Leyton Orient 0 Brighton 0, 1/2/11

A game in which... Orient proved that on current form they're a match for any team in the land, except Arsenal. Let's not forget that Gus Poyet has taken time out from impersonating Cornelius in Planet Of The Apes to fashion a pretty impressive Brighton side that beat Orient 5-0 exactly a month ago and are currently atop League One. So a gutsy point is no disgrace, especially when you could have forgiven the Os players for suffering a post-FA Cup hangover. (Though now Sean Thornton has moved on there's probably less chance of the team going on a three-day bender after each victory.)

Moment to savour... The South Stand erupting in a rousing rendition of 'We've got Tiny Cox'. I admire your honesty, lads, but too much information, thanks.

Head in hands moment... There are many things to admire about Ben Chorley but his dribbling ability isn't one of them, as he demonstrated when he attempted to dink past the entire Brighton midfield in the first half, almost gifting the opposition a goal. Still, it was the only blight on an otherwise towering performance.

King for a day... Whenever something was happening on the pitch, you could be sure that Stephen Dawson was in the thick of it. The all-action Irishman could even have got a late penalty if it wasn't for the fact that he blatantly dived. Either that or he was hauled down by a lurking poltergeist.

Boo boy... It was an all-round impressive display from everyone in a red shirt, but Paul-Jose M'Poku's cameo was much like Jennifer Aniston's Madame Tussauds waxwork - that is, a pale imitation of its usual self.

In the dug out... You can't argue with Orient's current form and it seems Big Russ got it spot on again. Giving Adam Chambers a brief run out at the start of the game was a masterstroke, allowing Stephen Dawson an extra two minutes of recovery time from his weekend injury before coming on to the pitch refreshed and ready for action.

What would Martin Ling have done? Taken the opportunity of the first game after the closure of the transfer window to blood his new signing, Julian Joachim. "I've said all along that I'd sign a big striker," he'd say defiantly, "and Julian comes with a big heart, a big desire to win and a big wage packet. That he's only 5ft 6in is beside the point."

Going down? Certainly not. Although mathematically Orient are still in a relegation battle, one defeat in the last 16 games tells a different story. Arsenal, no doubt, are trembling...

Why five-goal defeats are good for Orient. Really...

(September 2012 update: I actually wrote this just after we'd been turned over 5-0 by Brighton on New Year's Day 2011. Orient then went on a record-breaking 17-game unbeaten run which, contrary to everything else on this blog, means I was actually correct. Five-goal defeats are good for Orient, so the loss at Goodison Park should be seen as a blessing in disguise. Right?)

Admittedly a 5-0 loss on 1 January isn't the best portent for the next year of football at Leyton Orient. But a look back over the last decade reveals that the Os have been turned over by a five-goal margin on four other occasions, and each time bounced back determinedly.

In other words, this could be a blessing in disguise. And while it's quite difficult to type while clutching a huge fistful of straws, I've amassed some evidence...

Leyton Orient 0 Swansea 5
6 October 2007

What happened? Incredible as it may sound now, Orient went into their 10th game of the 2007/08 season at the summit of League One. Fans were dreaming of promotion to the Championship and mouthwatering trips to the likes of Scunthorpe, Plymouth and Colchester. Unfortunately Swansea came to Brisbane Road and proved that Orient's early season form was just a Zepplin-sized blip, caused mostly by Martin Ling temporarily playing Sean Thornton in his correct position. Psychiatrist-bothering goalkeeper Stuart Nelson throwing four of the five goals into his own net probably didn't help.
But every cloud has a silver lining... In their next league game Orient bounced back with one of their most heroic performances of the decade, holding Leeds to a 1-1 draw at Elland Road despite having only 10 men for 60 minutes of the game and being on the wrong end of a litany of refereeing howlers.

Bournemouth 5 Leyton Orient 0
10 February 2007

What happened? In the 2006/07 season - with Orient back in the third tier - manager Martin Ling employed a quite visionary strategy known as, 'Just give the ball to Locky and hope for the best.' Unfortunately Bournemouth's Darren Anderton was familiar with such a ploy, having once played under the same system for England ('Give it to Gazza, hope for the best'). He scored a hatrick.
But every cloud has a silver lining... Although Orient lost their next league game 4-1 to Brighton, the combined shock of the two defeats spurred the team into a seven-match unbeaten run that allowed them to escape relegation by the skin of their teeth.

Doncaster Rovers 5 Leyton Orient 0
10 January 2004

What happened? Having been officially annointed as Orient manager in December 2004, Martin Ling was learning the ropes the hard way (ie trying to get results from a team containing Tom Newey, David Hunt and Billy Jones). Still, no one except every single Orient fan could have expected the team to go down so miserably to league leaders Doncaster.
But every cloud has a silver lining... A shell-shocked Orient went on to win their next two league games and the experience was part of the learning curve that led Martin Ling to take the team up two seasons later.

Carlisle United 6 Leyton Orient 1
12 January 2002

What happened? Back in the dark days of the early millennium, Orient's away form was like a unicorn. Non-existent. Still, the 100 or so dedicated masochists who made the long, mid-winter trip to Carlisle probably hoped that Orient wouldn't be 3-0 down in the first 18 minutes, or indeed 5-0 down at half-time. Still, if there was ever a manager to pull off a miraculous second-half recovery, it sure as hell wasn't Paul Brush...
But every cloud has a silver lining... Two weeks later Orient travelled to Goodison Park to play Everton in the fourth round of the FA Cup and put in a gutsy and convincing display against a Premier League team. They still lost 4-1, mind.