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Five Talking Points – Orient (H)

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The next in the ‘Five Talking Points’ series. Thanks to all who commented and discussed the points made in the previous piece. It was another game where we picked up a result, and it sees us rise up the league table. Let the points begin!

Your defence is terrified, Eli’s on FIRE

Another game, another goal, and another Vital MOTM win for Elijah Adebayo. He really is in form, and playing with the wind in his sails at the moment. Not only is he in a rich vein of goal scoring, but he is all round play has improved too. I could easily focus on the goals scored, but instead I want to look at his positioning and work-rate. He has been pressing the defence well, and is all over the top end of the pitch. He doesn’t seem to give up at chasing balls down, and is constantly hassling the oppositions defence and midfield. He is also getting into the right places in the box. His finish was sublime last night, but he was at the end of a cross to knock the ball down to Wes, and found space after the knockdown header. That is then where the ball ended up, and he curled in well. It has been noted that his training levels have improved too, and we are all hoping he can continue, and push to be a 15/20+ goals a season player for us.

We have at least one blunder per game

It is something we have all been saying, and yet again we were proved right. A poor back-pass from a usually reliable Liam Kinsella, gifted an in-form striker a chance, and Danny Johnson took it. Later on, Liam Roberts was caught outside the box, and was fortunate that the play fizzled out for a goal kick, however a more potent attacking team may have taken advantage of this. It is something that we have to cut out, as we are gifting a goal a game at the moment, forcing us to score at least two if we want those three points. Last night we did, but there will be games that we shoot ourselves in the foot, and miss out on points by not doing the basics right.

Holden and the team show versatility

Last night we lined up in a 4-4-2, with Rory Holden playing on the right, but often cutting in. It is a role we saw him struggle in last season, until the latter stages of the season, where he started to grow and thrive there. Last night, he put in a brilliant shift, and bagged himself a goal after some lovely play with Lavery. It is a formation I think we will use when Flash is unavailable, and one that we looked comfortable in, as did Holden. It is credit to him, that his performance in an unnatural role, was on par with the rest of his matches this season, where he has been brilliant.

Resilience

Last season, we had a poor record from when we went a goal down. This season, in the league, we have gained points when we have trailed in three games, Orient, Colchester and Harrogate. These are points that will be valuable come the end of the season, and have already proved so, with us sitting in the play-off’s after a handful of games. Darrell talks about mental strength, and what I like, is the fact that heads aren’t dropping if we go a goal behind. It keeps a belief that no matter what, we can get a result. Now, obviously we don’t want to see the team falling behind in games, but it is good to see that if we do, there is a drive to rectify it, not a team where heads drop.

Lavery

This is a mixed talking point, because I feel he is having a difficult time in front of goal at the moment. Yes he has scored, and it was a good header in a game where we created nothing, but other than that, he has really not found any form, summed up by a pretty poor penalty. The flip side to this, is the assists he has made. The build up to the first goal was simply beautiful. The passing and movement between Lavs and Holden was fantastic, and all round it was a brilliant goal. He is working hard for the team, and I do feel that once he gets his confidence back, the goals will come. But does it matter if he is setting them up, as opposed to scoring them?

So those are my five talking points, let me know your thoughts, as get the discussion going!

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