The Bet

[Faramir]

5.12.07

Newcastle (4) Leyton Orient (1) Extra Time- League Cup 4th Round

Newcastle- Mista 76,93 C.Bellamy 98,107

Orient- K.Richardson 26-P

MOM- Yildiray Basturk, Newcastle

Orient made a good showing at St.James Park as they tangled with Newcastle with no regulars in the starting lineup. Newcastle was much the better side overall for the match, but wasn't able to exploit their advantage until the match went into extra time. Orient took the lead in the match when Daniele Bonera was called for a handball in the area. Kieran Richardson converted the penalty for his 1st Orient goal and the lead. Newcastle held much of the pressure in the first half, but had few chances in close. Orient wasted a couple golden chances to build on the lead when Shay Given twice stopped Erik Nevland in close-in situations. The second half mirrored the first as Newcastle continued to hold more of the play and Per Morten Kristiansen continued keeping the slate clean. That ended when Mista took a headed ball from Patrick Paauwe and easily beat Kristiansen inside the far right post when Michael Duberry could not move over and promptly challenge him. Mista scored the first of Newcastle's extra time barrage when Adrian Nevins hesitated much too long and then dumped a short pass to Clint Hill that Craig Bellamy took away and chipped to the unattended Mista. Bellamy then notched a goal as the Orient backline floundered in extra time, when he simply ran away from Hill and Duberry failed to make any move to intercept him. He added his 2nd of the match when Yildiray Basturk sent a nice pass and he volleyed it off the inside of the post to complete the 4-1 comeback win.

***

"What a wasted chance," sighed Field.

"Lots of disappointing performances to go around," agreed Drabek. "Nevland looked lost when he had those good chances- I thought he was a scorer through and through- but I don't know how much playing time he will get after today- if he scores either of those, we should win this match. I am also less than enthralled by any backline play- Nevins was hesitant on moving the ball, not just the costly time- but other times as well. We just let this one slip away..."

[Faramir]

12.12.07

Leyton Orient (3) Juventus (1)

Orient- M.Harding 37 D.Arrieta 81,90

Juventus- P.Nedved 64

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

In a match that seemed to turn in the early stages, it was the late match work by Danilo Arrieta that finally sent Orient to a 3-1 win over favored Juventus. In the 6th minute David Poole headed a long pass forward for Johann Torhallsson. It appeared that Torhallsson would reach the ball first and be in on Gianluigi Buffon, but Nicola Legrottaglie hacked him down from behind. The referee immediately redcarded him, which left Orient feeling better about their chances, but still wary of the pace advantage held by the Italian side. After Buffon came up with a couple exceptional saves, it was a goalmouth scramble that led to Orient's first goal. On a Bojan Djordjic corner, Poole's header bounced off a defender and out toward the edge of the area. Mark Harding was first to the ball and wheeled and fired. The ball bounced off Mark Iuliano and past Buffon for Harding's 1st goal at Orient. Despite some good chances, Orient couldn't build on the lead and was left rueing their wastefulness when Pavel Nedved boomed a 25 yard free kick past Per Morten Kristiansen to equalize. It was sub Danilo Arrieta to the rescue for Orient though as he came on for an ineffective Torhallsson. Poole sent him away with a superb header and then with Buffon and Arrieta both going hard for the ball- it slipped away from Buffon, leaving Arrieta with an easy time slotting it into the net. Orient then scored the clincher when Buffon parried a Titus Bramble header on a free kick, only to see Arrieta in the right spot to slam the rebound past him to finish the 3-1 win that delighted a record Brisbane Road crowd. The win allowed Orient to finish in 2nd place in the Group to Juventus and sends them on to the 2nd round play. The draw brought Orient fellow EPL side (and current EPL leader) Arsenal with the first leg at Brisbane Road. Dinamo Kiev beat Real Sociedad 3-1 in Spain to finish 3rd in the Group.

[Faramir]

15.12.07

Coventry (2) Leyton Orient (1)

Coventry- S.Ameobi 46,84

Orient- J.Torhallsson 81

MOM- Shola Ameobi, Coventry

Orient looked nothing like the club who beat Juventus as they fell on the road to Coventry in a close 2-1 match. After a scoreless first half, with both clubs having a bit of the play, Coventry broke on top when they exploited Carl Laurie down the right side. Laurie's indecision allowed a pass over him- which Eidur Gudjohnsen crossed to Shola Ameobi. Ameobi overpowered Mark Harding in the air and directed it past Tommy Lee. Orient attempted to rally and finally were able to equalize when Ryan Garry made a superb long pass to put Johann Torhallsson free. Torhallsson whistled a shot past Steve Harper to even the match at 1-1. Coventry then crushed Orient's hopes of a comeback as they almost exactly repeated their first scoring sequence. The second time it was Lee Sims who got caught pressing forward and it was Gary McShefferty who crossed to Ameobi. Lee looked out of position as Ameobi had an easy time deflecting it inside the post. Orient appeared to even the match again at 89 minutes as Stephen Pearson broke clean down the center of the pitch on the dribble- only to see his goal ruled off when a disputed offside was called on Torhallsson. Orient Manager Will Drabek had to be restrained by Assistant Spencer Field as he was completely incensed at the call and may face FA fines due to post match comments.

***

"I really don't give a damm if they fine me Spencer. How in the world could they call Johann offside when Pearson was breaking clean on the dribble down the middle?? There wasn't any offside- the ball wasn't past Johann- Stephen was in clean- argh!" railed Drabek.

"I agree it was a bad call. But protesting the fine isn't going to solve that," offered Field.

"Don't worry- I won't protest it- but it was a stupid call nonetheless," grumbled Drabek.

[Faramir]

22.12.07

Leyton Orient (1) Bolton (1)

Orient- J.Torhallsson 11

Bolton- R.Wilkie 31

MOM- Russell Howarth, Bolton

Orient wasted another chance to put a win in the column as they could not see off a stubborn Bolton side at Brisbane Road. After Johann Torhallsson had given the Orient the lead with a wicked low shot after David Poole headed across to him, they allowed defender Ryan Wilkie a run through the heart of their defense. When Tommy Lee hesitated on trying to collect the ball, Wilkie had an easy time taking it around him for the equalizer. From that point the visitors leaned on the strong play of Russell Howarth. Howarth made several sensational saves to allow Bolton to split the points in the 1-1 draw.

***

"No doubt about it- if you can sign him on free, he is worth it," excitedly added Field.

"Yep, I agree with you on him," commented Drabek.

Orient Signs Samuelson

Almost immediately after Viking released Jone Samuelson- he found a new home. Leyton Orient was pleased to sign him on free and it is expected he will be in their midfield mix after some orientation training.

[Faramir]

26.12.07

Aston Villa (2) Leyton Orient (1)

Villa- N.Solano 16 Z.Vryzas 45

Orient- D.Poole 38

MOM- Jloyd Samuel, Aston Villa

Orient were forced to play a man down from the 41st minute when Danny Guthrie was redcarded for kicking at Simone Barone. Villa took advantage of that when Zisis Vryzas was able to knock a rebound past Tommy Lee in first half injury time for the eventual match winning goal. Earlier in the first half, Fabian Vargas had only received a yellow card for pushing Guthrie down- and Orient Manager Drabek could be seen staring in stony silence at the referee after the redcard. Villa scored first in the match when Ryan Giggs made a lightning left side run and then crossed to Norberto Solano. Solano, who David Livermore was right with, had an inexplicably easy header when Livermore didn't make a move on the ball. Orient rallied to even the match when Johann Torhallsson headed to a moving David Poole and Poole beat Thomas Sorensen with a 20 yard blast. Sorensen made several excellent saves on Poole and Torhallsson in the first half, before the Guthrie send off put Orient in a defensive mode.

***

Drabek sighed, "I am ready to fine Guthrie. That was a stupid move- and his action contributed to a loss. Instead, I think I will transfer list him though and see if there continues to be interest in him."

Field shrugged, "I think you might want to reconsider on Danny- sure he had a bad match and used poor judgement- but he is only 20- and still has a wealth of talent. David Livermore was also terrible today. You might want to think about getting Michael Stewart in there more- because Livermore's play also was part of the reason we lost."

Drabek pondered, "You're right Spencer. I am just frustrated that we can't get any consistency out of them this season."

"They're young- they are going to do that. We just have to continue to work on developing them. We have a lot of talent here, we just need to put the pieces together correctly.

[Faramir]

29.12.07

Leyton Orient (1) Tottenham (0)

Orient- D.Arrieta 90

Tottenham- None

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

Just when it looked like Orient had wasted another effort with ineffective finishing, they jumped up and scored in the last moments of the match to steal away a 1-0 win. The match was an important one to both clubs as Orient came in a place below Tottenham in a matchup of the 7th and 6th placed clubs. Orient generated several chances in the early going, but Tim Howard came up with a superb save on David Poole. Tommy Lee was also playing well in the Orient net and he stopped both Robbie Keane and Helder Postiga on good scoring chances. Postiga also missed wide when he appeared certain to score after Keane had broken down the Orient defense on his dribble and crossed smartly to an unattended Postiga. Orient sent the Brisbane Road crowd home happy when Mark Harding headed a clearing kick ahead to Poole. Poole used excellent vision to spot Danilo Arrieta moving down the middle after shedding his marker. Poole's pass gave Arrieta enough time to smash a low shot past Tim Howard inside the near left post in the 2nd minute of injury time and Orient had a desperately needed 1-0 win.

***

"Wow!" smiled Drabek.

"Wow! is right," chuckled Field.

"I was already composing the usual tripe for the press conference," laughed Drabek.

"Glad it wasn't needed- that really was a huge goal for us- we needed that win pretty badly," commented Field.

"Yes, we did. Another disappointing performance by Johann- Danilo has certainly earned more playing time for the rest of the season. Adam Roberts was impressive as well- showed a lot of moxie for a 17 year old."

"Stewart was disappointing- I thought he would help more, but he looked totally lost out there," grumbled Field.

"Jone (Samuelson) did a nice job subbing on for him though- I was satisfied with his effort."

***

"We got him!" exclaimed Drabek.

"Great! After all that effort- still can't believe that ManU was willing to let him go- especially with how much they are struggling as well," commented Field.

Orient Splashes for Fox

In a surprise move, Leyton Orient had their 3.1 Million Transfer Bid for midfielder David Fox accepted by Manchester United. Fox, a promising 24 year old, hadn't been able to get significant playing time at ManU and was pleased to sign a contract bringing him to a more favorable role at Leyton Orient.

[Faramir]

1.1.08

Wolves (3) Leyton Orient (1)

Wolves- B.Ferguson 4 H.Camera 33 R.Rickets 42

Orient- R.Calliste 65

MOM- Rohan Ricketts, Wolves

It was another disappointing effort for Orient as they fell to the Wolves 3-1. Nothing was working particularly well for Orient and the only bright spot seemed to be a solid debut by newly acquired midfielder David Fox. Tommy Lee was subpar for the match as Barry Ferguson scored the first goal with a 30 yard free kick that sailed past Lee to give Orient a nightmare opening. Orient's own backline blunder contributed to the 2nd goal as Carl Laurie turned to pass to Jonathan Spector and instead put it right to Henri Camera. Camera's pace put him away cleanly and he had an easy time slotting his shot past Lee. Lee was clearly at fault on and out of position when Wolves made it 3-0 as Rohan Ricketts launched a 30 yard shot that sailed past him as he watched helplessly. Orient scored a consolation goal when Darren Ambrose made a good cross from the right sideline and Ramon Calliste sent it into the near side of the net before Conejo Perez could react. The 3-1 loss drops Orient into 8th in the EPL standings.

***

"Well, that was a brutal performance," grumbled Drabek.

"Amen to that. We haven't played many first halves that bad in the time we have been on staff here- absolutely no execution on our part," agreed Field.

"No where to go from that performance but up. At least our next match is FA Cup at Southend."

Field nodded, "These injuries are causing us a lot of problems. To have Titus Bramble, Ryan Garry and now both Mark Harding and Jonathan Spector out at the same time- that's 4 of our regular starters."

Drabek shrugged, "That is what depth is for- now we see if ours is good enough."

[Faramir]

5.1,08

Southend (0) Leyton Orient (0) FA Cup 3rd Round

Southend- None

Orient- None

MOM- Mark Warren, Southend

Plucky 3rd Division Southend gave Orient all that it could handle as they battled to a scoreless draw at Roots Hall. Orient showed an improved passing attack, but their poor finishing again was to blame for the replay that will be staged at Brisbane Road. Alan Neal was sharp when he had to be in net for Southend and well supported by their backline play, headed up by their skipper Mark Warren. Daniel Carr did solid work in the Orient end as he also kept a clean sheet.

***

"Midway point through the season, you would think the sky had fallen if you looked at the press this morning," offered Field.

Drabek chuckled, "Alarmists! Actually, for what we have been through- we aren't in as bad a shape as they make out. Sure, we are 8th- but that is what realistically was expected of us before the press decided we should be better. Take a look at the numbers, we are playing better than it looks in some ways. We have only given up 4 goals at home this season- yet we have 3 draws! How unlikely is that? Look at our road record too- we have scored 10 goals and given up 15- yet we have 3 wins NO draws and 7 losses? The other thing they forget is that since November 24th- when we hosted Liverpool- we will have played 12 matches including this Saturday's at Fulham. Only 3 of those 12 were at home- and one of those 3 was Juventus. So since that Liverpool match we will have played 7 EPL matches- only 2 of them at home. And they wonder why we suddenly aren't doing well?"

"At least after this Fulham match, the schedule balances out better," commented Field.

"If we can get our forwards scoring again, the whole schedule will look a lot better, that is the major difference so far this season," sighed Drabek.

[Faramir]

12.1.08

Fulham (3) Leyton Orient (2)

Fulham- M.Hudson 61 R.Delap 69 L.Graham 80-P

Orient- D.Poole 49 D.Arrieta 63

MOM- Mark Hudson, Fulham

In another demonstration of the rut they seem to be in- Orient played a fine offensive match at Fulham, but their backline and keeping collapsed in the 2nd half as they lost 3-2 in a match where they had taken a goal lead twice. Orient deserved to be ahead at halftime, but instead were still scoreless thanks to Fulham keeper Edwin van der Sar. On the Orient side, young Daniel Carr also did a creditable job in the first half, but was forced to leave the match at halftime due a thigh injury. After halftime, Orient came out with the jump and David Fox's excellent pass put David Poole away. Poole, who had been stopped cold by van der Sar three times in the first half, this time drilled a shot that trickled through to send Orient ahead. Fulham took advantage of a free kick to equalize, as Per Morten Kristiansen was slow to react on a slight deflection of Mark Hudson's free kick and it went right past him to even the match. Orient wasted little time retaking the lead as Bojan Djordjic broke down the left side and crossed to a racing Danilo Arrieta. van der Sar brilliantly parried Arrieta's first blast, but Arrieta was able to chip the ball into the open net for his 15th goal of the season. Shortly after the Orient midfield and backline allowed Rory Delap to move in unattended on a throw-in and he whistled a 25 yard shot past Kristiansen inside the post. The deciding goal of the match came when Carl Laurie was whistled for pushing Louis Saha in the area on a corner. Luke Graham converted the penalty kick to complete the 3-2 comeback win for the homeside and cap another disappointing loss for struggling Orient.

***

"We finally spring Poole and Arrieta and our backline plays like crap," sighed Drabek.

Field leaned on his elbows, "We are in a rut- we need one good match to shake it off."

[Faramir]

16.1.08

Leyton Orient (0) Southend (1) FA Cup 3rd round replay

Orient- None

Southend- M.Yeates 75

MOM- Chris Connolly, Southend

The minnows struck as Division 3 Southend broomed Leyton Orient out of the FA Cup in front of a stunned crowd at Brisbane Road. As has been the case for Orient, they managed little with their superior possessions. They were a half-step late on passes and generally made bad decisions in the offensive end. The backline also let down with one huge mistake as Adrian Nevins and Clint Hill both tried to play a ball and it went through to put Mark Yeates in alone on Tommy Lee. Yeates blistered a shot past Lee and that was the match winner as the stubborn Southend backline played superbly. Manager Drabek could be seen shaking his head at the woeful Orient performance and it is rumored that there are changes in the offing.

***

Drabek just stared out the window, "I don't know Spencer. We just aren't doing anything right. Making poor decisions on both sides of the ball. We had a few good moments in the match- but Johann Torhallsson really played awful again. He has been disappointing this season."

Field nodded, "We are always making that one big blunder defensively too- and it winds up costing us every time."

"Well, back to the training pitch. We have some major work to do."

[Faramir]

19.1.08

Millwall (1) Leyton Orient (3)

Millwall- D.Huckerby 15

Orient- D.Poole 9 J.Torhallsson 61,90

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

Orient suddenly awoke from the severe offensive draught and scored two late goals as they beat Millwall 3-1 at The New Den. David Poole gave Orient the lead early when Danilo Arrieta ran down a loose ball and crossed hard to Poole. Poole's half-volley sailed past Kevin Clark to move Orient up 1-0. Typically though, Orient wasted little time in giving back the goal as Jonathan Spector allowed Darren Huckerby too much room and his rising shot sailed past Tommy Lee into the far corner of the net to even the match at 1-1. Orient's frustrations were definately high as they seemed doomed to while away another match without being able to score a key goal. Instead, this time they got the goal they needed. Johann Torhallsson, subbing on for Arrieta, made a strong move to the net and Poole's pass allowed him an easy shot past Clark inside the post to push Orient ahead. Torhallsson then added his second of the match as he took the ball around Clark after a nice pass from Bojan Djordjic found him motoring past his marker.

[Faramir]

30.1.08

Leyton Orient (8) Blackburn (1)

Orient- J.Torhallsson 23,26,48,56,66,70,90 D.Poole 39

Blackburn- L.Hendrie 86

MOM- Johann Torhallsson, Leyton Orient

Orient was due for a breakout match, Johann Torhallson was due for a breakout match- what almost 17,000 Brisbane Road faithful got to see was an epic individual performance and a rousing Orient offensive revival in the 8-1 win. Orient, featuring their entire regular starting lineup for the first time in over 2 months, had pressure on Brad Friedal from the opening whistle. Friedal made a superb stop when he pushed David Poole's blast around the post and then Poole missed just wide on a 20 yard rocket. Johann Torhallsson started his heavenly effort when David Poole sent a pass for him in stride. Martin Taylor missed the header and Torhallsson had plenty of time to boom a shot- only to see Friedal parry it. Neither Taylor nor Nils-Eric Johansson was able to react quickly enough though and Torhallsson whisked the rebound past Friedal. #2 for Torhallsson came to cap a sensational passing sequence by Orient. Peter Fox started it with a looping pass that Danny Byrne immediately chipped to Poole. Poole then crossed hard and Torhallsson deflected it into the far corner of the net. Carl Laurie made a terrific pass to find David Poole in front of the Blackburn net and he rifled a 15 yard shot past Friedal for his 15th goal of the season and a 3-0 Orient halftime lead. Orient wasn't letting up though, and Danny Byrne broke in on the right baseline before crossing to the far post and Torhallsson's volley sailed in for his hat-trick and 10th goal of the season. Bojan Djordjic was the architect of the next Torhallsson goal as he sent a cross that found Torhallsson for a half-volley and his 4th goal of the match. Danilo Arrieta, who had subbed on for Byrne, took his turn at setting the table with a right side run and a cross that left Torhallsson an easy tap-in to the left side of the net for #5. It was Poole's turn again when Fox found him with a good pass and he tapped it over to unattended Torhallsson. His rising shot was by Friedal before he could react for goal #6. Lee Hendrie scored the Blackburn consolation goal after Fox left him with too much room just inside the area and his hard shot beat Tommy Lee cleanly. Torhallsson then capped his remarkable match in the waning moments of 2nd half injury time. He took the free kick at his teammates urging and Friedal came up with a stellar save, but the ball rolled away. First to the ball was Mark Harding who wheeled around and found an alert Torhallsson perfectly placed alone in front of the net to tap in the pass for his 7th goal of the match and the 8-1 Orient win.

***

"It's hard to believe Johann came into the match with a 5.40 rating in league play- he hadn't had a good match until he scored those two goals to give us the win over Millwall," smiled Drabek.

"Like you kept telling me though- he was due. He is just now starting to get back all the way to where he was before he missed those 6 months due to knee surgery," commented Field.

Drabek nodded, "Well, let's try and build on this one. We need to keep it going."

[Faramir]

31.1.08

Orient Blockbuster!

At the transfer deadline Orient completed a blockbuster transfer that will see Aaron Lennon moving to Italian side Juventus. Lennon, the talented 20 year old winger, was upset that he could not beat out Danny Byrne to start on the right wing. When Juventus expressed an interest, Manager Will Drabek immediately got to work. The terms of the agreement will reportedly see the Italian side paying Orient 4.2 Million over the next two years. Juventus will also send prized 26 year old Danish AMRLC Jan Kristiansen to Orient. Kristiansen, who had starred at Liverpool before being snapped up by Juventus, was never able to make a dent in the starting lineup for the Italian giant and was pleased to return to EPL play.

***

2.2.08

Newcastle (1) Leyton Orient (2)

Newcastle- Lucio 72

Orient- D.Poole 6 J.Torhallsson 74

MOM- Johann Torhallsson, Leyton Orient

There is no question for Orient now- Johann Torhallsson is back! After Newcastle managed to even the match in the second half, Torhallsson put himself in a great position and drove a header in for the match winner. It was a stirling match from start to finish as both clubs battled up and down the pitch and each had many good scoring chances, while each also came up with some superb defensive plays. Orient struck early when Bojan Djordjic made a neat move to spring the Orient counterattack. Djordjic's good pass to Johann Torhallsson left Jonathan Woodgate as the lone defender between Torhallsson and David Poole. When Woodgate committed to Torhallsson, Torhallsson sent the ball across to Poole who had an easy shot into the open right side of the net. Orient staged a determined defense as they fended off the rally attempts by the home side. Midway through the second half Jermaine Jenas found Patrick Paauwe free down the left side. Paauwe crossed into the middle and Lucio outleaped Titus Bramble and deflected the ball inside the near post past Daniel Carr, who was starting in place of injured Tommy Lee. Orient retaliated quickly though and Danilo Arrieta, subbing on for Danny Byrne, made a wonderful pass to Stephen Pearson in the area. Pearson pressed toward the corner of the net and then smartly crossed to Johann Torhallsson. Torhallsson made the half-volley and pushed the ball into the far side of the net for what would be the match winner. Newcastle suffered heartbreak when they sprung Nicolas Anelka in the closing moments, only to see his shot sail just over the crossbar. Jan kristiansen had a superb debut for Orient, before having to leave with a dead leg.

[Faramir]

6.2.08

Leyton Orient (5) Southampton (0)

Orient- D.Poole 9,15-P,47,68 C.Laurie 58

Southampton- None

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

Orient's improving fortunes were evident as they dominated visiting Southampton in a mid-week tilt. David Poole gave Orient the early lead as a nice pass from Johann Torhallsson allowed him to drive a shot off the inside of the post past Stuart Taylor. Poole's 2nd goal of the match came when he converted a penalty kick after Danny Higginbotham had pushed Mark Harding in the area. Danny Byrne set up Poole to complete his hat-trick when his through ball allowed Poole to take the ball around Taylor and slip it into the net. Carl Laurie added his 1st of the season when he blasted home a rebound after Taylor parried a headed corner. Byrne again made a superb through ball which allowed Poole plenty of time to drive the ball past Taylor for his 4th goal of the match as he capped the 5-0 Orient win.

[Faramir]

13.2.08

Birmingham (1) Leyton Orient (0)

Birmingham- R.Hulse 37

Orient- None

MOM- Jesus Arellano, Birmingham

Orient's winning ways ground to a halt as they were outplayed and edged by Birmingham 1-0. The lone goal in the match came when Orient allowed Wayne Routledge to break in from the right sideline and he crossed to the middle. Rob Hulse was first to the ball and headed past Daniel Carr. Birmingham had much the better of the play throughout the match and Carr was very sharp to keep the score close. David Poole rued the final chance he had to even the match as Roy Carroll came up with a dazzling save to keep the clean sheet and send Orient home with another road loss.

[Faramir]

20.2.08

Leyton Orient (3) Manchester United (1)

Orient- S.Pearson 24 D.Poole 52,70

Manchester- C.Ronaldo 85

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

Orient turned in a superior performance as they controlled large portions of the match and dumped Manchester United 3-1. Danny Byrne was the trigger man for Orient's first goal as he sent a stellar pass into the middle and found Stephen Pearson. Pearson then moved to his left and drilled a shot past Fabien Barthez. A clearing kick from ManU's Mickael Silvestre turned disastrous when Lee Sims made a brilliant long volley pass that found David Poole alone. Poole chipped the ball over the onrushing Barthez to make it 2-0 Orient. The Poole and Johann Torhallsson combination was back in fine fettle as Poole headed a Tommy Lee goal kick to Torhallsson. Torhallsson outraced John O'Shea to the ball and then crossed back into the middle from the baseline. Poole was right there to deflect it past Barthez for his 2nd goal and make it 3-0. Manchester United managed a consolation goal when Roy Keane headed to Cristiano Ronaldo and he caught a hesitant Lee moving out and hit a swerving shot past him. That was it for the fireworks though as Orient played out the 3-1 win.

[Faramir]

23.2.08

Leyton Orient (3) Arsenal (1)

Orient- J.Torhallsson 19,65 D.Poole 61

Arsenal- T.Henry 28

MOM- Mark Harding, Leyton Orient

Orient surprised 1st place Arsenal as they crashed the net and knocked home two second half rebounds in their 3-1 win. It was only Arsenal's 2nd loss this season and ended their unbeaten string at 23 games. Johann Torhallsson put Orient on the board first when David Poole managed to send a looping header over Sol Campbell and Torhallsson scorched a low shot past James Hicks. Arsenal evened the match when they caught the Orient backline shifting like sand and Thierry Henry had an easy time slotting it past Tommy Lee. Henry threatened to put Arsenal in front early in the 2nd half, but Lee made a dazzling one-on-one save against him to keep things knotted at 1-1. Orient took the lead when Titus Bramble headed a Danilo Arrieta free kick, only to see Hicks parry the shot. Fortunately for Orient, the ball went right to David Poole, who smashed it into the open side of the net. Hicks saw the same thing happen again minutes later when he stopped Poole's hard shot- only to see Torhallsson first to the loose ball and he whisked it into the net for his 2nd goal of the match and a 3-1 lead. Arsenal came close to drawing one back with ten minutes remaining, but Patrick Viera's screamer bounced back off the crossbar. It was a pleasing win for Orient and the Brisbane fans enjoyed it.

[Faramir]

27.2.08

Leyton Orient (2) Arsenal (1) Champions Cup 2nd Round Leg 1

Orient- J.Torhallsson 17 T.Bramble 90

Arsenal- T.Henry 65

MOM- Thierry Henry, Arsenal

The pundits thought that this would be a much different match than 4 days ago. The discussion centered on how Arsenal would be out for blood and that because this was a Champs Cup match- that Arsenal had really been getting ready for it. A funny thing happened on the way to predictions- Orient and Arsenal staged a whale of a match that saw a last second goal give Orient a 2-1 win, though Arsenal's away goal might be key as well. Orient jumped out to the lead in the first half when Stephen Pearson's good pass allowed Johann Torhallsson a chance to drive his shot past Craig Lyons. Orient looked set to go up 2-0 at halftime, but Titus Bramble's excellent header past Lyons on a Danny Byrne free kick was nullified when Poole was ruled offside on the play. Aresenal evened the match in the second half when Jermaine Pennant made a sizzling run down the right side and crossed in to Thierry Henry. Henry overpowered Mark Harding, who was already nursing a yellow card, and smashed his shot past Tommy Lee. Orient stole the win back in the closing moments when a curling Bojan Djordjic free kick was deflected by Bramble past Lyons for Bramble's first goal of the season and a justified 2-1 win in the first leg.

[Faramir]

1.3.08

WBA (1) Leyton Orient (1)

WBA- N.Clement 51

Orient- S.Brown 45

MOM- Neil Clement, WBA

In a match that featured a solid peformance by Orient, it was WBA's Neil Clement who held the trump card. Simon Brown had put Orient in front when a dazzling burst of speed allowed him to be first to a long pass from Ryan Garry. He slipped the ball under Russell Howarth to score in his debut. WBA had played terribly offensively, but Neil Clement took full advantage of a 25 yard free kick- hitting a curling shot that went inside the far post past diving Daniel Carr. Buoyed by the equalizer, WBA piled on the pressure, but the Orient backline was steady and Carr was solid on everything he had to handle as the two clubs settled for a 1-1 draw.

[Faramir]

12.3.08

Arsenal (1) Leyton Orient (3) Champs Cup 2nd Round Leg 2 (Orient advances on 5-2 aggregate)

Arsenal- Adriano 72

Orient- S.Pearson 18,67 J.Kristiansen 86

MOM- Danny Byrne, Leyton Orient

Do you believe? Many doubters now do, after watching Orient broom Arsenal out of the Champions Cup with a masterful performance in front of the disbelieving Ashburton Grove crowd. Stephen Pearson stunned both the crowd and Arsenal in the early going when he picked up a loose ball outside the area, wheeled with it and sent a curling 30 yard kick past Craig Lyons to give Orient an important away goal and a 3-1 aggregate lead. Arsenal surged to the attack, only to see Tommy Lee come up with a brilliant series of saves to keep the score at 1-0 going to halftime. Arsenal resumed their pressure in the early going of the second half but Lee kept up his magic and the ball wouldn't go in for them. Thierry Henry was especially frustrated and had a disappointing match on the whole. With both clubs searching for the next goal, it was a dazzling run by Danny Byrne that sent him around, past and through three Arsenal defenders- before he crossed to Pearson and Pearson hammered the volley past Lyons for his 2nd of the match and 5th of the season to a huge groan from the home crowd. Adriano gave the fans a moment of life with a sensational shot past Lee for his 20th goal of the season, but that hope was quashed when Byrne again made a neat pass and Jan Kristiansen chipped in with his 1st goal since coming to Orient as the final marker in the superb 3-1 Orient win.

[Faramir]

15.3.08

Leyton Orient (4) Chelsea (0)

Orient- D.Poole 20 J.Torhallsson 33 D.Byrne 71 J.Kristiansen 82

Chelsea- None

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

In the showdown match between 3rd place Orient and 2nd place Chelsea the Blues wound up with good reason to feel that way as Orient took full advantage of their opportunities in crushing Chelsea 4-0. The opening moments of the match were very up-n-down and both Marcos and Tommy Lee turned in good work with solid saves. Orient drew first blood as Johann Torhallsson outleaped Glen Johnson and headed to David Poole. Poole wasted no time blistering a 20 yard shot past the diving Marcos. Poole returned the favor on the 2nd goal with a header that put Torhallsson free. Torhallsson moved with the ball before sliding it past Marcos as he sprawled. With a 2-0 halftime lead Orient backed off the pressure and Chelsea used that to their advantage as Hernan Crespo and Joe Cole both had excellent chances. Lee saved Crespo's and Cole's skittered off the crossbar. Danny Byrne put another nail in Chelsea's coffin when he boomed home a 25 yard free kick for his 1st goal of the season. Chelsea's frustration boiled over and Jurica Vranjes earned a quick pair of yellow cards and an early exit. Jan Kristiansen finished off the scoring when he banked a 30 yard free kick off the post past Marcos for the 4-0 final score. Orient is still 6 points behind Chelsea in the standings- even with the win.

[Faramir]

19.3.08

Manchester City (0) Leyton Orient (0)

Manchester- None

Orient- None

MOM- Ryan Garry, Leyton Orient

In a featured matchup of 4th place Manchester City and 3rd place Orient, the clubs had to settle for splitting the points following a scoreless draw. Both clubs were intent on limiting each other's scoring chances and the fact there were only 7 shots total in the match reflected that fact. Neither club had a superb scoring opportunity and keepers were steady- if not busy. The draw left the two clubs retaining their respective positions in EPL play.

[Faramir]

22.3.08

Leyton Orient (6) Nottingham Forest (0)

Orient- S.Pearson 21 J.Torhallsson 29 J.Donnelly 33,40 D.Byrne 62 D.Livermore 66

Nottingham- None

MOM- Bojan Djordjic, Leyton Orient

Orient took full advantage of the disorganized last place Nottingham Forest squad enroute to a 6-0 rout of the visitors. Darren Ward made a couple early stops, but could not stop Stephen Pearson from deflecting a Bojan Djordjic corner past him for the first goal. Shortly after it was 2-0 when Danny Byrne snaked a pass to Johann Torhallsson and he drilled a 20 yard shot past Ward. Djordjic broke down the Nottingham defense on a left side run before crossing for Jamie Donnelly, playing in place of a resting David Poole, to score his 1st ever goal at Orient. Not satisfied with one goal, Donnelly made it two when Torhallsson crossed to him at the far corner of the net and he fired it home to make it 4-0. Xisco drew a red card for pushing down Titus Bramble, making the Nottingham plight even worse. Byrne took a superb pass from David Livermore and slotted the ball past Ward to make it 5-0. Livermore then closed out the scoring with his 1st ever Orient goal as he blistered a long shot past Ward.

[Faramir]

26.3.08

Barcelona (2) Leyton Orient (0) Champions Cup Quarterfinal Leg 1

Barcelona- P.Kluivert 14 Ronaldinho 88

Orient- None

MOM- Patrick Kluivert, Barcelona

Orient made a strong showing at Nou Camp, but it was the superior technical play of Barca that saw them through to a 2-0 win. Barca struck early when Patrick Kluivert was the first one to reach the rebound after Tommy Lee had made a good parry of a hard shot from Ronaldinho. Orient survived a couple close calls, with Kluivert clanging one of the post, before generating a few chances of their own. Recber Rustu played superbly for the vaunted side as he made stops on Johann Torhallsson, David Poole and Stephen Pearson in preserving the lead early in the second half. None of the stops was bigger than the one he made on Poole at 78 minutes when Danilo Arrieta had threaded a pass through to put him free. Poole ripped his shot, but Rustu tipped it over the bar. Orient than paid the price when a tired Titus Bramble missed a header that allowed Ronaldinho to run collect the loose ball and slide it past a diving Lee for a hugely devastating 2nd goal.

"Until that 2nd goal, I was pleased with our play. We had plenty of chances- good ones- but just couldn't find the goal we needed," commented Drabek.

"For how close the match really was- we didn't play all that well. I don't know if it was the jitters in front of their large home crowd or what, but our play was inconsistent all match," replied Field.

[Faramir]

ENGLAND

29.3.08

England (2) Cyprus (0) Friendly

England- D.Poole 11,15

Cyprus- None

MOM- David Poole, England

England made easy work of visiting Cyprus thanks to a pair of early goals from David Poole and a smothering defensive effort in their 2-0 win at Wembley. Poole snapped home a rebound after Costas Nicolaou stopped his initial shot for the 1-0 lead. Shortly after a nice pass from Joey Barton on a tic-tac-toe sequence left Poole with an easy chip in for his second goal of the match. Cyprus steadied down and yielded no further goals, but only managed one shot in the match.

[Terk]

disappointed to see the defeat in barcelona hopefully you can overturn it in the return leg. but enjoying the tale regardless

[Faramir]

Alas Terk- not to be, but it was a good run anyways...

***

9.4.08

Leyton Orient (1) Barcelona (0) Champions Cup Quarterfinal 2nd leg (Barca advances on 2-1 aggregate)

Orient- J.Torhallsson 36

Barca- None

MOM- Ricardo Quaresma, Barcelona

Orient may have lost on aggregate to the powerful Spanish side, but they gained a full measure of respect from them as they went to the final moments fighting for the goal that they needed to even the aggregate. In the end they had to be satisfied with a 1-0 win over Barca and wondering what could have been. The early going saw Barca with most of the pressure as Patrick Kluivert and Filippo Inzaghi both were creating good chances. Kluivert looked set to give them the lead when he was in alone on Tommy Lee, but he hit the post with his shot and Michael Duberry was able to clear the rebound. Orient found a bit of life when David Poole's blast was parried by Recber Rustu, only to see Johann Torhallsson have an easy time slotting the rebound home. The second half saw Orient with the greater pressure and fresher legs- despite missing some key players from their lineup. Jan Kristiansen (replacing Danny Byrne at right wing) was stellar as his deft passing created great scoring chances for both Torhallsson and Poole, only to see Rustu come up with the critical saves. In the closing moments it was Kristiansen with Orient's last gasp chance, but Rustu was able to push it away and preserve Barca's trip to the Semifinals.

[Faramir]

13.4.08

Liverpool (0) Leyton Orient (1)

Liverpool- None

Orient- D.Poole 83-P

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

In a match which both sides desperately wanted to win, Orient came out on top due to a push in the area by Liverpool on a free kick. With the match winding down, Danny Byrne's free kick curled into the area. Titus Bramble outleaped Jamie Carragher and deflected the ball, but Carragher had pushed him while he was in the air. David Poole stepped up and calmly converted the penalty kick past Christopher Kirkland for his 25th goal of the season and the match winner. Kirkland had stymied Poole twice on brilliant saves earlier as Stephen Pearson's laser-like passes had set him free both times. The moments after Orient grabbed the lead were fraught with danger though as Michael Owen finally shook free of the Orient defense and lobbed the ball over a challenging Tommy Lee- only to see it drift inches wide of the far corner of the net. When the final whistle blew, Orient Manager Will Drabek was clearly relieved to have put three points in the book.

[Faramir]

19.4.08

Leyton Orient (4) Middlesbrough (1)

Orient- D.Poole 5 D.Byrne 14 D.Arrieta 17,25

Middlebrough- Pinga 56

MOM- Danilo Arrieta, Leyton Orient

Orient took advantage of a floundering Middlesbrough backline to score 4 first half goals and then cruised home with a 4-1 win. Orient's first goal was in the nature of a gift as Brian Close sent the ball back toward his keeper. Nick Parnaby made a terrible choice as he let David Poole run on to the loose ball and Poole blasted a close-in shot past Robert Green. Robert Green managed to punch Bojan Djordjic's corner, but Danny Byrne collected the loose ball and wheeled and fired it past Green to quickly make it 2-0. Danilo Arrieta promptly made it 3-0 when he chipped a stellar pass from Titus Bramble past a wavering Green. Arrieta then added his 2nd of the match when Ryan Garry intercepted a clearing kick by Yegor Titov and zipped it into the area. Arrieta wrong-footed a misdirection of the pass and Green was left moving the wrong way as the ball skittered past him to make it 4-0 Orient. With the big lead Orient was playing a bit more conservative in the second half, but weren't able to keep their clean sheet as they allowed Pinga free on a throw-in and he drove a low shot that went past Tommy Lee for their consolation goal. Shortly after, the visitors lost all hope when David Murphy drew his 2nd yellow card and an early shower. Both sides finished the match out quietly with 4-1 the final margin.

***

"Arsenal won again. With only two losses- no wonder they already have the title clinched," murmured Drabek.

"Just remember who handed them one of those losses and who knocked them out of Champs Cup play," grinned Field.

[SoS]

Unless I am mistaken you haven't lost in the league since the Birmingham game: you're on great form at the moment.

IRL, the O's are up against Scunthorpe on Saturday: we're second, they're top. We'll go above them with a win.

What time zone are you actually in?

Up the O's.

Charlie.

[SoS]

Also, I've emailed you.

[Faramir]

Charlie- direct home email is dorns@m33access.com

I am in USA- Eastern Time

[Faramir]

26.4.08

Leyton Orient (1) Coventry (0)

Orient- D.Poole 81

Coventry- None

MOM- Stephen Pearson, Leyton Orient

In a match where Coventry set out to close down the Orient wingers and did so effectively, it was a crisp passing sequence and a superb shot for sharpshooter David Poole that carried the home side to a close 1-0 win. Coventry did a superb job in staying with the Orient attack and clamping down on Bojan Djordjic and Danny Byrne. Orient had few good chances, as they were mostly forced into long shots from the midfield. They finally broke the Coventry coverage down when Stephen Pearson made a looping long pass that Danilo Arrieta reached first and headed across to Poole. Poole wasted no time in launching a shot at the net and it carrommed off the inside of the post past Steve Harper to earn Orient the win. With Newcastle drawing and Chelsea not playing because of their Champs Cup Semifinal, Orient moved temporarily into 2nd place in the EPL, though Chelsea has two matches in hand and only trails by a point.

[Faramir]

Bolton (0) Leyton Orient (0)

Bolton- None

Orient- None

MOM- Jussi Jaaskelainen, Bolton

It wound up a scoreless draw, but Orient was left wondering about missed opportunities and a chance to have won the match. The first half of the match appeared to be quietly playing itself out when Stephen Pearson made a dazzling run with the ball. Unfortunately, he waited too long to get a close-in shot off and Stephane Henchoz made a saving tackle. The second half started the same way, with both sides showing a determined defensive effort. Orient's Jamie Donnelly came on for a clearly tired David Poole and suddenly provided some zip that had been missing. He created an excellent chance for himself on the dribble, but his shot was way wide of the mark. Stephen Pearson touch passed a ball that found him alone in front, but Jaaskelainen earned his MOM honors as he saved the blast from Donnelly. Pearson had one more chance in injury time, but his blast skimmed the top of the net and the two sides had to settle for splitting the points.

[Faramir]

4.5.08

Leyton Orient (3) Aston Villa (0)

Orient- D.Poole 12,23 J.Torhallsson 44

Villa- None

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

In another match that showed the goal scoring ability of David Poole, Orient was able to top a surging Aston Villa with three first half goals. Poole's first goal was courtesy of Stephen Pearson who sent a sizzling pass past two Villa defenders and found Poole for a hammer shot past Thomas Sorensen and the lead. The ESP of Johann Torhallsson and Poole set up Poole's 2nd goal- as he seemed to sense exactly where Torhallsson's header would go and beat Jlloyd Samuel to the spot before sliding it past a diving Sorensen. Danny Byrne made a sensational run down the right side before breaking past two defenders on the baseline and then made a snappy cross that Torhallsson had an easy time heading into the far corner of the net. With a 3-0 lead, Orient settled into a more careful approach in the second half, but wasn't able to keep Ryan Giggs from roaming around with the ball. Daniel Carr was a stone wall in the Orient net and made several good saves to keep the clean sheet in the 3-0 Orient win.

[Faramir]

18.5.08

Leyton Orient (1) Wolves (1)

Orient- S.Pearson 55

Wolves- F.Kanoute 75

MOM- Michael Oakes, Wolves

With 2nd place on the line due to Tottenham's midweek 4-2 upset of Chelsea, Orient faltered at the end and the 1-1 draw with Wolves dropped them into 3rd place with Chelsea's 2-1 win over Blackburn. The Wolves came into the match equally desperate as they were seeking a 6th place finish. The first half showed both sides with jitters as neither managed many good chances. Wolves had the best chance in the first half when Kenny Miller outpaced two Orient defenders and went in free on Tommy Lee, but Lee parried away his low blast. Orient strung together a beautiful passing sequence to take the lead in the second half. Danny Byrne took a flicked on pass from David Poole and broke in on the right side. He crossed smartly to a trailing Stephen Pearson and Pearson deflected it into the open far side of the net. Orient tried to put the clamps on the Wolves defensively, but Titus Bramble managed to only deflect a long pass from Jesper Gronkjaer directly to Frederic Kanoute and he drilled a low shot inside the far post past Lee for the equalizer. Michael Oakes earned his MOM honors in the last 10 minutes of the match. He stopped David Poole, Danilo Arrieta and Stephen Pearson- who all had superb scoring chances. The frustrated Brisbane Road fans could only shake their heads as the final whistle blew and Orient wound up with their same placement as last season- 3rd in the EPL.

***

"Can't say we didn't have our chances," sighed Drabek.

"Well, we didn't come close to playing our best match either," replied Field.

"I would have counted a second straight 3rd place as a good finish before the season. Now it just leaves me frustrated. If we could have avoided that bad stretch in the middle of the season- well, it might have been 2nd place easy..."

"It *was* a good season. We made a lot of strides actually AND don't forget we proved ourselves in Europe this season. Just give it time to settle in- you will find yourself happy with it," smiled Field as he lightly punched Drabek on the arm.

***

1st- Arsenal 89 pts.

2nd- Chelsea 74 pts.

3rd- Leyton Orient 73 pts. (+44 GD)

4th- Newcastle 73 pts. (+29 GD)

5th- Tottenham 64 pts.

6th- Manchester City 63 pts.

7th- Manchster United 60 pts.

8th- Wolves 59 pts.

9th- WBA 54 pts.

10th- Birmingham 53 pts.

11th- Southampton 47 pts.

12th- Liverpool 46 pts.

Player Ratings

Thierry Henry, Arsenal- 8.24

David Poole, Leyton Orient- 7.88

Adriano, Arsenal- 7.72

Stephen Pearson, Leyton Orient- 7.65

Sanli Tuncay, Manchester United- 7.62

Mark Harding, Leyton Orient- 7.54

Jerome Thomas, Tottenham- 7.52

Danilo Arrieta, Leyton Orient- 7.48

Hernan Crespo, Chelsea- 7.46

Jason Roberts, WBA- 7.44

Goals

Thierry Henry, Arsenal- 30

David Poole, Leyton Orient- 26

Hernan Crespo, Chelsea- 22

Jason Roberts, WBA- 21

Johann Torhallsson, Leyton Orient- 19

Sanli Tuncay, Manchester United- 19

James Beattie, Southampton- 19

Adriano, Arsenal- 18

Matt Jansen, Blackburn- 16

Michael Chopra, Newcastle- 16

Others-

Nicolas Anelka, Newcastle- 13

Michael Owen, Liverpool- 8

[Faramir]

ENGLAND

9.6.08

England (2) Turkey (1) Euro Championship Group A- Geneva

England- S.Gerrard 63 D.Thompson 71

Turkey- A.Serhat 74

MOM- Glen Johnson, England

Following a lackluster first half that featured only one good scoring chance, England was more efficient than Turkey in the second half and walked away with a close 2-1 win. Michael Owen had the lone good chance in the first half and completely botched a wonderful scoring opportunity. England lost Kieron Dyer to a strained neck early in the half and David Thompson came on to fill in on the wing. The second half featured both sides making more cohesive attacks and England drew first blood on a brilliant cross from Thompson at the baseline that Steven Gerrard headed past Recber Rustu. Thompson then made it 2-0 England when Gerrard returned the favor with long, curving pass that Thompson ran onto. Given space to break in from the right side, Thompson made a pretty shot past Rustu that just caught the inside of the far post. It didn't take long for the desperate Turks to put themselves back into the match. After Wright parried a close-in header on a long free kick, Rio Ferdinand failed to clear the rebound and Akin Serhat hammered the ball home to draw a goal back. With the Turks on the attack, England was hard pressed to move the ball out of their zone. Wright came up with two superb stops on close-in headers to keep England's slim margin. With injury time winding down the English backline was caught flat footed with a dazzling through ball and Serhat was in alone on Wright. To the dismay of the Turkish fans his blistering shot sailed over the crossbar and England held on for the close win.

[SoS]

Mike- just got your e-mails- I really don't have time to reply to them properly now, I'll get back to you on Sunday

[Faramir]

ENGLAND EURO ROSTER-

GK- Richard Wright, Christopher Kirkland, Paul Robinson

DEF- Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Titus Bramble, Glen Johnson, Matt Hill, Carl Laurie, Jonathan Woodgate

MID- Joe Cole, Owen Hargreaves, Steven Gerrard, Kieron Dyer, David Thompson, Jermaine Jenas, Jerome Thomas

FOR- Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, David Poole, Alan Smith, James Beattie

***

ENGLAND

14.6.08

France (1) England (0) Euro Championship Group A

France- T.Henry 81

England- None

MOM- David Trezeguet, France

France finally broke through against a determined English defense and managed to edge them in a tough, spirited 1-0 match. With time winding down in the second half, David Trezeguet was able to outrun Glen Johnson for a ball down the left side and crossed to the middle. Thierry Henry outleaped Rio Ferdinand and deflected the ball. Richard Wright got a piece of the header, but it trickled past him and allowed the French a close win. France held sway over much of the play in the match, but were continually frustrated before their goal by the work of the English backline and Wright's timely saves.

***

"Lots of fans are unhappy about our forwards," said Field looking up from the paper.

"I can't blame them. Michael Owen deserved a chance to redeem his poor EPL play this year, but David Poole will be starting with Wayne Rooney for the match against Spain."

"Are you starting David Thompson as well?"

"Yes, but Kieron Dyer will stay in the lineup- replacing Owen Hargreaves in central midfield."

[Faramir]

17.6.08

England (3) Spain (0)

England- W.Rooney 38 D.Poole 49,71

Spain- None

MOM- David Poole, England

Entering the match England knew they needed a win to have any chance of advancing to the Quarter-finals, since a draw would leave them behind Spain on differential. Many fans were wondering which club they would see in the match- the forceful club that showed up to battle and edge the Turks or the tentative side that lost to France. At the outset it looked like the latter as the confident Spaniards- unbeaten in Group play- dominated the early going and Richard Wright was called on to make a couple of difficult saves. The English backline looked disorganized without skipper Rio Ferdinand, who missed the match due to yellow card suspension. After surviving the early flurry of Spanish pressure, England began to push forward. The insertion of David Poole into the lineup seemed to jumpstart the English attack and he made a tough header that put Wayne Rooney free. Rooney took full advantage of his space as he ripped a low shot past Iker Casillas to give England the lead. Spain tried to rally, but Wright was again sharp as he tipped a shot over the bar to keep the lead to halftime. England caught Spain pushing forward to open the second half and it was Rooney's through ball that gave Poole the space to drill a 20 yard blast inside the post to make it 2-0 and increase Spain's desperation. After Wright made two more dazzling saves to blunt the rally attempts of Spain, it was Poole that removed most of their remaining spirit. Poole was able to move past his marker on to a loose ball and then rifled the ball past Casillas into the far corner of the net. Poole then missed his chance at a deserved hat-trick when Casillas saved his penalty kick after Rooney was taken down in the area. The 3-0 win moves England on as 2nd place in the Group to France and they will face Holland in the Quarter-finals.

[Faramir]

"Look at this Spencer," said Drabek waving a fax. "The Board is going to add another 1300 seats AND they have improved the training facility. Not only that, but our surplus allowed them to pay off part of the debt the club was carrying."

"That's the good news- now what is the bad?"

"They considered our spending extravagant and we still only have a transfer budget of 15 Million."

"Well, we don't likely need a lot of transfer spending- after all, most of the club is in place."

"I am still scouting around for another midfielder to pair up with Stephen Pearson in the middle- but otherwise, yes we will feature most of the same club."

[Faramir]

21.6.08

England (1) Holland (1) Quarter-Finals (England advances on penalties)

England- D.Poole 28

Holland- R.Mackaay 90

MOM- David Poole, England

England survived the crushing blows of giving up the equalizer in second half injury time and then hitting the post behind the Dutch keeper three times in extra time to finally win out over Holland in an unusual round of penalties. The Dutch, who had beaten Denmark and Ukraine, while drawing against Sweden, to advance as top placed from their Group- showed their superior pace and technical skill in the early going. Richard Wright was called on to push a pair of Ruud van Nistelrooy headers over the bar in the first few minutes of play. England finally was able to exert some pressure midway through the first half and it paid immediate dividends when Jaap Stam cut the legs from under Wayne Rooney after Kieron Dyer had given him a nice centring pass from the baseline. David Poole stepped up and calmly converted the penalty kick against Maarten Stekelenburg to give England the lead. With the lead the dogged defense that England has shown this Euro Championships came to the fore. Though Holland controlled much of the play, they weren't getting shots from close in and had to settle for watching their midfielders blasting shots high and wide. England didn't really have another good chance until Poole laid the ball off for an unmarked Rooney early in the second half- only to see Rooney miss high and wide with his excellent chance. The Dutch pressed the English backline hard as Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Michael Lamey both took turns in making runs through the tiring England midfield. As time wound down in the half, it looked like the desperate Dutch were going to fall short, but Rio Ferdinand made a terrible decision moving forward on a Glen Johnson free kick. Michael Lamey outleaped Ferdinand and headed the ball to Roy Mackaay (on for tiring van Nistelrooy) and to the joy of the Holland fans Mackaay was able to chip the ball over the challenge of Richard Wright for the dramatic equalizer. In extra time England brought on Michael Owen in place of a tired Rooney and the switch seemed to jump start their moribund offense. Owen set-up Poole for a header early in the first half of extra time, but Stekelenburg managed to turn it around the post. Owen repeated his work and Poole's shot sailed past the Dutch keeper- only to bounce squarely off the post. Poole then headed to a streaking Owen, but his goal was waved off when the sprightly forward was ruled offside to the howls of the English faithful. The Dutch then had their best chances in extra time as Mackaay again got free behind the English defense and Wright made a superb save as he grabbed off the high shot. Just missing over the bar was van Bronckhorst in their other chance. Poole was seemingly snakebit as he again drilled a shot off the post in the waning moments of extra time. It appeared the penalty session was one neither club wanted to win. Poole and Joe Cole both saw their shots saved by Stekelenburg and then Owen Hargreaves missed wide. Fortunately, the Dutch were in no better shape as Robin Faber and Mike Zonneveld both missed over the net. Wright was earning savior status as he then saved penalties by Clarence Seedorf and van Bronckhurst. Kieron Dyer finally made one count for England and that left it for Michael Owen. If Owen scored- England would win and move on to face Romania in the Semifinals. Owen calmly rifled a shot that saw Stekelnburg guess wrong on direction and England moved on.

[Faramir]

26.6.08

England (2) Romania (1) European Championships Semifinals

England- D.Poole 44,72-P

Romania- D.Serban 70

MOM- Bogdan Lobont, Romania

In the Semifinals England faced a plucky Romanian squad that had advanced after dumping the Czech Republic 2-0 in their Quarterfinal. The favorites in the match this time, England- who were playing without suspended Joe Cole, Ashley Cole and Jermaine Jenas- tried to justify that status as they controlled play throughout the first half and pressured the Romanians in their end. Despite several stirling opportunities, the English attackers were having little luck in solving hulking keeper Bogdan Lobont, whose brilliant play was keeping the score at 0-0. With time winding down in the first half, Razvan Rat was forced to pull down Jerome Thomas in the area to earn a penalty kick. David Poole stepped up but saw his blast parried by Lobont. Fortunately for England, the ball bounced directly back to Poole and before anyone could react- he snapped it past the sprawled keeper to give England a 1-0 halftime lead. Despite more pressure early in the second half, the 2nd goal proved elusive for England as Lobont resumed his impression of a stone wall. The Romanians capitalized on a counterattack as Razvan Rat made up for his earlier miscue with a smart cross that found Dennis Serban diving between Rio Ferdinand and Titus Bramble to deflect the equalizer past Wright. England resumed their pressure with the score knotted 1-1 and it was a tired Matei Mirel Radoi that pushed Thomas from behind when it looked like he would have a chance to head England back in front. Poole stepped up again and though he guessed correctly on the shot- Lobont was not able to push Poole's booming kick past the post and England moved back in front 2-1. Desperation forced the Romanians to take chances and now it was England's turn to look tired as the Romanians buzzed around Richard Wright. Wright was the rock for England again this match and stopped three golden chances in the late stages. Time finally trickled away and England would play in the Finals. Their opponent would be Italy- who dumped France in a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw.

[Faramir]

29.6.08

Italy (3) England (6) European Championship Final (Vienna)

Italy- C.Vieri 50 A.Pirlo 66,90-P

England- J.Cole 6,81 W.Rooney 17 D.Poole 48,70,76

MOM- David Poole, England

With Italy the favorites heading into the finals, England Manager Will Drabek kept informing anyone who would listen that England would not come out in a defensive shell- that they would attack. Few fans gave much heed, since this same English club had been dominated by France- the club Italy had beaten to move to the finals. Once the opening whistle sounded, England hounded Italy as they attacked and their pressure caused many defensive mistakes. It was England jumping on top as Wayne Rooney knocked a pass over to Joe Cole and Cole blew past Gianluca Zambrotta down the left side of the pitch. Before Matteo Ferrari could close down he swooped in and blistered a rising shot past Francesco Toldo to send the English fans into ecstatic celebration. Their celebration grew larger when England caught Italy trying to make a quick break out of their area. Ashley Cole closed down on a longish header and sent a through ball into the middle. Alessandro Del Piero got only a slight deflection and the ball went through to David Poole. Poole deftly touch passed the ball to Wayne Rooney standing unmarked dead center just inside the area. With both sides to choose from, Rooney whistled a shot inside the right post past Toldo. England backed off their attacking form at that point and spent the remainder of the first half providing good coverage of the now desperate Italians.

The match looked well in hand for England when they opened the second half with Steven Gerrard taking a loose ball and putting Poole free down the right middle. Alessandro Nesta tried to reach Poole, but Poole was able to blast a shot. Toldo made a brilliant parry on the hard shot and the ball bounced off to the right. Both Poole and Nesta surged for the loose ball, but Poole was a step quicker and instantly hooked a shot that went just inside the far left post to give England a stunning 3-0 lead. England seemed quite content to back off at this juncture and let the Italians attack- which almost proved a fatal mistake. Manuele Blasi intercepted a Titus Bramble clearing header and knocked it to Luciano Zauri. Zauri made a superb touch pass that saw Bramble caught in no man's land, as it went past him to unattended Christian Vieri. Vieri wasted no time in making one step and a shot, and it went past Richard Wright before he could move. The fans in the stadium could sense the momentum changing and the Italian fans were roaring. The roar became deafening when Del Piero headed past the startled English defenders and sent Gennaro Ivan Gattuso down the right sideline. Gattuso broke in along the baseline and sent the ball back for Zambrotta just beyond the edge of the area. Zambrotta laid the ball off and Andrea Pirlo rifled a shot just inside the area that zipped past flat-footed Wright and in to bring the score back to 3-2.

England seemed dissheveled over the Italians quickly moving back into the match, but responded to Manager Drabek's urging them to quit sitting back and to push the attack against the rallying Italians. England took advantage of a huge mistake by Zauri when he let Glen Johnson's throw-in to David Thompson sail past him. Thompson broke in on the right side and then laid the ball off for Poole. With time to judge, Poole proved again he is a deadly scorer as he scorched a low shot inside the far left post for his 2nd of the match to move the lead back to 4-2 and give the English fans a great lift. Ashley Cole then caught the Italians surging forward and lofted a ball down the left sideline. Rooney ran onto the ball first and sent a looping cross back into the middle of the pitch. Fabio Cannavaro, just on for Nesta, misjudged the ball as it went over him. Poole also misjudged the ball- but was moving toward the right side of the area and was first to the ball. With Toldo still trying to move to the right- Poole drilled a shot inside the right post to cap his hat-trick and move England up 5-2 with his second goal in five minutes of play.

The Italian backline looked thoroughly disorganized now and a throw-in by Ashley Cole slipped past Zambrotta and Ferrari. Joe Cole reached the loose ball and fired a hard shot. Toldo was able to block the shot, but the ball bounced right back to Cole and he made no mistake with his 2nd chance- scoring his 2nd goal of the match and pushing the English lead to 6-2. Though looking beaten at this point, the Italians never quit and were rewarded when Jermaine Jenas, who had come on for Owen Hargreaves, pushed Gattuso in the area. Pirlo had an easy time converting the penalty kick to make the final score 6-3 as the whistle sounded shortly after to end the match and give England the European Championship.

[Faramir]

2008-09 EPL Odds

Arsenal 7-4

Chelsea 12-1

Manchester United 14-1

Newcastle 20-1

Tottenham 33-1

Leyton Orient 33-1

***

"I think he has a lot of talent," stated Field.

Drabek nodded, "We need a bit of depth there, and the price is modest enough. I will call our acceptance."

Orient Picks Up Otsemobor

Leyton Orient today announced the transfer purchase of Jon Otsemobor from Liverpool. The reported price for the 25 yr old DRC was 1.8 Million. Otsemobor will likely be the key backup for the Mark Harding- Titus Bramble tandem in the heart of the Orient defense.

[Faramir]

16.8.08

Liverpool (0) Leyton Orient (3)

Liverpool- None

Orient- D.Poole 12,17 O.Oskarsson 41

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

Orient opened their season with a trip to Anfield and thanks to good work by their tandem of David Poole and Orri Freyr Oskarsson they came away with an impressive start to the season. After Florent Sinama-Pongolle missed over the net in close, Orient took advantage of a free kick in Liverpool's end. Stephen Pearson launched the curling kick and Titus Bramble went up and made a determined header. Christopher Kirkland was able to parry Bramble's deflection, but David Poole whipped the rebound into the net before anyone could react to give Orient the lead. Danny Byrne keyed the next goal when he made a deft pass that Sami Hyypia misjudged. Poole was first to the ball and Igor Biscan could not get over to close him down before he launched a curling shot that tucked inside the nearside post to put Orient ahead 2-0 with his 2nd goal of the match from 30 yards out. Orient went to the half ahead 3-0 thanks to a strong header by Poole. Poole headed the ball toward the left and when Kirkland caught a cleat trying to change direction and fell, it was easy for Orri Freyr Oskarsson to score on his debut as he outraced Igor Biscan to the ball. The second half was quiet for both clubs as Liverpool could not manage to shake Michael Owen free during the match. Tommy Lee made a spectacular save in the late going to keep the clean sheet when he pushed a Jeremy Rothen blast over the bar.

[Faramir]

20.8.08

Leyton Orient (5) WBA (2)

Orient- D.Poole 12 O.Oskarsson 22,63,74 M.Etherington 78

WBA- T.Gaardsoe 50 J.Roberts 64

MOM- Orri Freyr Oskarsson, Leyton Orient

Orient looked set to put the match away several times, but WBA rallied and looked set to make a storied comeback until a pair of late Orient goals put the match out of reach. Orient dominated the first half of play. After a lot of scrambling play on the edge of the WBA goal, Matthew Etherington sent a superb through ball that found David Poole alone on the far side of the WBA net. Poole simply redirected the pass into the open net and it was 1-0 Orient. Etherington was the architect for the second goal as well, as he made a superb entry pass that sprung Orri Freyr Oskarsson inside the area. Oskarsson fired a low shot past Antti Niemi to give Orient a 2-0 lead. Orient missed several good opportunities to extend the lead in the first half as WBA struggled to get organized. After halftime WBA demonstrated that they were going to play better and quickly drew a goal back when Thomas Gaarsoe deflected a Jason Koumas free kick past Tommy Lee. Orient moved back ahead by two goals when Poole and Oskarsson played a superb give and go off a goal kick by Tommy Lee- with the result of Poole lofting a pass into Oskarsson for an easy header into the open net. WBA immediately answered that goal as poor Orient backline allowed Benoit Cheyrou to chip to Jason Roberts and Roberts deflected it past Lee. Orient finally finished off the stubborn visitors when Oskarsson finished off his hat-trick on a gift goal when Niemi failed to control a ball sent back to him by Neil Clement and it bounced directly to the lurking Oskarsson to chip into the net. Etherington then scored his first Orient goal when he boomed home a 30 yard free kick to finish off the 5-2 win.

[Faramir]

23.8.08

Wolves (3) Orient (3)

Wolves- R.Cortes 8,28 Z.Vukic 54

Orient- D.Poole 34,62 J.Torhallsson 85

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

Orient rallied to split the points with the Wolves in a 3-3 draw after some terrible coverage allowed the Wolves a two goal lead. Wolves leaped into the early lead when Roberto Carlos Cortes had plenty of room to leap and deflect Jesper Gronkjaer's corner past Tommy Lee. Gronkjaer made a superb run to set up the second goal as he beat Carl Laurie on the dribble on the baseline and then crossed to the trailing Cortes. Cortes, just inside the edge of the area, had plenty of time to tee up his shot and fire it past Lee to make it 2-0 Wolves. Danny Byrne helped Orient get a goal back when he sent a pass out with perfect placement and David Poole reached the ball before onrushing Conejo Perez and had an easy time sliding it past him. Wolves fans were again feeling comfortable when Zvonimir Vukic headed a superb cross from Gronkjaer past Lee from just beyond the six yard box. Faced with a two goal deficit on the road, Orient did all it could to move to the attack. Byrne was a major factor in Orient's next goal as his dribble forced Luke Young to challenge him. Byrne sent the ball back to Jan Kristiansen who sent a through ball to Poole. Poole made a neat half-volley inside the near post to bring Orient back to only one goal down. Orient completed the comeback when William Flood (subbed on for Ryan Garry) made a terrific pass that found Johann Torhallsson all alone in front. Torhallsson fired his shot past Conejo Perez to even the match at 3-3. Both sides looked tired from the effort and there weren't any more good chances as the clubs finished out the draw.

[Faramir]

30.8.08

Leyton Orient (1) Aston Villa (0)

Orient- D.Poole 45

Villa- None

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

In a very physical match that saw 9 yellow cards and 1 redcard handed out, Orient won out on another goal from David Poole. Orient pressured the visitors throughout much of the first half but had little to show for it. Orri Freyr Oskarsson missed a golden chance to give Orient the early lead when his shot rang back squarely off the inside of the post. Poole had a good chance as well, but his shot skimmed over the top of the net after he was first to reach a rebound. Thomas Sorensen deserved credit for keeping Villa in the match as he also saved a header from Poole and a wicked low shot from David Fox. Orient's goal was a matter of hard work finally paying off. Danny Byrne dribbled past two defenders on the baseline and crossed into Oskarsson. Sorensen made a superb parry of Oskarsson's shot from the edge of the six yard box, but Poole was driving hard for the net and knocked the ball past Sorensen before he or the backline could react. Both sides traded attacks in the second half and Villa's Fabian Andres Vargas missed a superb opportunity as he was alone in front of the net, but shot just over the crossbar. Tommy Lee also came up with a match winning save on Ryan Giggs in second half injury time as he turned his rising shot over the crossbar to preserve the 1-0 win.

[Faramir]

ENGLAND

6.9.08

England (5) Andorra (0)

England- W.Rooney 3,19 D.Poole 42 J.Jenas 48 M.Owen 74

Andorra- None

MOM- Wayne Rooney, England

England had little trouble seeing off Andorra in the opening match of the Group 4 World Cup Qualifying match. It was clear from the opening whistle that the home side had the intensity and drive to win the match. Kieron Dyer, starting in central midfield with Steven Gerrard suspended for the match, zipped a through ball to David Poole. Poole touched the ball on to Wayne Rooney and Rooney had a full step on his marker as he blistered a close range shot past Francisco Manuel Siles for his 10th International goal. Both David Beckham and Wes Brown were back in the English lineup for the first time in a long period (mainly due to injuries) and Beckham proved at 33 he still has the same flair. He setup the second goal with a pretty cross that Matthew Etherington headed, but Siles parried. Rooney was right on the loose ball though and smashed it past Siles for his 2nd goal of the match. Beckham's pass also keyed David Poole's volley past Siles inside the near post that took England to a 3-0 lead. Jermaine Jenas then chipped in with a curving 30 yard blast to score his 1st ever International goal in the opening moments of the second half. Michael Owen, who subbed on for Poole, then scored a dazzling goal off a superb through ball from Beckham. Owen's goal was the 41st for him. The match featured the first Caps for both Perugia's Ross Gardner and Orient's Lee Sims- who were taking the places of injured Owen Hargreaves and Glen Johnson. In other group results, Bulgaria surprised favored Russia 3-1 at Sofia and Wales crushed visiting Latvia 6-0.