24 November 2013

Swindon Town 1 Leyton Orient 3, 23/11/13


Swindon before kick off
A game in which... Russell Slade witnessed "the worst thing he's seen in football" - which is saying something given that he once endured Michael Symes's performance against Barnet in October 2012. And while one Swindon fan's attack on Jamie Jones grabbed the headlines, the real story is the fact that Orient made a team who had won six of their previous eight home games look like a Sunday pub side in which all 11 players had just returned from a stag do in Amsterdam. 

No disrespect to Swindon, but it's a measure of just how formidable Orient are at the moment that they bounced back from defeat against Preston with a performance like this against one of the league's high-flyers. 

Moment of magic... David Mooney's opening goal, a lob so sumptuous that they'll be serving it on the menu of Swindon's finest restaurants (two Harvesters and a Wimpy) for years to come. 

Moment of madness... Only one candidate here: the moment a Swindon fan came swinging at Jamie Jones. To be honest, he picked the wrong player: as someone who has presumably been in the taxi queue at 2am in Liverpool city centre, Jones is more than accustomed to being attacked by a pissed up thug for no apparent reason. 

Top gun... At times the interplay between Dean Cox, Kevin Lisbie and David Mooney was mesmerising, and between them they nearly scored about another 15 goals. Vincelot and Omozusi were also immense, and Jamie Jones - when he wasn't dodging punches - was flawless. But let's give man of the match to Moses Odubajo for his two goals and for being a constant menace to the Swindon defence. 

Little donkey... No bad performances from anyone in an Orient shirt, so instead have this photo of Swindon's pitch invader, courtesy of @OrientSteve

In the dug out... Seeing Jamie Jones under attack sprung goalkeeping coach Kevin Dearden into action from the bench. He explained: "I sprinted towards Scouse to try to help him - but by the time the incident was over I'd only made it as far as the seat next to me. Next week I'm planning to stay awake for the entire game, just to be safe." 

View from the opposition... "Thoroughly depressing day at the County Ground yesterday," wrote fan Steve Warren. "Idiot fan, cheating rewarded by shit ref and a joke of a defence again." If you say so. 
Tweet of the week... This from fan Lee Kinsley. "Swindon announce their new mascot."