VNL#14 vs. Leyton Orient (match-thread)

[Amber Aleman]

Forget the ref for the moment. This was a resilient defensive performance from Sutton, achieved without our injured captain. Orient were restricted to a handful of shooting opportunities, which were either wasted (one effort hitting the bar) or dealt with by Jamie B. We had fewer openings overall, but Jonah's cut-inside and shot early in the second half beat their keeper at his near post and gave us the lead to defend. This was their first defeat of the season, and a result of which we should be immensely proud.

[surreyu]

Worth remembering Aswad's clearance off the line in the first half from a corner, think he has been really impressive in recent games

[baggiesansutton]

Brilliant day brilliant performance thank you Sutton all credit to Doswell and the team.

[Amber Aleman]

Sept 29, 2018 23:06:59 GMT surreyu said:

Worth remembering Aswad's clearance off the line in the first half from a corner, think he has been really impressive in recent games

Good point! I'd forgotten that. We did have to defend several Orient corners.

[sol]

Brilliant win.
I was unfortunately working so missed out.

Two points this game raised for me:

1: We are a better team away from GGL. More compact, solid on the road and still very dangerous going forward. At home we inevitably take the game to our opponents and sometimes are to open.

2: Nicky Bailey, Kenny Davis & Craig Eastmond are without doubt one of the best midfield’s you can find in the NL. They don’t get to play with each other on a consistent basis for a number of reasons (one next week v Barrow - Eastmond suspended?).
And when they do play together we very rarely lose.

[sallycat]

What a great afternoon. Solid hard work from the team, great defending, excellent teamwork. And our support was great, particularly the younger lads - fantastic.

[timall]

Very impressive, professional performance against one of the top clubs in the league. The fact they had more players in their (compared to us) vast ground, and on the pitch pre-match warming up than we do in our entire squad speaks volumes about the differences in budgets and histories of our respective clubs.

Always a tight game and I think they underestimated us based on their success so far this season, some of our recent slip ups against lower league opposition, and on what happened in the game last year when we were top of the league.

As Dos said elsewhere we deployed a front three where others might have travelled to try and get a point with a sole front man. The combined age of our three was just 61.

The midfield trio are about as solid as you can get at this level, with professional experience at higher levels too, so knew exactly what to do. The central defence similar, doing exactly what was needed, with the full backs performing superbly both in defence, importantly, but in (counter) attacking roles too. I think someone pointed out in the Dover thread post-match analysis how the same set of players are better against a football playing team than against teams with tactics such as Dover and to slightly lessor extent Boreham Wood. Hard to argue comparing the final 20 minutes or so between yesterday and Tuesday night.

I'm also less comfortable in the inevitable "referee" debates we seem to get on every pot-match thread but really struggled with how we could lose the card count 7 - 0 yesterday. None of ours were particularly "dirty" just how combative you would expect when set up to play like we did, and defend a single goal lead. Even with Amber glasses on it didn't look consistent, and Craig was clattered late on in probably the nastiest tackle of the match and not even a free kick let alone a booking.

Reading their forum some are having a moan about time wasting from the start, but which team wouldn't be "professional" playing away in that manner, and we see it at GGL every match almost. If you are a big club, with that size of squad, and happy to have 30 kids on the pitch at half-time blasting out some punchy and aggressive lyrics, might I suggest some ball boys that will get the ball and return it promptly if you don't want to see opposition keepers and full backs walk at a sedate pace to retrieve the ball and resume play.

On to Barrow and lets hope we can follow up and keep the momentum. Normally winning your home games and drawing away to achieve an average of 2 points a game is enough to win the league, or at least be very close. We did it the wrong way around this week, but after 14 games we are only 2 shy of that (mmm, that second half Dover performance grates even more now!). Yet we are "only" 6th, with all the clubs above us making or exceeding that 2pts a game average, which shows just how tough and competitive the top of this division is this season.

[amberchoc]

Congratulations to the boys on another fantastic result.  Very well done.   

(Timall - presumably you meant "Even without Amber glasses on it didn't look consistent")

[localboy86]

Sept 29, 2018 23:06:59 GMT surreyu said:

Worth remembering Aswad's clearance off the line in the first half from a corner, think he has been really impressive in recent games

A good observation that I was going to make regarding Aswad, he looks a much more solid player for us this season and had another good game yesterday.

[markf]

What a fantastic win. Up there with defeating Lincoln and Tranmere on their own patch (perhaps O's fans shouldn't despair as both of them ended up getting promoted) and way back to our first season in the GMVC in 1986 when we beat Barnet at Underhill.

A tremendously solid performance from the back four and the three central midfielders kept an Orient attack at bay for much of the afternoon, the home sides best effort coming off the bar late on. O's movement up top was the best we have come up against this season but U's were watchful, hard working and resolute. The goal when it came took me by surprise. I really didn't expect a shot, even as precise as Jonah's effort to beat Brill from that far out. I thought it had gone wide before the realisation we were one up. It wasn't all defence from Sutton as we caused problems in the first half only for some fine last ditch defending preventing the shot to be got away.

A tremendous team performance and while Jonah got the nod in the nlp I think there was a host of U's players further back that had claim to the MotM award and if I was going to pick one it would be Dale Bennett.

The match, of course, was not without its trials for U's though. Craig E's fifth booking - no argument with that - and Tommy W limping off. That incident probably rankled with me more than any of the other stuff that went on. A clear two handed shove in the back when Tommy had got goal side of his opponent sent him sprawling. Brook just ignored it - he was the excuse for a ref btw - and when TW did eventually limp off he did so to a crescendo of booing from the fans of the lovely family club that Orient bill themselves as.

So, on to Mr Brook. It is personal now because he made it personal yesterday. His performance with his cards yesterday was an absolute disgrace. He could have only considered such an approach in an attempt to wind up the Sutton players and us sitting watching the whole appalling tale unfold. I have issue with Wayne Brown and Dan Wishart's yellows and possibly Aaron D who seemed to slip when bringing down their fella. By the end Brook had completely lost it and would have been better employed as a professional wedding goer such was the amount of confetti he chucked out (he was prolific towards the end of the Aldershot match too). We picked up six (an FA fine on the way) and O's absolute zero. How was the challenge on Jonah in the first half not a yellow card and how did they get away with grabbing hold of a U's player as they attempted to race away at least four times without any censure (in some cases not even a free-kick)? He couldn't have made his impartiality more obvious if he wanted to. That may appear a drastic statement but how else do you explain his conduct yesterday? It's not as if he hasn't done it before and not just at Aldershot either. I really can't fathom what problem he has with Sutton. He is sure a warm welcome should he get a fixture at GGL later in the season.

As for the O's fans both at the match and on social media some have a shed new light on their club. Little old Sutton winning at Brisbane Road just ain't allowed. The part-time upstarts defeating the full-timers on their own patch. We kicked em off the park apparently; someone could have got injured. The only injury to befall any player being to Tommy W (see above) somewhat blowing that tired old hackneyed view out of the water. What is it with some of the ex FL club fans and their sense of entitlement? Guess what? You're non-league now and I would have thought they would have learnt that after last season. Apparently not.

Jamie B accused of time wasting for not getting the ball while the ball boy sat ten yards away catching the rays from the early Autumn sunshine. U's six year old's last week were more on the ball than that young fella.

None of the above should detract from U's achievement to become the first team to defeat the O's this season and the first side to keep a clean sheet against them. As some of the more reasonable O's fans stated Sutton did a job on them yesterday. That job was to execute a well drilled game plan and take any bonuses that might come their way and it did thanks to Jonah's strike.

Oop north to Barrow next week for another tough assignment in this unrelenting division in which any one can beat anyone and that includes Sutton winning at the home of the self entitled.

[oxford]

I'm glad someone else thought it had gone wide.I couldn't believe it when the celebrations started!

[pinewalker]

I thought it best to wait for Frakey's assessment of Mr Brook. [BTW MF I think you mean 'partiality' i.e. bias].

But first a huge thank you and congratulations to the players for this brilliant win. Drinan was good, the first time I have thought so. Perhaps grass suits him better.

What a prima-donna that referee is. Playing to the crowd - he never cards half the home team and leaves the away side unbooked. There is hope though, the assessors (there are a pair at every VNL match) have got his number as a referee with significant flaws. And two of the new refs we have seen at GGL have been good - if there is such a thing as competition for places as referees Mr Brook may be shunted sideways. I live in hope.

[trev]

It was the perfect day for football, topping up my tan in a warm red plastic seat under a blazing Brisbane Road sun. I arrived suitably refreshed, having imbibed a few pints of Foundation at the Technical, one of the best away boozers I've been to for a long time. Well, since this time last season to be precise.

And Sutton United started with a similarly impressive foundation (geddit?), with the formidable back four of Thomas, Clough, Beckwith and Bennett proving particularly difficult for the Leyton strike force to break down, although our back line was undoubtedly assisted by the fact that we had a front three of Ayunga, Wright and Drinan, a very audacious set up away from home vs. the league leaders, and lest we forget, a team with a 13 game unbeaten run, their best start to a season in their 137 year history. Blimey!

Our formation, effectively a 4-1-2-3, with Bailey operating as the pivot in defensive midfield, deftly prevented Orient from committing numbers forward, as our youthful musketeers played a high line and kept pressing forward with the ball.

It was good to see Kenny Davis starting, we always play with a high degree of intensity whenever both Mitchell brothers occupy the midfield, and Eastmond played with the fire and brimstone of Craig at his best.

We looked so solid at the back without Collins. So solid, that our defensive collapse at home to Dover on Tuesday after he prematurely left the field is now even more of a head-scratcher than it was then. Although Easty had the armband, it was Clough who marshalled the back four, mopping up every stray ball effectively.

The best chance of the first half came just before the half hour mark, from a free kick just outside their area, which was blasted just over. I initially thought the foul took place inside their box, and I'd be very interested to see the replay of that..

About ten minutes later, their number 19 (Koroma) managed to edge past Cloughie, but he recovered very well to put in the all important tackle to prevent a one on one.

As others have said, the O's had a significant number of corners in both halves, but all were well dispatched by our defence and they never really threatened us from set pieces. At the end of the half, it was already clear how much better we were than last season away to Orient in all departments, especially at the back.

It wouldn't have surprised me if the game had ended 0-0, with both sides never really having the opportunity to break in the first half, and I knew it would take something special from either side to prevent a draw..

Our "yoof" were in incredible voice throughout the game, never letting the energy levels flag, a bit like our players to be honest, and even kept the singing going during the half-time interval with a rousing little number about Nicky Bailey and his supernatural headgear (okay, I'm paraphrasing)..

In the second half, we were shooting into the Leyton sunshine, which at the time I felt might give Orient a slight edge (ha!). How wrong was I? Eastmond had a powerful shot about six minutes into the second half, but it was straight down the keeper's gullet. Easty always looks at his most potent when he's bursting forward from midfield..

A couple of minutes later, it was AYUNGAAAAA! [(C) Sohail Sahi] with a wonder strike just inside the left post, that left their keeper with virtually no chance. A great piece of individual skill. We needed something special to unlock the O's defence, and it truly was.

About a minute later, Tommy Wright had a shot blocked and it looked for a moment like Orient were on the ropes. Although they then had a corner, it was dealt with just as effectively as the others. A foul on Jonah, whom the O's defence were having increasing difficulty in containing, resulted in another free kick to the side of their box, but Wright's delivery had too much on it, and the ball went out from a goal kick. I'd would have liked to see us make more of that dead ball situation in a potentially dangerous area. Perhaps one of our midfielders would have been better off delivering that one? But now I'm nitpicking...

Moments later Easty got a booking, too much contact for the ref's liking, he was playing with some real fire in his belly and gave the O's players no space to express themselves. He was relentless.

By now, all the noise was coming from our fans, and the momentum was well and truly with us. Orient undoubtedly sensed that, and I'm sure that's what led to a particularly clumsy challenge on Wright, which sent him sprawling to the ground. In spite of being one of the most clear and unequivocal fouls you're likely to see all season, the ref gave nothing, and much to our chagrin, the O's were allowed to counter after committing the foul, but fortunately the ensuing shot went well over the bar. Justice.

As Wright was still down in their half, the ref halted play, eventually, and Tommy hobbled to the sideline. The ref finally allowed him back onto the field, but you could see Tommy was struggling and could take no further part in proceedings. Bolly came on for Wright, leading to Drinan drifting more into the centre where Wrighty had been playing, to allow Bolly to play on the right where his strength lies.

A particularly dextrous and jinking run from their number 7 (McAnuff, whom I recall from my West Ham season ticket holding days in the early 2000's) earned yet another O's corner. Yet again, well dealt with, in spite of the fact that I'd lost count of the number of their corners by this point, well into double figures, so clearly some serious training ground work has been put in by us.

Davis came on for Brown, pretty much a like for like swap, and in spite of using our 2nd substitution we didn't seem to be losing any of our intensity, although by this point I felt we weren't feeding Ayunga enough as he was rampant going forward on the left and they clearly couldn't handle him. I saw him call for the ball a couple of times when he was in space, but it didn't come his way. When he did get the ball to his feet with about 10 minutes to go, he let loose with another shot very similar to the one which led to his goal, only this time it was just wide of the left post.

A couple of minutes later, Jonah went off to a standing ovation, myself included. I was a little surprised he was subbed off, because he didn't seem to be showing any signs of fatigue, and I felt he might have had another goal in him.

Wishart replaced him, and although he initially played a similar high line on the left to the position adopted by Ayunga, he kept dropping back, which didn't particularly make sense to me, as the left back position was already being occupied more than capably by Aswad.

I did feel for Dan though, because he was booked by the ref after their lanky number 21 (Ekpiteta) blatantly dived after minimal contact. In fact, there may not have been any contact at all.

With Wish dropping back, we didn't have the same effective front 3 any more, and Orient kept coming onto us. After playing with such positivity the whole game, I felt we allowed an unnecessary element of negativity into our play towards the end (nitpicking again, sorry!). With hindsight, I think that Lafayette would have made a better substitution for Ayunga, to hold the ball in their half for Drinan and Bolly to run onto.

In the closing stages of the game, some O's fans had seen enough, and they were therefore deprived of bearing witness to their best chance of the game, a dangerous looking shot from outside the area which bounced off our crossbar. With five minutes added on, Wish got beaten on the left, and not for the first time, but the ensuing attack was fortunately flushed out.

Deep into injury time, Easty was cynically hacked with a heavy challenge that upended him by the touchline, and the ref didn't give anything. I seldom comment on individual referees unless their display is particularly egregious, and this specimen was an unqualified disgrace. Only a throw in when it should have been a free kick and a card.

The one-sidedness of the officiating made the closing stages far more tense than they otherwise should have been, but finally the whistle blew for a very hard-earned 1-0 victory. Ayunga was man of the match for me, a mature and self-assured performance, but really you could have awarded MOTM to any of our starting eleven and I'd have had very little complaints about that.

What impressive progress relative to our 4-1 loss here last season. And it's worth reiterating that this win came against a side experiencing their best ever start to a season in 137 years. What a bunch of party poopers we are!

That starting formation was a tactical masterstroke. Gutsy, and it paid off big time. An excellent team performance.

Speaking of which, Sutton United Ladies had a ram-raiding 6-0 win away to Brentford on Sunday, a side with considerably more resources than us, given the Championship credentials of their men's team. Up to 2nd in the table now and unbeaten, with a game in hand against top of the table, yes you've guessed it, Leyton Orient!

Sutton United, punching well above our weight in all departments at the moment...

[oohaah]

Oct 1, 2018 0:08:18 GMT trev said:

with a rousing little number about Nicky Bailey and his supernatural headgear

So he hasn't got a Magic Cat then?

[trev]

That might explain the lack of hair..