Just got in; a few thoughts on tonight's match. Firstly, what Tommy Widdrington said before the match was spot-on - to paraphrase the assistant boss, don't get too high when we get a positive result, don't get too low when we get a more negative one, especially in pre-season. It wasn't a superb performance, but was is clear is that this is a squad still gelling, and that's what these matches are all about.
Looking at the different areas of the pitch:
The goalkeepers: An Orient-supporting mate told me that Glenn Morris is a very good shot-stopper but can be suspect on crosses due to a lack of height (sound familiar?!). It certainly looked that way this evening, although he wasn't overly tested. The goal was a stunner, 35 yards out, dipping, he had no chance. More concerning was a regulation high cross into the six-yard box that he fumbled and the ball was swept into the net, though not before the referee had blown up for an infringement. Evans played the second half and looked more assured, although he was nearly beaten by another cracking strike from distance early on.
Full-backs: Both Herd and Clohessey looked to get forward well in support of the midfield, though when they did the final ball was lacking in quality. In getting forward, they were sometimes caught out of position, leaving the centre-halves to make decent saving tackles...
Centre-backs: Initial impressions of Coughlan are that he's a solid defender and that he'll do a good job in League Two. He will get caught for pace, but more often that not his nous will get him out of tricky situations. Phillips seemed like he didn't really want to be involved in the first half, but Coughlan covered him with his reading of the game, in the second period Phillips was much more impressive, and well worth another look.
Wingers: Whenever we got the ball in the first 20-25 minutes, it went wide to Soares or Hall, and they more often than not provided a telling ball into the box. Soares drilled a low shot against the post inside the opening six minutes and the quality of his crossing early on was excellent. For the last hour or so, that changed, and Hall seemed unwilling to take on his man, whilst Soares' delivery got progressively worse. I'm still excited about seeing these two and Zahboub, though, swinging crosses into the box; I think it will happen.
Central midfield: Grant was snappy as ever (no such thing as a friendly in his eyes), Easton oozes quality in the centre of the park. This probably won't go down well with everyone, but he reminds me of Kevin Maher in many ways, just keeps it simple, finds a blue shirt. Appears to be growing into the captancy role as well. Bilel came on at half-time in place of Grant, and something had clearly riled him as he threw himself into two reckless tackles on the Blues left, got involved in a fracas in the penalty box and, after two, quite frankly innocuous, 50-50s on a defender and the 'keeper going for the ball, had to be brought off for his own good. Lee Smith looked alright in the ten minutes that he played there.
Forwards: Corr won just about everything in the air, even if his team-mates didn't always read it; that may come in time. If we can get good balls into the box, he might just be the man to connect. On the ground, he doesn't look so comfortable, with a heavy first touch and wayward passing, but he is still easing himself into action. Spencer was lively again, reacting quickest to Soares' rebound to find the net, only to be pulled up for offside. Crawford came on and chased everything down, Paterson - rather than looking lazy and/or lethargic - just seems to me like a young lad who is still getting used to his surroundings and who lacks confidence. Hopefully finding his shooting boots in pre-season will mean that he hits the ground running on August 7th.
