Leyton Orient 2 Ipswich Town 2

Don't be deceived by the scoreline, this was a game that Town dominated but, as

at Heybridge last weekend, they took their foot off the pedal towards the end

and conceded two late goals to come away with a draw.

Ipswich lined up in their usual 3-5-2 formation with Wright in goal, Bramble,

Scales and Brown at the back and Wilnis and Clapham on the flanks. Holland was

missing from the midfield where Magilton, Reuser and the seemingly fit-again

Scowcroft lined up behind Johnson and Stewart.

The first half could only be described as dull with Town having all the

possession and territory but failing to convert the opportunities they created.

Twice within the first 15 minutes Titus Bramble found himself in a position to

shoot from 20 yards out but on both occasions his efforts went wide. Johnson

and Stewart seemed to be linking up well at the front and they both provided

each other, Scowcoft and Reuser with neat lay-offs and through balls but still

the ball would not go in the net. Even John Scales was joining in from set

pieces and nearly scored on a couple of occasions. He looked a shrewd signing

playing in Mogga's role at the back and seemed to organise the defence in much

the same way as our player/coach would do. The two best chances of the half

fell to Stewart, whose turn and volley hit the upright, and Reuser, whose

one-two with Johnson set him up for a shot from 15 yards but Orient's ex-Town

target Matt Lockwood managed to get a block in at the vital moment.

No changes were made at half-time and the second-half began as the first had

ended with most of the play in the Orient half. We had to wait until the 58th

minute for the first goal which, although scored by Johnson, owed much to the

efforts of Fabian Wilnis. The Town wing-back played a neat ball into the box

for the Ipswich number 9 to strike home right-footed from about 10 yards. It

was no more than Johnson deserved, as he had worked hard all night, but it was

ironic that the goal should come on his right foot as in the first half he had

squandered a chance to score by opting to hit the ball on his favoured left

when a right-footed effort was called for.

Seven minutes later Mowbray scored amidst a goalmouth scramble, two minutes

after coming on for Scales. Within a minute Johnson's right foot was at it

again. Some tidy footwork on the edge of the box teed him up for a curling shot

from 20 yards which was only just tipped over the bar for a corner.

Croft came on for Clapham but within a minute Orient had pulled a goal back.

Brown deliberately brought down the east Londoners' attacker after he had found

himself through on goal with only Wright to beat and Lockwood blasted home the

resultant penalty as the Town number 1 dived the wrong way.

Two more substitutions were made after that with 'boy wonder' Nabil Abidallah

replacing the impressive Scowcroft and Thetis coming on for Brown. The latter

change showed off Bramble's versatility as he then moved over to the left of

defence and looked every bit as accomplished as he had done on the right.

Abidallah built upon his growing reputation with some clever moves but even his

fast feet could not inspire an Ipswich side who seemed to content to play the

remainder of the game out at 2-1. Ultimately this relaxed attitude cost us as

in the 88th minute Orient's Ahmet Berkovic scored after a mix-up in Town's

defence. A number of our players, notably Magilton, seemed none too pleased at

the prospect of losing our 100% pre-season record and the pace was stepped up

for the last five minutes, but as the match ended all square we can look back

upon some fine displays by the majority of the team and a standard of football

which emphasised the gulf in class between the two sides. We will certainly go

into our final warm-up games with a more ruthless attitude and, against two

teams of a more comparable standard, we will then be able to see just where we

stand for the start of the Premiership season.

Wright 5 - Nothing much to do

Wilnis 7 - Played very well and staked his place for a start against Tottenham

Clapham 7 - As with Wilnis, he looks the obvious choice to start as wing-back

Bramble 7 - Tough-tackling, an ability to come forward but poor distribution

Scales 7 - Steady and obviously possesses a lot of quality. Hopefully he'll

stay fit

Brown 6 - Has played better but solid enough

Magilton 7 - No Holland meant he had a different job to do. Should start on the

19th

Reuser 7 - Linked well with the attack and helped in midfield too

Scowcroft 7 - Nice to see him back and he played 75 minutes with no obvious

problems

JOHNSON 8 - He looked the keenest to impress and worried Orient all night

Stewart 7 - Unselfish as ever and worked hard through the middle and on the

flanks

Photo: Action Images

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