Match report

Video clips

Despite spells of applied pressure in the second half Orient failed to gain their deserved reward from a dogged encounter that left them rooted to the foot of the third divison.

The only goal to separate the sides came in the sixth minute when Walter Boyd collected a cross and was given time and room to control the ball before he drove a powerful left-footed shot past Scott Barrett from 20 yards.

The O's found chances difficult to come by with yet another striker partnership featuring the recently re-signed Carl Griffiths and Steve Watts, who has just completed a month's loan spell with Conference side Welling United.

Despite enjoying a lot of possession in midfield during the first-half, Orient failed to create any real openings with poor quality in their final pass a disappointing feature.

It was left to Matt Lockwood and Billy Beall to supply a number of crosses to try and put pressure on Swansea's well organised defence. But the home side found City in mean mood.

The second half saw Orient begin brightly with Swansea content to defend their slender advantage as their centre-backs allowed the home forwards little sight of goal. It was Boyd who threatened to add to the scoring but he was denied by Wim Walshchaerts and Beall with last gasp clearences. A Walshchaerts drive in the 58th minute that was well saved by Roger Freestone signalled the start of an Orient resurgence. Griffiths, who became increasingly more menacing as the game progressed, combined delightfully with Watts to set up Beall whose effort was cleared by Jason Smith.

Then in the 66th minute Lockwood's powerful effort was blocked by the foot of Freestone as Orient searched for an equaliser.

The introduction of Ahmet Brkovic gave the home side a wide attacking option and the substitute was soon winning a corner to raise the spirits of the troubled London side.

Orient were now enjoying their best spell of the match with 20 minutes remaining, and appeared to have won a penalty after 77 minutes when Griffiths was bundled over in the box. However referee Graham Barber waved aside furious appeals and although Lockwood and Griffiths went close towards the end, Swansea held out defiantly to claim all three points.

THE RECORD!

Festive cheer today for a bumper turnout of about 800 jubilant Swans fans who witnessed a new club record at Brisbane Road. A seventh successive league clean sheet was achieved, wiping out the previous record set under the halcyon Toshack days. We make this a total of 665 minutes of football with no goals conceded, since Shrewsbury's equaliser back in early November. A great achievement for John Hollins and his team, but one which was not achieved without a significant battle in East London today, and which at times owed as much to good fortune as to good play.

A depleted Swans team, missing a clutch of first team players (allegedly to a flu bug) started brightly and dominated the early exchanges. The absence of Watkin gave an opportunity for Walter Boyd to prove his worth and he seized this after only 5 minutes.....receiving the ball just outside the area, he twisted and turned before releasing a superb 20 yard shot into the corner which keeper could not reach. This sent the Swans crowd into a frenzy of chanting for Boyd, which continued until well after the final whistle - perhaps the Saviour has finally come to Swansea!

The remainder of the first half was a dour affair, with the Swans having the better pressure, and forcing a succession of corners, but a speculative shot from Jenkins being our only shot on target. Orients best effort was a free kick from the impressive Lockwood, which was well saved by Freestone. Our half time lead was well deserved, thanks mainly to the intuitive defending of our back four ably supported by the midfield who were sharp in the tackle and quick about the park.

Unfortunately, in the second half our midfield effort was rather more subdued. Jenkins, playing wide on the left (Casey and Coates absent), all but disappeared, Cusack quickly began to feel the pace, and Lacey (recently applauded for his good form) struggled to make an impression. This illustrated the problems that we have when our midfield fails to get a grip. Unable to control the play, Cusack and Lacey dropped deep and began to play as auxiliary defenders thus inviting pressure. And for a 20 minute spell the pressure came in torrents. Roger made a good save from an Ampadu free kick, Bound and Smith both headed off the line, Jones made a goal line clearance and Walschaerts struck the post with a tremendous long range strike.

We looked lively on the break, mainly due to the efforts of Walter Boyd who showed some tremendous dribbling skills. He nearly doubled our lead when his close ball control took him past the last defender, but his low shot was saved by Barrett. In the last couple of minutes a speculative long ball set Alsop through on an aerial one on one with Barrett, who blatantly handled the ball outside the area to deny Jules an open goal. Remarkably both the referee and the linesman chose to ignore the transgression.

The final whistle was welcome and a battling performance had brought another 3 points.

Player ratings
Freestone 6 Didn't show his usual confidence under the high ball..too much turkey Rog?
Jones 7 Pretty solid but didn't get forward much
Howard 7 as above
Smith 9 headed everything and timed his tackles superbly
Bound 8 the rock as ever...sign that contract now!!!
Jenkins 5 for his first half performance only.
Keegan 6 couple of good crosses, but didn't really stretch them
Lacey 6 battled hard but not very influential
Cusack 6 as above and gave the ball away a little too easily
Alsop 7 ran his heart out and created some opportunities for Walter
Boyd 9 great goal, good work rate and some genuine class. Maybe he has begun to thaw out!

subs
De Vulgt - a couple of pacey runs whilst playing wide on left

In summary, a battling result which had to be ground out. Like the Chester game, these games still have to be won, and Orient did not look a team bound for the conference. We were missing several key players, and we still got the 3 points. The result was deserved for the sake of the fans, who turned out in numbers and sang their hearts out from start to finish, and witnessed the possible coming of age of Walter! Orient may feel they deserved a draw, but their passionless and totally silent supporters certainly did not warrant it - maybe THEY deserve to be in the Conference. Good to see all the Swans players acknowledging the support at the end, especially Walter who seemed both delighted and relieved. Well done JH and the team...surely he must be up for manager of the month for December? And for the big game on Tuesday, a bumper crowd must be assured (?)

Happy new Millennium to all Swans fans anywhere.

Two facts brightened the gloom of our sixth successive defeat without so much as a goal. 1. This surely marks the last dying breaths of Tommy's reign at the club. 2. There were glimpses of what a side invigorated by a new manager and eager to impress might be capable of. However, to say that we probably deserved a draw is a sad reflection of the straws that we clutch at every week. Yes, an aggressive second half display was welcome but in the main what it did was highlight Taylor's quixotic team selections and illustrate just how utterly shite we have been in almost every single game including the first wretched 45 minutes today. It should also be noted that a lumbering, unambitious Swansea team were exactly the sort we have got to beat if we have a hope of staying up. A point would have been justified but we needed three.

Christie, McGhee and McElholm dropped out of the 11 and the squad, whilst Tony Richards was omitted. Steve Watts returned up front to partner Griffiths (partnership 4535 of the season), Beall and Walschaerts started in midfield, though Billy appeared to be impersonating a winger, and Hicks (to be known as gerrof Hicks! for the rest of this report).

The poor little lambs hardly needed anything to shatter their practically non-existent confidence and when Jamican international Walter Boyd's shot flew in from 20 yards (ooh, a shot from outside the box!) after an impressive piece of go on have some space and hit it oh shit it's gone in head for the hills defending from Dean Smith, you sensed a pretty fatal blow had been dealt even at this early stage.

So it seemed to prove as Orient embarked on their now traditional witless first half performance. There was no movement, passes flew with obscene regularity to Swansea's red shirts. Carl Griffiths looked eager up front and the quality of his lay offs was top quality. Sadly Super got the sort of arthritic hit the ball up at not very tall strikers that has become our attacking staple. What chance does he have? Why can't they play the ball int o feet? His only half chance came when Matt Lockwood's excellent cross came in, but Griff was unable to do more than tamely head over the bar. And Lockwood had our only real chance of the half when his well taken free-kick was only half-saved by Freestone but the tight angle prevented an Orient player putting the ball in.

Swansea were, frankly, terrible. Boyd looked a different class to everyone on the pitch and when he got the ball looked highly dangerous. Fortunatley Swansea, who looked like they'd eaten too much Christmas dinner, were unable to take further advantage of a back three which looks increasing limited. When Gerrof Hicks was outdone for pace by the hulking 2mph "pace" of Allsop you really began to despair for the back line.

Half-time came (thankfully) and all that remained was for the usual even worse second half performance.

Miraculously though we almost played quite well. There seemed somewhat more pace and urgency and when Matt Joseph made (lord preserve us) a run down the right you could sense the atmosphere beginning to improve. But when Beall wasted a good position faffing around on the right and appeared to be on a one man mission to take the ball back to Barrett from Swansea's penalty box, it fell at Walschaerts feet and his sweet 25 yarder grazed the outside of fatty Freestone's post.

Indeed Walschaerts spent the next five minutes running round like a man possessed and generally doing a passable imitation of the good players we witnessed last year. The obvious thing to do then was to take him off leaving on Ampapoo. I don't know what hold Kwame has over Taylor but god only knows we need rid of Tommy so that piece of crap can be removed permanently from the pitch. His lack of application and effort is quite stunning.

On the bright side Wim's replacement Brkovic provided the sort of wit and creativity that is so singularly lacking now that Ling is banished for being off-message. His balance, poise and effective passing saw us create several half-chances, including a shot past the beaten Freestone which was easily cleared by a Swans defender, where we looked like we *might* score. This is obviously an improvement on the never score in a million years department.

But we looked very vulnerable at the back. I'd say Smith wasn't match fit if it wasn't the fact that he looks so consistently bad. Every time the ball comes at him in the air you have to offer a quick prayer that he won't let it bounce and when he (I think though it could of been one of the other Three Geriatrics) decided to offer Boyd another goal with yet another Scotty Barrett suicidal backpass, he was somewhat relieved when the impressive Jamaican made a hash of it. Though why Clark and Joseph then decided to play Chicken in the penalty box is beyond all logical comprehension.

As for gerrof Hicks, well, let's just say he's plain embarrassing. I'm sorry committment doesn't quite make up for total lack of ability. His distribution, like Smith's, remained appalling, and the fact that he is the slowest player on the pitch for most games, hardly makes you warm to him. The laughable way in which he attempted to stop the nippy Swansea substitute was highly amusing, if deeply pathetic. Lupine young talent leaving a dated hatchet merchant behind.

It's enough to make you weep when Downer is on the bench and McElholm in the stands. We need ability and confidence at the back, not superficial experience.

When the final whistle blew there was a slight tang of injustice. A point was deserved, but so what? Everything is immaterial now in the context of Tuesday, a game which is bigger than Wembley. It's the biggest game in the history of the club and could well define where we go from here. Defeat will bring the end for Taylor but could leave us anywhere from five to eight points adrift at the bottom of the table and staring down the barrell of a gun that will take one hell of a manager to shift away.

As things stand I am certain we will lose on Tuesday. Chester are a club that have been in crisis for a season. A barmy American Footballer manger (though obviously more successful than Tommy), a poor squad of players (Steve Finney anyone?) but, in all probability, a club higher on confidence and used to scrapping. Us? We've got better players but no confidence and the worst manager in the country (official). So that's why Tommy I ask you, in the best interests of the club you say you love, to resign tonight and give Paul Brush the chance to take us to victory and begin on the path to survival. If you don't do this it is my firm belief that our time as a Football League club is over.

Tommy, please go.