Play-off semi-final: Peterborough United 1 Leyton Orient 1, 10/5/14

Peterborough prepare their pitch for today's game

A game in which... Peterborough did everything they could to stop Orient - ploughing their own pitch with an industrial-sized bulldozer, for example. Yes, this first leg proved exactly why the Os are in the play-offs as they took the game to the expensively-assembled home side and really should have come away with more than a draw.

The consequences of failing to win when dominant will become clear on Tuesday, but what's not in doubt is that this is a team burning with belief, desire and commitment.

Moment of magic... The moment in the second half when Mathieu Baudry, after riding a couple of tackles, began to stride majestically up the pitch like a returning French war hero leading a victory parade up the Champs-Elysees before spending the night in an expensive bordel. The move ultimately came to nothing, but it epitomised an epic performance from the central defender.

Moment of madness... The moment Kevin Lisbie - who, incidentally put in an awesome shift that belied his 56 years of age - found the ball popping up to him in front of goal in the first half. It was one of those at a height that makes a striker think "Should I volley it or head it?", although inexplicably Lis choose neither and instead opted for belly-flopping towards the ball like a fat kid trying to impress his classmates at the local swimming pool. It didn't work.

Top gun... Particularly excellent performances from Cuthbert, Baudry and (in the second half) Vincelot, but man of the match has to go to Moses Odubajo for a) a driving, penetrative 45 minutes down the right flank after half-time and b) somehow resisting the weight of Orient's entire history and not spooning his shot at an open goal over the bar.

Not quite so top gun... By his standards, John Lundstram had a disappointing game. At one point in the first half he gave away the ball four times in quick succession, the only explanation being that since he's been on loan so many times he literally forgot what team he was playing for. Either that or he was temporarily possessed by the ghost of Paul Terry.

In the dug out... You have to hand it to Russell, this season he's shown that he's not afraid to experiment when it comes to making substitutions. For example, sometimes he's brought Shaun Batt on with 20 minutes to go, and sometimes he's brought Shaun Batt on with 19 minutes to go. Today the manager went renegade, ripped up the rule book and brought Shaun Batt on with 21 minutes to go. It worked, mind, and the big striker was instrumental in Orient's equalising goal.

Orient's player budget for 2013/14

View from the opposition...  "Why does everyone think we come from money?" moaned the one-joke wind-up merchant
Secret Posh Fan, apparently without irony. "We spent just under £2 million on players this year." Yeah, we spent just under £2 on players this year, mate - and that was for a couple of packs of party poppers and a Twix to help the team celebrate securing a play-off place.

Tweet of the week... "Strange day today. No Prem games and no academy fixtures to watch," tweeted former Stoke City benchwarmer Michael Owen this morning, almost as if he had literally no idea that football existed beneath the Premier League. Next Tuesday: Michael expresses surprise when Sky Sports televises Leyton Orient v Peterborough: "Enjoying the Kabbadi from east London on TV tonight. In many ways, it seems to be a similar game to football."

Ready for the second leg? Read James Masters and me running the rule over the relative merits of Orient and Peterborough 

GUEST POST! Leyton Orient 2 Tranmere Rovers 0, 26/4/14

My record of games I've come back from Berlin for is played three, lost three. So you're actually much safer in the hands of Andy Brown - Orient blogger for WAGU and The Two Unfortunates - who filed this report from Brisbane Road... 

A game in which... Fresh from back to back defeats (one deserved and one not), Orient decided to shake the sand out of their regular season flip flops and cruise to a comfortable win against a Tranmere team that usually comes to Brisbane Road to mess things up at this time of the season.

Orient played the same neat passing football that they did against Wolves, but were seemingly feeling charitable in the final third, as time and again Cox and Mooney failed to conjure up anything convincing against a nervous and indecisive Tranmere team. True, the visitors played much better in the second half, but never really put a telling or dangerous ball into the box as veteran striker Ryan Lowe seemed more intent on trying to start a fight with angry Scotsman Scott Cuthbert. Only going to be one winner there, Ryan…

Moment of magic... Chris Dagnall decided that the best thing to do with Tranmere keeper Owain Fon Williams’ miskick was to hammer a stunning 40-yard shot into the far corner of an unguarded net. It was an outrageous and sublime piece of skill that had it been Rooney or Beckham you would never stop hearing about it, but as it was Orient it'll probably never be mentioned again. Either way, it was Orient’s best long range effort since Dean Cox decided to mock Walsall by scoring from the halfway line.

Moment of madness… David Mooney must have received a bang on the head at some point during the game, because he decided that he was going to try and score directly into his own net with a full stretch diving header that scraped by Jamie Jones’ post from a Tranmere corner. It had fans scratching their heads and hoping that Orient are never so short of personnel that he has to play centre back.

Top gun...  Once again on-loan Everton midfielder John Lundstram was the standout performer, working tirelessly and linking Orient’s play together. Romain Vincelot also put in one of his finer performances, busy and industrious, winning the ball back for Orient with a dogged display that resulted in one of our more comfortable victories this season.

Shaun Batt

Little donkey... With the stature of a giraffe, legs of gazelle and coordination of a hippo, Shaun Batt looks and plays like something conceived in mad professor Frankenstein’s  laboratory in an attempt to create the perfect footballer. Sadly, “Battman” never has the same impact when he starts as he does when emerging from the bench and yesterday was no different. His running and general presence got him into good positions a few times, but with a complete inability to decide what to do with the ball once he gets into those positions, it’s not a lot of use.

In the dugout... Orient’s bald tinkerman is busy preparing his dossier for prospective opposition ahead of Orient’s playoff charge. “We call it the war room and have a picture of Winston Churchill on the wall, as he was up against great odds,” Russell Slade told reporters, prompting hysterical laughter. Slade had to make changes to compensate for the lack of any proper full backs (sorry Gary Sawyer) so Moses Odubajo dropped in at right back as Cuthbert came back into central defence with Baudry out. As a result Orient looked more like a 4-3-3 with Batt playing as a wide third striker, suggesting Slade may be trying a plan B for the play-offs, until he brought on James in the second half and reverted back to a more conventional 4-4-2.

View from the opposition... Ronnie Moore wasn’t available for comment as he was down the bookies, but his replacement manager John McMahon bemoaned the mistakes by his team, in particular Owain Fon Williams, conveniently forgetting the fact that the Welshman made a brilliant one handed stop to keep the game at 1-0 in the second half.

Fancy Dress of the week... It’s the last away game of the season so what do you do? Dress as a bunch of wooden Gerry Anderson puppets, obviously.  It’s what he would have wanted. Yup, it was Hartlepool’s last away game of the season, a quick hop down to Plymouth, so in traditional fashion several hundred decided to dress as Thunderbirds. A bit more PC than 2011's Oompa Loompas, eh lads?

GUEST POST! Leyton Orient 5 Gillingham 1, 12/4/14

There are many reasons why I was unable to attend yesterday's game against Gillingham. Most of them involve the fact I'm currently in Berlin with no passport (long story). Luckily Andy Brown - Orient blogger for WAGU and The Two Unfortunates - loves a dead rubber and rocked up to Brisbane Road to give his views on the game...

A game in which... a beautiful princess awoke from a deep and disturbing two month slumber after a kiss from a handsome prince… Or the Orient version where I can only assume the Nando’s chicken (fresh from Monday’s charity efforts) snogged David Mooney, inspiring the misfiring striker to a splendid (almost offside-free) performance, because this was the Os back to their scintillating best.

With the monkey of automatic promotion off their backs, Orient played like men free of fear and utterly possessed in a first half display of total domination that was as good as any they have put in this season. Playing the kind of passing football that has been devoid of late, the Os put a hapless Gillingham team to the sword, prompting a chorus of “you might as well go home” and “easy, easy “from the South Stand as early as the 35th minute.

Dean Cox II: Electric Boogaloo

Moment of magic... Dean Cox. For his stunning twenty yard strike to make it 2-0? Nope? For his 42 goals and 62 assists in 4 seasons at Orient? Nope. For his breakdancing spectacular as he raced to keep a ball in by the touchline, a feat that would have put The Rocksteady Crew to shame? Hell yes!  Get that man on Soccer Am.

Moment(s) of madness... David Mooney was only caught offside twice all game by my reckoning, and spent the rest of it putting in the kind of performance that has typified his brilliant season, rather than his recent below-par showings. His first, a clinical slot under the keeper, an assisted lay-off for Orient’s second and a top corner drive for Orient’s third, this was Mooney at his absolute best. It puts him at 20 goals for the season - the first time since an Orient player has achieved this since Jamie Cureton. (Not really, Carl Griffiths, I think.)

Top gun... Other than Mooney and Lisbie, and superb performances from Odubajo and Cox, it was Everton loan man John Lundstram pulling the strings in midfield that was the key reason behind such a dominant performance. Despite five in midfield, Gillingham couldn’t live with his passing and movement, and his link play with Vincelot, Cox and Odubajo was a joy to watch.

Little donkey(s)... The entire Gillingham team, who were even told by their own fans to “jog on” in no uncertain terms at the final whistle. But it gives me great pleasure to single out standout offenders, West Ham “academy” product Joe Martin and Southend “reject” carthorse Adam Barrett for special treatment as both players were embarrassed all afternoon.

In the dugout... “It was a really dominant performance and we were clinical and ruthless in our finishing” commented Russell Slade after the game. He wasn’t wrong - this was vintage 2013/14 Orient and Os fans will be hoping the team can take this form into the remaining four games of the season and the play-offs.

View from the opposition... Full credit to Gills fans for their chants of “easy, easy” after their consolation to make it 5-1. They took a sound beating pretty well before heading to the exits at 5-0, despite vocally requesting a full refund at 4-0. Steve Morris pretty much summed up their performance “We were absolute shite and you were awesome. Looked every bit a top team…”

Desperate times at Wycombe 

Tweet of the week... Things are bad at Wycombe. Really bad. They are staring possible relegation from League 2 in the face and it’s got so bad that they’ve resorted to depending on ex-O Dean “two left feet” Morgan to dig them out of trouble. This T-shirt - retweeted by the great man himself - is designed to make things a bit simpler for Gareth Ainsworth.