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Orient boss Martin Ling |
Town have won only 1 of the last 8 matches, but the arrival of Andy Ritchie has seen a notable improvement in the level of performances. Town hit four goals in one match for the first time this season against Millwall last time out at the Galpharm Stadium and were easily the better team in their 1-1 draw at Northampton Town last weekend.
Coincidentally, Leyton Orient have also won only one of their last eight matches. That win came at Bradford City a fortnight ago, when they pulled ahead of their fellow relegation battlers with a 2-0 win. Despite a 3-1 reverse at the hands of Nottingham Forest last weekend, other results meant that Martin Ling's side is guaranteed League One football next season.
Previous Encounters
The Terriers hold a slight advantage over tomorrow's opponents in past encounters, with 19 wins for Town compared to the London sides' 17. There has been a higher number of draws than you might expect in past meetings - 15 in all competitions - and so if you are a betting man, history may point to tomorrow's clash being a stalemate!
However, the picture changes somewhat when you look at previous encounters on Huddersfield soil. Not only have Leyton Orient never won a game at the Galpharm Stadium, but they have never won a competitive match in Huddersfield in 25 attempts! All in all, Town have won 13 of their home encounters with the London side - with 12 ending in draws.
The most notable scoreline occurred at Leeds Road in the 1982/83 season when Town smashed their visitors for six. Goals from Colin Russell, Mark Lillis (pictured below), Daral Pugh, Dave Sutton and a brace from Brian Stanton obliterated the visiting Orient in front of a crowd of 6,671.
The Last Time the Sides Met
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Mark Lillis |
The two sides last met in December 2006 and Orient came out 1-0 winners. Town were fairly poor throughout the game, but could have easily snatched a point after Gary Alexander expertly turned home a left wing cross after only 28 minutes. However, Town's job was made a lot harder on the hour mark when experienced defender Martin McIntosh mistimed a challenge from behind on the halfway line to pick up his second booking from referee Darren Deadman - the same referee who sent off Michael Collins in the last game at the Galpharm against Millwall!
A lot has changed at Town since that day - a new manager being the main point - and there is no doubt that the Terriers will be looking for some revenge this weekend.
Ins and Outs
Manager Martin Ling has brought in some real experience during the January transfer window, with former Northern Ireland international Phil Mulryne and the ever-impressive Luke Guttridge coming in to strengthen the Orient side.
In: Alton Thellwell (Hull City, £25,000), Luke Guttridge (Southend United, nominal), Phil Mulryne (Cardiff City, free), Ryan Jarvis (Norwich City, loan), Gary Hooper (Southend United, loan)
Out: Joe Keith (Brentford, free), Paul Connor (Cheltenham Town, free), Daryl McMahon (Stevenage Borough, free)
One to Watch - Matt Lockwood
Long-serving left-back Matt Lockwood has made the PFA League One Team of the Season, voted for recently by the players. He is currently Orient's second top-scorer this season with an impressive 11 goals from defence - it does help that he is an expert from set-piece situations, taking all of the O's free-kicks and penalties.
The Rochford-born defender joined Orient in 1998 from Bristol Rovers and has gone onto make over 32o appearances so far. To cap off his impressive season, he has recently signed a two-year contract extension at Brisbane Road. Town will have to be careful not to give any free-kicks around the box as the experienced full-back will be on hand to capitalize.
Team News
Town will have Michael Collins available again after he missed the Northampton game through a one-match suspension and Gary Taylor-Fletcher is also expected to return from his groin problem after training for the last two days, but Andy Ritchie will still be without both Clarke brothers, Aaron Hardy, Matty Young, Andy Booth and Danny Schofield for what is the last game of the current season.
Martin Ling will be without loanee Gary Hooper, who has been recalled by his parent club Southend United, and he may make widespread changes to his side following the release of 6 players this week - John Mackie, Shane Tudor, Justin Miller, Donny Barnard, Derek Duncan and Phil Mulryne.
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