A case of deja vu for Latics

Photo: Alan Howarth

GROUNDED . . . Athletic full-back Paul Black wins the ball with a sliding tackle.

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Athletic 1, Leyton Orient 1

THE curse of the corner kick struck again at Boundary Park.

Visitors Leyton Orient earned a scarcely-deserved 1-1 draw courtesy of Scott McGleish’s leveller with 12 minutes remaining.

Athletic conceded from corners in the defeat at Brighton, but seemed to turn a corner in a resilient stalemate against Sheffield Wednesday.

But old habits die hard and they returned with a vengeance against Orient, with Charlie Daniels’ delivery bouncing past everyone in the home defence and landing at the feet of substitute McGleish to tap in from four yards.

Such frustration looked a million miles away when in-form Chris Taylor capped a fine passing move to give Athletic the lead three minutes before the break.

Oumare Tounkara’s delightful ball down the right channel found the over-lapping Kieran Lee, who squared for Taylor to convert inside the six-yard box.

Not that the hosts pummelled their opponents, especially in a tepid first half — but on the balance of play they deserved three points from a contest in which Orient hardly tested goalkeeper Dean Brill.

The final ball was often lacking, but Paul Black’s deliveries from the left were better than most and he whipped one in after eight minutes, only for Ritchie Jones’ volley to sail over the crossbar.

ISSUES

Orient almost had set piece issues of their own 10 minutes later when stand-in skipper Dale Stephens sent in a corner from the right and centre back Ben Chorley rather clumsily diverted it into the arms of goalkeeper Jamie Jones, who looked more than a little relieved.

Lee, looking full of confidence this term, tried his luck from 25 yards, but his ambitious drive flew wide.

Tireless Tounkara shot high over the bar following good work from Stephens, and tricky wide man Lewis Alessandra jinked into the box before being crowded out, as Athletic, still lacking penetration, searched for options.

It was almost half an hour before the visitors showed any kind of threat in the final third.

Dean Cox released Ryan Jarvis down the right hand side of the penalty area.

Jarvis put his head in his hands when Brill pushed his low drive around the post.

Two minutes later came a rare sight in football — both sets of supporters clapping one player’s actions.

When the ball bounced in the centre circle Matt Spring, who spotted Brill off his line and took a swing. It seemed to travel in slow motion until the latter got his finger tips on it and prevented a nailed-on contender for goal of the season.

Athletic fans couldn’t help but praise not only the technique displayed by Spring, but the pure cheek of the man

Dickov tried to freshen up the attacking approach by switching Alessandra to the right flank, with Jones given left wing duties.

Brill dusted himself down from his earlier scare and, after 40 minutes, found Tounkara in route one fashion, only for the ball to bounce back off the target man’s heel.

’Keeper Jones broke down and was replaced by Lee Butcher, who was tested almost instantly.

Tounkara latched on to Jones’ pass down the left and, after cutting in to the box, shot straight at Butcher when he probably should have squared the ball to Taylor, who was free.

The second half brought a better tempo to the game, although that crucial final pass was still severely lacking at times.

Lee’s chip to Tounkara five minutes after the interval wasn’t a bad effort though, and it only just escaped the on-loan Sunderland striker.

Orient’s attacks were sporadic at best, although Jarvis should have directed his header closer to the goal than the corner flag when he met Cox’s cross.

One got the feeling Athletic would need a second goal to secure victory and Alessandra, back on the left, almost made it happen when he robbed Elliot Omozusi midway inside Orient’s half.

He darted towards goal and picked out Taylor, but Butcher got a hand on his powerful effort and it spun behind for a wasted corner.

Alessandra got on the end of Tounkara’s delivery from the right after an hour, but his volley was high and wide.

The away side looked to brighten up their forward play, with McGleish replacing Jarvis up top.

And, after Adam Chambers flashed a header wide from Cox’s corner, Dickov attempted to inject a bit of life into his own side by bringing on Northern Ireland international Warren Feeney for Jones, which saw Taylor return to his more familiar wide man role.

However, Feeney — previously a doubt for this game with an ankle knock — endured a frustrating afternoon and never got a sight of goal.

The lively Stephens could and probably should have made it the perfect ‘captain’s performance’ when Taylor fed him 12 yards out, but his shot failed to hit the target.

Fit-again Ryan Brooke entered the fray after 74 minutes in place of Tounkara, who ran himself into the ground in a typically dedicated display.

The nerves were jangling in Boundary Park when Alessandra nipped in to prevent Chambers from converting Daniels’ deliver, at the expense of a corner.

And jittery home fans’ worst fears became reality when the defence failed to get on the end of the dreaded corner and McGleish bundled home his fourth goal of the campaign.

Spirits were lifted with six minutes remaining when club captain Sean Gregan made his eagerly-anticipated first appearance of the season, replacing a limping Jason Jarrett, who suffered a minor hamstring strain.

Jean-Yves Mvoto, solid as a rock again all afternoon, was ordered to stay up front.

He got his head on Gregan’s long, looping free-kick, forcing Butcher into a fumbled save.

Two minutes were left on the clock when Mvoto was in the thick of it again, unleashing a vicious shot from 12 yards out, only for Butcher to get a leg on it.

And the makeshift centre-forward had one last crack at it in the last minute, heading Black’s wicked cross past a post.