Leyton Orient v Scunthorpe United

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Football League One

Leyton Orient :
Garner, Miller, Palmer, Mackie (sent off 59), Saah, Tudor (Thelwell 62), Corden (Tann 63), Easton, Guttridge, Hooper (Demetriou 89), Ryan Jarvis
Subs not used:
Morris, Duncan

Scunthorpe United :
Murphy, Mulligan, Ridley (Williams 88), Crosby, Foster, Taylor (Hurst 88), Morris, Goodwin (Hinds 88), MacKenzie, Beckford, Sharp
Subs not used:
Lillis, Butler

SULSESC REPORT

by Keith Solomon at Brisbane Road

A MANIC adolescent spending 90 minutes giving the rods to the assembled visitors, ticket frenzies prior to bog standard away games ...so THIS is what top of the league is all about!

In times of relative success, the hard bitten old gits tend to be the balancing few among the ridiculous optimism of youth, but a shared sense of disbelief appeared to twinkle over the Iron's sympathisers as March drew to a close and we still held numero uno spot in the table.

Quite what our esteemed guest, Mr. Calvo-Garcia, made of it all, who knows, but the sight of someone who is actually associated with success was as precious as a rabbit's foot to the superstitious in the crowd.

First-half frolics saw the Iron with a serious bout of stage fright and in a shaft of bleeding obviousness...Corden (who else?) gave the O’s the lead in the closing minutes of the half.

Half-time and an opportunity to put a brave face on matters and hope nobody realised what a prophet of crapness I may have brought by my presence. Fear not, I thought, the second-half awaits, as talking to myself simply added to the air of madness in the midst.

MacKenzie's leveller brought joyful cheer from the visiting hordes, as the O’s decided to show off and play the last half hour with ten men. Finally, the innocence of youth showed its face as optimism reared its ugly head, to finger wagging admonishment from those who have seen such episodes before.

The prospect of at least a point kept spirits reasonably high, despite Garner, the O's custodian, making saves I guess he knew little about.

The groan of dismay when Hooper scored a late goal for the O's hit the pit of collective stomachs, as vicious in its thrusting force as consumption of a Brisbane Road pasty.

Old gits once more mused how such a late blow has seldom seen a response from the Iron, which proved, in a nutshell, why this, of all seasons, is bizarre in the extreme. Sharp's last minute leveller brought a sweet end to a tiring day in the Eastern wastelands and Orient youth was left to flash his gestures to the whistle bringing matters to a close.

If we do this and Bristol do that and Forest do something else altogether...such are the imponderables that will excite, amaze and worry us, but think back to August, hoping Bristol City were good and unbelievably...the dream is still alive.