The Wrexham vs Leyton Orient
PREVIEW | Wrexham AFC vs Leyton Orient
Phil Parkinson’s side are hunting a fifth consecutive win, but our opponents don’t do away losses.
THE WREXHAM ANGLE
Saturday’s impressive win at Northampton was gratifying in so many ways. The way we took control in the first half, and the threat we posed to the Cobblers’ defence, were highly impressive, but we also looked very impressive without the ball, winning it back swiftly or looking unperturbable in our mid-block. It’s not that Mark Howard didn’t have to make any saves to secure his clean sheet; he didn’t have to take any testing crosses either.
Phil Parkinson told the media in his post-match press conference he was delighted with his side’s performance:
“Northampton went 3-0 up against Huddersfield in their last home game and they started that game really quick and physical, so we prepared for that.
“We won headers, we won second balls, and we built a platform to play some great football and get the lead and I’m really pleased with the professionalism of the group.
“It’s great for Sam Smith to get his goal, you always want that first one at a new club and his all-round play was excellent, and then Ollie has incredible energy, but he has quality as well and it was a good finish.
“We had other chances, their goalkeeper made a great save from Jay Rodriguez, so we could have scored more goals, but we also had to defend set-pieces and long throws.
“The concentration, the detail and the organisation had to be right, because if you suddenly concede it gives the crowd a huge lift and they are a team who have shown in recent weeks that they can get back into games.
“I’m really pleased with the whole performance and now we have to utilise these extra few hours to rest up and get ready for next week.”
THE VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Leyton Orient’s rise to the top six has been one of the stories of the EFL season. A slow start saw them appearing to be set for a battle against the drop: they lost their first 4 games, culminating in a 3-0 thrashing by Shrewsbury, who were also on zero points.
They responded with a 4-game unbeaten run which included a superb 4-1 win at Stockport and a goalless draw at home to us, in which they showed that they were a more robust unit than their early results suggested. They suffered a wobble in October, improved in November, and really hit their stride in December. Nine wins out of 11 saw them race up the table, and their away form is formidable. Since a loss at Wycombe in October, they’re unbeaten on the road, winning 6 and drawing 3.
Although their unbeaten run ended at the start of the month when Stockport County won 1-0 at Brisbane Road, they’ve bounced back with two contrasting home wins. First they enjoyed a comprehensive 3-0 win over Mansfield Town, and on Saturday they showed great resolve to beat Lincoln City 3-2. After racing into a 2-0 lead, they let The Imps back into the match and couldn’t have complained it they’d had to split the points. However, Charlie Kelman stepped up to score his 13th of the season in the second minute of added time to clinch the points.
Orient boss Richie Wellens was absolutely thrilled with his team’s resolve, telling the Newham Recorder:
“It’s the first real test of character that we’ve had. I know we were behind against Stockport and had to chase the game a little bit but it’s the first time we’ve been pegged back with a lead for some time. It tested our resilience, and you have to give credit to the players because they kept going.”
HEAD TO HEAD
Leyton Orient have enjoyed the upper hand over us in recent years, and their record at The STōK Cae Ras has benefitted greatly as a consequence. We haven’t beaten The Os in 8 attempts, going back to April 2003 when Andy Morrell earned victory with a first half penalty conceded by Justin Miller, who received a red card for his challenge. We’d secured promotion to League One three days earlier, at the expense of AFC Bournemouth. I wonder what they’re up to now.
Our most recent home win over Orient came all the way back in January 1995. The 4-1 victory, in January 1995, featured a Gary Bennett hat-trick, the only one a Wrexham player has scored in this fixture, with Karl Connolly scoring the other.
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The crowd was boosted to 6,616 as supporters would receive a priority voucher for the forthcoming F.A. Cup tie against Manchester United, although that’s not the biggest crowd attracted to the STōK Cae Ras by the Os; that came the first time the sides met. In December 1951 the sides clashed in the second round of the F.A. Cup themselves, and 14,765 witnessed a 1-1 draw, Wrexham’s goal coming through a Billy Tunnicliffe penalty. The replay went Orient’s way 3-2, despite goals by Cyril Lawrence and Tommy Bannan.
The smallest attendance to come to The Racecourse to see Orient was 1,702 in March 1987. Wrexham were still unbeaten at home and Jim Steel gave them the lead, but the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Bennett scored six goals in all against the Eastenders, and tops the list of Wrexham’s scorers against them, Jim Steel, Alan Hill, Steve Buxton, Steve Massey, David Gregory, Mick Vinter and Chris Holroyd trailing him with two goals each.
Holroyd is the only recent name on that list, and there’s a good explanation for that. Our 0-0 draw at Brisbane Road last September means we haven’t scored past Orient for 469 minutes! The last Wrexham player to put the ball past an Orient keeper was Holroyd, who had put us ahead in the first minute but had to strike again in the second half to earn us a point in a home match in October 2017.
We lost our 2 subsequent home games against Orient. They both took place in the following season, as Justin Edinburgh’s side powered their way to promotion. First, they beat us 2-0 in the league and then they knocked us out of the FA Trophy by a 1-0 scoreline.
Our most notorious clashes with Orient were in the 1988-89 play-offs. We met over two legs in the final, which weren’t played at Wembley until the following season, and Orient arrived in confident mood, having won 1-0 at the SToK Car Ras a month earlier. Neil Salathiel had the best chance of the game but couldn’t hit the target with a header at The Kop end, and Orient won the second leg 2-1.
Our worst home result against Orient came in September 1985 when a Gregory goal was a mere consolation in a 3-1 defeat. Their impressive record in Wrexham sees them boast as many wins as Wrexham – 6 apiece – in 18 games.
POSSIBLE MILESTONES
Ollie Rathbone’s 300th league match.
Max Cleworth’s 100th Wrexham league appearance.
Mark Howard’s 50th Wrexham league appearance.
FIXTURES
Crawley Town v Wigan Athletic
Mansfield Town v Lincoln City
Shrewsbury Town v Huddersfield Town
Stevenage v Burton Albion
Wycombe Wanderers v Bristol Rovers
We’ll be keeping an eye on Wycombe, as we narrowed the gap between us to two points on Saturday. They’ll expect to cash in on home advantage against Bristol Rovers, although The Gasheads have found themselves some pleasing form later. Seven points from the last 3 games has lifted them 7 points clear of the drop zone, but all those games were at the Memorial Ground, and their results on the road have been rather less satisfactory: they’ve won 1 of their last 8 away games, losing the others.
Huddersfield Town came from behind to end a poor run of results last Saturday and held onto their spot in the play-offs in the process. Their win at Barnsley was their first in 6 as they’ve struggled with injuries, and they have a chance to build on it with a visit to Shrewsbury, who 3-game mini-revival ended with a 3-2 home loss against Bolton at the weekend.
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