A thoroughly unsatisfactory game of football saw Argyle maintain a 2 point lead at the top of the table with a 1-1 draw. Despite the welcome return of McHugh, for long periods it looked like being the 4th home loss on the trot but at the final whistle the overriding feeling was that we had been ripped off by a wholly inept referee and should probably be celebrating 3 points.
The match was a scrappy affair from the start and Argyle paid the price of forgetting that Orient had a goal machine in their ranks. Simpson was left unchallenged and on 4 mins he his shot from just outside the area found its way into the top corner giving Walton no chance. 0-1. Argyle tried to play but the Orient dark arts started straight away, plenty of time wasting and every time Argyle got within 30 yards of the opposition goal Orient disrupted the play with obvious fouls. More injury woes as Threkland hobbled off and straight down the tunnel and was replaced by Simpson (who had given way to McHugh). Equally, Orient's Simpson was subbed off with a knock. Jarvis went close from a very acute angle and Simpson missed a good chance. Otherwise the first half was littered with stoppages, odd refereeing decisions (both sides) and some very poor football. Nor sure what they do all week but it would appear that controlling the football isn't in the drills.
Second half same as the first but the standard got worse. Argyle were second to every ball, no one was moving into space resulting in too many back passes to the keeper. It took until the 80th minute for the match to spring to life when Nelson scored a rare goal (lets face it the midfield and attackers were never going to score) after the ball broke free following a save. Suddenly Argyle started to press and play and looked like they would take the 3 points. The referee (aka golum) denied Argyle the most nailed on penalty you could ever see. Jarvis was clearly prevented from getting a shot away by the defender who had two full handfulls of his shirt- the ref did nothing except incense the already irritated crowd.
Walton pulled off a couple of saves to keep the opposition to 1 goal - he gets my MOTM but must improve his kicking if he is ever to make it at a decent level. Orient joins my list of clubs to despise, wasting time for the last 20 mins is probably acceptable but simply setting out to spoil the game from as early as the 5th minute is just pathetic and does a disservice to their fans as well as the oppositions.
The ref was a disgrace.
Having said all that, we are STILL top of the league. Hopefully less pressure at the away match next Saturday and then a couple of weeks off (we don't do cup matches) which will hopefully give time to get one or two players fit again and give the chance for DA to get things back on track.
The match was a scrappy affair from the start and Argyle paid the price of forgetting that Orient had a goal machine in their ranks. Simpson was left unchallenged and on 4 mins he his shot from just outside the area found its way into the top corner giving Walton no chance. 0-1. Argyle tried to play but the Orient dark arts started straight away, plenty of time wasting and every time Argyle got within 30 yards of the opposition goal Orient disrupted the play with obvious fouls. More injury woes as Threkland hobbled off and straight down the tunnel and was replaced by Simpson (who had given way to McHugh). Equally, Orient's Simpson was subbed off with a knock. Jarvis went close from a very acute angle and Simpson missed a good chance. Otherwise the first half was littered with stoppages, odd refereeing decisions (both sides) and some very poor football. Nor sure what they do all week but it would appear that controlling the football isn't in the drills.
Second half same as the first but the standard got worse. Argyle were second to every ball, no one was moving into space resulting in too many back passes to the keeper. It took until the 80th minute for the match to spring to life when Nelson scored a rare goal (lets face it the midfield and attackers were never going to score) after the ball broke free following a save. Suddenly Argyle started to press and play and looked like they would take the 3 points. The referee (aka golum) denied Argyle the most nailed on penalty you could ever see. Jarvis was clearly prevented from getting a shot away by the defender who had two full handfulls of his shirt- the ref did nothing except incense the already irritated crowd.
Walton pulled off a couple of saves to keep the opposition to 1 goal - he gets my MOTM but must improve his kicking if he is ever to make it at a decent level. Orient joins my list of clubs to despise, wasting time for the last 20 mins is probably acceptable but simply setting out to spoil the game from as early as the 5th minute is just pathetic and does a disservice to their fans as well as the oppositions.
The ref was a disgrace.
Having said all that, we are STILL top of the league. Hopefully less pressure at the away match next Saturday and then a couple of weeks off (we don't do cup matches) which will hopefully give time to get one or two players fit again and give the chance for DA to get things back on track.
