Oh dear. It just gets worse. A London Derby which the players were apparently 'well up for' turned quickly into a farce. The result does flatter Brentford somewhat but there's no getting away from the fact Orient were crap.
It was my first trip to Griffin Park and possibly my last! I was impressed by the character of the ground compared to so many of the flat pack grounds around today (including 3 sides of Brisbane Road). While standing on the terrace I imagine the place looked exactly the same 30 years ago.
In the opening minutes Orient looked good with the ball but then just as in the last game we let in a very soft goal in the first 5 minutes and put ourselves on the back foot straight away. McGuinn picked up the ball on the left and Brentford had obviously done their homework because they had 3 men on that side of the pitch. Omozusi couldn't commit as he was out numbered, Smith was on the edge of the box but somehow thought it wasn't his job to get to the man and Richardson was slow getting back. It all added up to McGuinn having far too much time to hit a low shot into the bottom corner. Despite all the space for me Butcher should have done better at his near post.
From that point on Orient just about shaded the first half with a lot of possession but not a lot of threat going forward. The only real shot on goal was a clever chip by Cox from about 30 yards out that clipped the top of the bar. The way things are going at the moment, if that was a Brentford shot it would have hit the bar, rebounded off of Butchers head and gone in!
For me, the turning point of the game came just after Brentford scored. A ball over the top saw Mooney racing centre back Legge for the ball. Mooney got their first and was taken down when through on goal. The ref blew immediately but despite being the last defender somehow only a yellow card was issued. The ref bottled it and who knows what would have happened had it been a red with about 75 minutes to go.
The second half started and again an early goal from the opposition basically killed the game. Again, for me, a refs mistake meant that despite Alexander going in waist high on Omozusi, Brentford got given a free kick which was floated in to an unmarked Legge to nod home at the far post. Typical as well that it was a player who shouldn't have even been on the pitch.
Just a few minutes later another soft free kick got brilliant stroked into the top corner from Saunders who grabbed an almost identical 4th not long after.
To Orients credit they didn't give up and had a number of decent chances including Cureton somehow unable to make a 2 yard pass to a clean through Mooney and a clean through Cox hitting a hard hit shot too close to the keeper.
Brentford should have had a 5th when McDonald should have done better through on goal but the home team didn't have to wait long for another when Marcus Bean found himself in aches of space to turn and bury his shot in the bottom corner.
As the clock ticked down and the 700 travelling fans started to leave a good ball to the back post found Mooney who's diving header bounced off his chest and onto the post from 2 yards with Cox waiting to pass the ball into the net. As tiny Cox, just about the only player who earned their wages, walked off mouthing 'f*cking sh*t' it just about summed up Orients day.
In Review:
It just all went wrong. Simple as that. Every important decision seemed to go against us, yet again a team scores 3 against us from outside the box and again the team look fragile. The first half was a pretty decent performance for an away fixture but the team lost all shape and look all over the place at the back. Surely that's the rock bottom and things can only get better?
Ratings:
Butcher - 4 - Should have done better with the first goal and possibly the 4th. Didn't make a save but picked the ball out of the net 5 times.
Omozusi - 6 - Didnt do a lot wrong for me but was completely isolated down the right. Needs to cross the ball quicker instead of turning back every time.
Cuthbert - 5 - Individually didn't make any glaring mistakes but as a part of the two centre backs didn't do well.
Chorley - 5 - See Cuthbert.
Daniels - 7 - One of the few who didn't do too badly. Got down the left all game and linked with Cox well.
Smith - 5 - Played more centrally and didn't do a lot. Layed a few quality cross field balls over to Cox
Richardson - 4 - Did nothing. Looked out of his depth and was at fault for being out of position and not closing for their first goal.
Dawson - 5 - Huffed and puffed but still doesn't look fit.
Cox - 7 - Worked hard and caused problems for Brentford on occasion. Should have scored when clean through.
Revell - 6 - I'm not sure whether he was up front or on the right of midfield and I'm not so sure he knew either. Ran around a lot and won a fair few headers but hasn't had a sniff at goal this year.
Mooney - 6.5 - Not sure how he didn't score last minute but I thought he actually had a fairly good game. Had a good touch and held the ball up well.
Subs:
Cureton - 4 - Very disappointing so far. He couldn't make a 2 yard pass to get Mooney in and was offside about 4 times.
Laird- 6 - Looked quite assured on the ball and good to see him get some match time.
Slade - 5 - Didn't agree with taking Revell off when we were losing. Looks a bit disinterested.
Ref - 3 - Bottled the big decision of the game by not showing a red card and didn't let the game flow.
AS
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