Leyton Orient 0-1 Sutton United
Leyton Orient Starting XI: Brill, Widdowson, Ekpiteta, Coulson, Judd, McAnuff, Lee, Clay, Dayton, Koroma, Bonne.
Sutton United Starting XI: Butler, Bennett, Thomas, Eastmond, Clough, Beckwith, Davis, Bailey, Wright, Ayunga, Drinan.
After a slow start to the game for both sides it soon became apparent that Sutton would stick very firmly to their rough game plan when Kenny Davis brought down James Dayton after he was seemingly set free by Myles Judd on the right wing. Davis picked up the first of six bookings for The Yellows on the seventh minute.
The first sign of any threat posed by Sutton was in the 16th minute when Aaron Drinan found himself bearing down on the Orient goal before Josh Coulson sublimely nicked the ball away from The U’s striker.
The O’s showed some signs of promise when Koroma won a corner just three minutes later however Dayton’s delivery was well cleared.
The biggest chance for either team in the first half came when Widdowson won a corner in the 23rd minute. The left back then headed McAnuff’s delivery goalwards but a moment of brilliant defending saw his effort blocked off the line.
Within the first three minutes of the second half Sutton were rewarded after a rare attempt on goal. Jonah Ayunga found the bottom left corner from 25 yards to put the away side infront. The fine strike also provoked the question should Dean Brill have been beaten from distance at his near post?
From the 48th minute onwards, the Sutton game plan was evident. Paul Doswell’s side focused on frustrating The O’s, predominantly with tactical fouls and time wasting.
On the hour mark Orient calved out a half chance. James Dayton’s through ball was poorly dealt with and found its way to Bonne on the edge of the box whose effort cleared not only the bar but the roof of the north stand.
The home team looked more threatening after the introduction of Dale Gorman and James Brophy 20 minutes after the restart.
Soon after being subbed on, Brophy was picked out by McAnuffs fantastic across field pass and won a corner after some fancy footwork saw him beat his marker.
The closest Orient came to an equaliser was in the 89th minute when Dale Gorman’s shot from 20 yards left Jamie Butler stranded as it cannoned off the crossbar.
Unfortunately for The O’s the frustrating afternoon ended in them loosing their status of the only unbeaten team in the division as Ayunga’s strike was the only thing separating the East and South Londoners.
Ratings
Brill: (5) Could’ve done better with the goal but far from a routine save in fairness, average performance.
Widdowson: (6) A few sloppy passes but not bad defensively.
Coulson: (7) Looked composed at the back as usual and headed away when necessary.
Ekpiteta: (8) Best Orient player on the pitch, solid defensively and tried to move the team forwards.
Judd: (5) Similar to Widdowson, not a bad performance but wasteful with possession.
McAnuff: (6) Created little for his standards but won the ball back a lot.
Clay: (6) Much like all the midfielders, created little but Clay did the dirty work when it was needed.
Lee: (5) Not his best performance this season, fatigue might have taken its toll.
Dayton: (5) Struggled against his fullback at times.
Koroma: (5) Rarely got on the ball, struggled to have an impact.
Bonne: (5) Wasteful with his limited chances but did his job defensively.
Subs:
Gorman: (6) Showed a sense of urgency when on the pitch
Brophy: (7) A much needed substitution, showed his flair when on the ball.
Alabi: (5)Had little time to make an impact but didn’t capitalise on the half chances he had.
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