Skubala Era Off the Mark – Leyton Orient 0-1 Imps

Michael Skubala earned his first win as City boss yesterday evening against Leyton Orient.

The Imps’ head coach named two changes from the side that fell to defeat against Stevenage on Saturday afternoon. Lukas Jensen started in goal, with an unchanged back three of TJ Eyoma, Alex Mitchell and Adam Jackson. Lasse Sorensen kept his place, while Dylan Duffy played at left wing-back as he did against Port Vale in the second half. Ethan Hamilton and Ethan Erhahon played in midfield, while Hakeeb Adelakun was recalled in attack alongside Jack Vale and Ali Smith.

The team selection brought more missing players. Jaden Brown this time, missing with an illness. It’s unfortunate for Jaden with Jack Burroughs being dropped from the side as it would’ve been a perfect opportunity for him to stake a claim for a regular spot in the team. Jaden is a good player, he’s an attacking wing-back that looks to go forward and that could be perfect in a Skubala side.

It was good to see some academy players on the bench, we’ve got used to seeing Jovon Makama so it’s easy to forget how young he still is but he was joined by Charlie Parks and Bola Okewoye, who played in FA Youth Cup action the previous night. In case you haven’t seen the score, the young Imps got through to the next round after an impressive performance at the LNER Stadium against Walsall, winning 5-0. The future is bright, and it’s encouraging to see the progress the academy is making right in front of our eyes.

Obviously I cannot go any further into this, without giving my condolences to Derek Reynolds’ family, friends as well as Leyton Orient Football Club. Football comes second sometimes, and this is certainly one of those occasions. RIP Derek.

I thought City started the game the better of the sides and it was home goalkeeper Sol Byrnn, who had to make the first save of the game with Hamilton’s long range drive from distance being saved fairly easily. We nearly found ourselves a goal down, once again from a set piece. Orient won the first ball, and Joe Pigott then headed over from just a few yards. 

The first half was in some ways was a continuation from the second half at Stevenage. We looked slightly better but for much of the first period, we had lots of the ball but lacked a purpose and aggression. One big positive for me though was the press on the Orient goalkeeper. Vale and Haks in particular were effective when pressing Brynn. Although we didn’t directly gain from the press, we managed to prevent Orient from playing short on a regular basis and with Mitchell and Jacko at the back, we could recycle the ball.

Although we weren’t exceptional in the first half, neither were Orient. Both sides struggled to create chances, and it was a game that was in dire need of a tactical change/switch. Steve Evans did it at the weekend with substitutions and on Tuesday night I felt like Michael did it with his team talk and tweaks at half time. 

We started the second half much better and on the front foot. Once again though, chances were at a premium for both sides. It’s clear where we want to go though, the style of play is starting to change and I think we are getting to see a little bit of what we might be about. We got more players on the ball, pushed our play a few yards up the pitch and got aggressive with a passive Orient side. 

I’ll skip straight to the goal as their wasn’t many chances of note except one big save from Lukas just before we took the lead. I think it’s important we concentrate on that because it’s such a key moment in the game. Mitchell was beaten in the air, and Sotiriou found himself in on goal, but Lukas made himself big pushing the effort way. Less than 2 minutes later, we take the lead.

Football is about moments, and Lukas’ save is one of them moments that can be looked back on as crucial. The play leading to the goal was well executed. Makama started the move by moving the ball out to Lasse on the right. From there, Hamilton was found on the edge of the box. The summer signing cleverly struck the ball back across the goalkeeper. Brynn reacted late, resulting in City securing the crucial three points in the capital. The entire team went to the bench to celebrate, that for me showed the importance of the first goal and the first victory in the Skubala era.

This obviously isn’t the final product of what we will see under Skubala, but it’s promising as there were lots of positives to take. The whole defensive unit did well to keep a clean sheet, but Eyoma once again was near the top of my list for MOTM. The central defender was impressive once again, with a series of blocks and clever interceptions intertwined with smart play in possession. Another massive positive was Jovon Makama. I thought it was his best performance in an Imps shirt, he had a part to play in the goal and he really used his physicality well to help us get a result. I was also impressed with his maturity in the final few minutes to retain possession and not go for goal or glory. Young players sometimes don’t make the best decisions, as it comes with experience so for Jovon to do that was a good sign for his future.

The first three points for Skubala were always going to be crucial and it didn’t matter how we get them. It’s going to take a while for him to get all his messages across, especially with all the fixtures in the next few weeks, but we are already starting to see the imprint of what he wants to do, and I’m feeling very positive about it all. Barnsley is a massive game at the weekend, one point between the sides and a chance to potentially end the day in the playoffs. Bring it on!