Orient Win At Last!

No wins in 11 league games for Orient and Preston hadn't been beaten in 7, you wouldn't have been excused for thinking it wasn't going to be Orient's day after just 120 seconds when Preston took the lead. However, an Orient comeback ensured our first league win of the campaign.

After just two minutes Preston went on a counter attack and Jamie Proctor broke down the Orient left and Paul Coutts was free in the Orient box to knock the ball past Lee Butcher. After an early goal it could have been easy for the Orient heads to go down and Preston to have pushed on and got three or four.

However, as the half went on, we looked better value for a goal than North End and we produced some brilliance to equalise. Kevin Lisbie, who in my eyes will be a big part of our season, took the ball to the byline and played it back across the box for the smallest man on the pitch, Dean Cox, to head home. That goal seemed to galvanise The O's and we pushed further and were rewarded in added time of the first half when Cox again put the ball in the North End net. Cox struck from 25 yards to send the Orient fans into delirium and into half-time winning and playing well.

The second half so waives of Preston pressure kept out by a combination of the Orient defence and Lee Butcher in the Orient goal. Just shy of the hour mark, George Porter clashed innocently with the Preston keeper Andreas Arestidou and come away with a dead leg, meaning David Mooney come on as a replacement.

Preston were to be awarded a penalty. As I sit in the TJS, I was at the opposite end to where the penalty was awarded but the rookie referee gave North End for a push on Brian McLean. When you see Graham Alexander, a veteran of hundreds of games and a penalty taking God, step up against Lee Butcher, a relatively inexperienced keeper, you have to fancy Alexander to put the ball away, however, Lady Luck shone on the Orient yesterday as 'Butch' pulled off a fantastic save to keep Orient ahead.

Orient held on to send the Brisbane Road crowd wild, celebrating a first league win in E10 since Good Friday back on the 22nd April 2011 when a 2-1 win against Peterborough United kept our faint play-off hopes alive. The defeat for Preston ended their seven match winning run and their best league record since 1959.

You can't look further than Dean Cox. 'Tiny' was a thorn in the Preston side from the off and his confidence flowed through the Orient side. A fantastic goal from 25 yards was the highlight for the small winger. There must also be special mentions to Lee Butcher, Ben Chorley, Stephen Dawson and Kevin Lisbie who all played huge parts in our first win.
Great penalty save by the young man who will grow in confidence after an impressive display yesterday. Decent game, gave away the penalty and was rather clumsy in some aspects of his game. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he was forced to play right-back, not his usual position. Started slowly but grew into the game and didn't do too much wrong. Some say he could easily have seen red for two bookable offences, the referee called it right for me. Up against a very good forward line at Preston, Forbes and Chorley barely put a foot wrong. You could argue both were anonymous for the Preston goal, though. Up against the physical Neil Mellor and handled him perfectly, something Mellor didn't like and lead to him throwing a strop. I'm not a big Chorley fan but that was one of his better games. Had a very poor start to the season but shot to life yesterday with two goals. When Daniels gets fit, if that form from yesterday can be continued than we may well get back to our best. It was the young lad's quietest game yesterday but was still a nuisance. Went off with a dead leg but shouldn't be out too long. When Dawson's playing well, Orient play well. Its that simple. I can't help but dislike Spring. So many times did he put us under pressure in our own half yesterday with poor passes but then he can make a 45 yard pass perfectly. He's a frustrating bloke. He's not the sort of player who'll fill the Sports pages but he looks steady, something we needed. Never stops running and was a thorn in Preston's side. We need to offer him a longer contract quickly. Slow, turns like the QE2 and offers little outside the box. Inside the box, he'll probably get a shot on target given half a chance. Come on late, didn't do too much. Can't really judge him on 5 minutes.

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