Latics given reality check

Photo: Pictures by ALAN HOWARTH

WHAT A TANGLE . . . Jonathan Forte is wrestled to the ground.

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Athletic 1, Orient 3

THE UNBEATEN run is gone and so is a large slice of pre-season optimism.

Athletic careered off-track, crashed and burned here in a game they at one stage seemed in some control of.

Jonathan Forte was irrepressible in the first period and even though his strike, manufactured so expertly by man-of-the-moment Carl Winchester, was cancelled out four minutes later by Darius Henderson, there was little sign of what was to follow.

Lee Johnson's side were energetic, alert and on the front foot before the interval. After it, mental slackness saw them penned in and resorting to firing the ball forward aimlessly. Forte, one observer suggested, had three touches in the entire second half.

As Jabo Ibehre had caused so many problems at Colchester, so Henderson here was a destructive and bullying presence up front for big-spending Orient.

The former Watford and Sheffield United man finished neatly for his opener and created the second goal just before the hour mark with a tidy run and pass for David Mooney to profit.

Henderson illustrated how soft – even with George Elokobi in the mix – Athletic's defence is when confronted by powerful frontmen.

Kevin Lisbie's header from a Dean Cox corner late in the game sealed it. Again, the marking was

shocking and Paul Rachubka – who conceded only six goals in that 10-match unbeaten streak that ended last season – was culpable in falling in a heap after he tried in vain to collect the ball in the air.

Never in Adam Lockwood's career can his return to fitness have been so eagerly awaited. Or, on the face of it, with eight goals conceded in three fixtures in 2014-15, so badly needed.

Leadership is lacking within the ranks. Skipper Liam Kelly has yet to find his feet in Athletic colours, typified by a mistimed header he sent wide of goal in the 41st minute, while the responsibility resting on Jonson Clarke-Harris's shoulders as the lone front man looks very heavy at times.

Johnson set out his side in a familiar 4-1-4-1 formation, bringing in Connor Brown, Mike Jones, Carl Winchester and Forte to the team following the 3-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in the Capital One Cup in midweek.

Forte had already given notice of his intentions by flying past Orient right-back Scott Cuthbert.

And when ex-Athletic loan man Nathan Clarke stepped up in a desperate bid to play Forte offside, he latched on to Winchester's well-timed pass to slide the ball under the body of Adam Legzdins.

Athletic's lead didn't last long. Connor Brown gave up possession when attempting a half-volleyed pass in the opposition half.

The gaping hole left behind him was mercilessly exploited as Henderson finished calmly from Cox's through ball.

It was an end-to-end contest and at this stage Athletic still gave as good as they got. But Athletic started the second half so drowsily it was as if sleeping pills had been slipped into their half-time drinks.

Russell Slade had picked a side brimming with attacking intent and once given a sniff, they again took full advantage. Athletic gave the ball away in midfield in the 58th minute, Henderson stepped into another large pocket of space and Mooney slotted the ball between Rachubka's legs.

When Lisbie made it three – with his first touch of the ball after being introduced as a substitute – there was no way back.