground by the centre-half. But referee Steve Cook waved away Brighton's vociferous appeals. The protestations from the bench were deemed too vociferous in fact, as Cook then sent Albion manager Gus Poyet to the stands.
Orient were at panic stations and they would have been praying to make it into half-time still just the one goal down. They managed that, but not before Bennett skimmed the apex of the goal frame with a delicious free-kick from 28 yards and Murray blazed over when well-placed from six yards.
McGleish managed the O's first shot on goal two minutes from the break but it was directed too close to keeper Michel Kuipers.
The half-time break saw the entire stadium bear witness to a marriage proposal, which was greeted by a chorus of 'you don't know what you're doing' from both sets of fans. The chant could easily have applied to Orient's first-half efforts.
But manager Geraint Williams must have put a rocket up his players during the interval, because they emerged with a sense of purpose.
And, ironically, it was from a back-pass that the home side found the equaliser.
Elphick sold Kuipers short with an errant pass and the keeper was forced to palm the ball away from the advancing Jarvis. Referee Cook awarded the free-kick, which Jason Demetriou laid off to Sean Thornton. The Irishman thundered a shot into the wall but the ball looped on to the foot of McGleish, who managed to guide his shot between Kuipers and the near post.
The striker, who had been copping plenty of stick from the travelling army of supporters, sprinted straight over to the East Stand and turned his shirt around to show off his name and number to the Brighton fans; a celebration which earned him a yellow card.
Orient looked to press for a second but it was Brighton who had the best chance to retake the lead. Murray galloped to the left by-line and fired a ball across goal. Jones got down to push it away and Chorley completed the clearance.
Jonathan Téhoué was brought on for Jarvis, with the Frenchman eager to build on his O's account, which he opened in the 5-0 rout of Rovers on Tuesday.
McGleish was also withdrawn by Williams, possibly with an eye on the heated battle going on on the pitch and the anger pouring his way from the stands, with James Scowcroft coming on in his place.
Both teams were going for the winner, and Bennett forced an smart save from Jones, who dove to keep out his left-footed effort, partially atoning for his earlier misdemeanour.
As the game entered its final stages, Charlie Daniels stung the keeper's hands with a rasping effort from 20 yards. Adams followed up but his shot was blocked out for a corner. Ben Chorley also saw a curling striker collected by Kuipers.
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