U’s Lose Unbeaten Start

The U’s lost their unbeaten start to the campaign on Saturday afternoon as Leyton Orient picked up all three points in a 2-1 win at the Weston Homes.

It was a tale of former strikers as both David Mooney and Kevin Lisbie bagged the Orient goals, whilst former O’s forward Jabo Ibehre pulled the U’s level for a while.

Victories against both Gillingham and Port Vale had preceded draws with Sheffield United and Carlisle in recent outings, but that unbeaten run came to an end at the weekend.

It was a game that Joe Dunne’s side were unfortunate to lose, but as has been a common story so far this year a lack of clinical instinct in front of goal would prove costly.

Russell Slade’s side have, of course, started the season in impeccable form as their five wins from five make them the only side in the Football League to be preserving a one-hundred-percent record.

And that record remained in tact at the weekend, although Dunne’s men would push them to the end as the O’s sought their first league victory in north Essex for over half a decade.

Sanchez Watt was looking the liveliest in the early exchanges, making the strongest efforts to open the deadlock with a couple of efforts that forced the Orient goalkeeper into fully-stretched saves.

But it was the front-line of former U’s strikers, messrs Mooney and Lisbie, who would unlock the present day defence as the former Irish loanee latched on to a long ball to fire past Walker under a late challenge.

The O’s would continue to press for a second, but Jabo Ibehre, who began his career as an apprentice at Brisbane Road, would level the scores against the tide – Craig Eastmond was brought down in the box but, before any decision could be made on a penalty, Ibehre swept the ball home.

Having levelled the game, Dunne’s side grew in confidence and began to take more of a foothold of the game, with Watt continuing to go close. But it was the other former U’s striker who continued the goalscoring theme.

Tosin Olufemi, filling in for the unwell Brian Wilson, couldn’t get close enough to Dean Cox on the left wing, and he looped a cross into the back post where Lisbie was on hand to nod past Walker and restore the O’s lead.

Ibehre thought he had bagged a brace midway through the second half when Watt fired a cross-cum-shot across the face of goal, and Ibehre was in the right place to touch it over the line before being denied by the offisde flag – just like he had at Sheffield United.

Joe Dunne would later complain of the ‘stonewall penalty’ that the U’s were denied with just five minutes to go, as Drey Wright got the wrong side of Scott Cuthbert and forayed into the O’s box.

However, despite Cuthbert appearing to wrap his arms around Wright and haul him to the ground, the referee, who had a perfect position, insisted it was not a foul and the U’s were denied a late penalty.

The U’s will look to make amends for the result tomorrow evening as they travel to Dagenham & Redbridge in the first round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.


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