Front-line masterclass

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL: Reuben Reid is all smiles after scoring Athletic’s second goal against Leyton Orient

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Orient 1, Athletic 3
BEFORE long, Athletic’s season will have to be separated into two distinct parts.

The first: Before Shefki. In those dim and distant days of yore, the team had struggled and succumbed at destinations like Yeovil and Colchester, heads dropping violently at conceding goals as if suddenly turned into lead by some misguided act of alchemy.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad team, or squad, back then. It was more that there was a lack of leadership and resolve in the face of adversity.

After Shefki, things have improved hugely. Unbeaten in four matches, 34-year-old Finland international Kuqi has netted three goals for Athletic in that short time and went as far as to set up the other two at Orient on Saturday.

Pessimism has all but vanished and setbacks — such as conceding first, to the team bottom of npower League One and without a win all term — now provide positive challenges rather than opportunities to wallow in self-doubt.

The likes of Nathan Clarke, Tom Adeyemi and Robbie Simpson all arriving on loan to flesh out a thin squad with both potential and proven third-tier quality have also been highly beneficial to Dickov’s increasingly-astute managerial career.

From a low base, these are suddenly golden times.

And the transformative effect of Kuqi’s arrival shouldn’t be underestimated.

An understated player and a man who appears to carry around the weight of his condensed experience with comfort, Kuqi has been there, done it and bought the T-shirt.

He reassures and nourishes his team-mates. If his CV suggested he may be a half-useful signing, the former Blackburn and Ipswich man has gone way beyond that already.

Even though the visitors got off to a poor start at Brisbane Road, this never felt like a game Athletic were likely to lose.

Tom Clarke nearly got the better of Nathan in the battle of the on-loan Huddersfield brothers, meeting Charlie Daniels’ corner and heading wide when well-placed close to goal after three minutes.

David Mellor — who had to limp off the field with a knee problem after only 32 minutes, spoiling what was the first unchanged Athletic line-up of the season — needed to be alert to get in no less than three good challenges to halt the lively George Porter’s progress.

The pressure was building from a pumped-up Orient side and the goal duly arrived after 18 minutes.

Nathan Clarke presented Adeyemi, who had his head bandaged after an early clash, with a pass he didn’t want in the centre of his own half.

The home team quickly shifted the ball wide to Porter as Athletic tried and failed to reorganise in time and the 19-year-old marked his debut with a low finish across Alex Cisak.

David Mooney had a half-chance to make it two, tamely lobbing the ball into Cisak’s arms from the left of the area, before Kuqi missed a superb chance to level.

Chris Taylor exchanged passes with Kieran Lee, floated a great cross to the back post and Athletic’s man-of-the-moment, well-placed eight yards out and unmarked, contrived to head into the side netting.

Hard-working Reuben Reid was back to his best form, but he too failed to take an opportunity in the first half-hour, deciding against a good shooting opportunity with his right foot to turn the ball back on to his left. The shot from just inside the area was blocked almost at source.

A minute before half-time, after a couple of half-shouts against ex-Athletic man Terrell Forbes for handball in his own box, Simpson ran on to a flick from substitute Zander Diamond and headed wastefully wide from six yards out. If anything, it was an easier chance than Kuqi’s.

As heavy rain fell after half-time, Athletic continued to assert control of proceedings, a process that had begun in full midway through the opening period.

When the equaliser arrived, it was again down in no small part to Athletic’s aerial dominance — a facet of play the Orient defence simply couldn’t control.

A long punt by Cisak was flicked forward by the forehead of a climbing Simpson and Kuqi was freed down the middle.

With a level of certainty borne of a player at full operating confidence, the Kosovo-born striker took the early option of slamming the ball right-footed to the left of Ben Alnwick and into the corner of the net from 18 yards out.

Taylor fired a left-foot shot over the top slightly wastefully and despite Orient’s best efforts to get the ball wide to their dangerman Dean Cox, the steady stream of crosses was well-dealt with by Jean-Yves Mvoto and Diamond.

Athletic’s second was another result of physical power. After Mvoto and Simpson clashed heads going for the same ball at the far post — no prizes for guessing who came off the worse — the home team failed to more than half-clear and possession was recycled out to Kuqi on the left edge of the area.

He simply shaped in an inviting left-footed cross and Reid glanced home a fine header from a central position for his fifth goal of the season — and first non-penalty.

Mooney missed poorly with a near-post header as Orient tried to hit back and the same player again faltered eight minutes from time, prior to Forbes’ cross glancing the crossbar.

For all their bluster, Russell Slade’s men were there for the taking on the break.

And the way that the flying Kuqi found strike partner Smith was delightful.

Arching towards goal in the opposite direction to the substitute, a very deliberate backheel was perfectly directed and weighted.

The tall former non-league striker was happy to do the rest, grabbing his second goal in the pro ranks on another pleasing day’s work for Athletic’s men of the moment.