Leyton Orient 2-0 Notts County
Cox '7, Whing '79 / Attendance 4,238 (441 Notts)
Jamie Jones
Andrew Whing - Elliott Omozusi - Terrell Forbes - Charlie Daniels
Matthew Spring - Stephen Dawson - Tommy Carroll
Alex Revell (Scott McGleish '80) - Harry Kane (Jonathan Tehoue '68) - Dean Cox (Paul-Jose M'Poku '83)
Stuart Nelson
Ricky Ravenhill - Krystian Pearce (Sam Sodje '68) - Liam Chilvers - John Thompson
Kevin McDonald - Neal Bishop - Conor Clifford (Njogu Demba-Nyren '74)
Alan Gow - Craig Westcarr - Ivan Sproule (Lewis Gobern '77)
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The capital hasn't been kind to Paul Ince and his side this week, with a second trip south in five days once again proving disastrous for the Magpies, after the 1-1 draw at Brentford left Carl Regan injured and Jon Harley and Mike Edwards suspended. The trip to Brisbane Road to face the inexplicably in form Leyton Orient proved terrible for different reasons however, with Notts played off the park by a youthful and fluid O's side. Having seen his side decimated by injuries and suspensions, Ince was forced to line up with a back four to whom being described as make shift would be a compliment. Ricky Ravenhill dropped out of midfield to start at right back, with John Thompson moving to an unfamiliar left back berth and the fitness and form lacking Liam Chilvers partnering Krystian Pearce at centre back. Up front, Ivan Sproule made his debut the day after signing from Bristol City alongside Alan Gow and Craig Westcarr.
The first half started with the hosts on the front foot and became like the Somme, with Notts eventually having to dig in on the edge of their own area in the face of relentless Orient pressure. The Magpies did nearly take the lead inside five minutes though after a freak mishit backpass by Matt Spring was hacked off his own goalline by Jamie Jones after he had to furiously backpeddle. This was as good as it got though for Notts as Orient took control. Two minutes later they took the lead, a long ball releasing Dawson who laid the ball inside for Tommy Carroll, who had all the time in the world to pick out a beautifully weighted through ball for Dean Cox, who calmly smashed the ball past Stuart Nelson. Cox was causing havoc on the Orient right, with Ravenhill struggling in an unfamiliar full back position, giving the diminutive midfield far too much space. His corner was headed wide by Andrew Whing, whilst he fired a low shot narrowly wide of the far post.
Orient continually knocked on the door for the rest of the half, with Cox and Daniels' set piece delivery causing constant chaos and Ravenhill having to recover well to deny Harry Kane with a last ditch challenge. Nelson also had to be at his best to deny both Revell and Cox as the O's threatened to run riot. Notts finally had an effort to cheer about at the end of the first period as Sproule cut inside and weaved past two players before hitting a low shot which Jones was able to comfortably turn around the post. Then with the last action of the half, McDonald's low ball in was well controlled by Westcarr, who got a shot away on the turn but couldn't beat the well positioned O's 'keeper.
Notts didn't look quite as catastrophically abject at the start of the second half but struggled to create before Revell had the chance to double the hosts' lead. He raced clear of a static Notts defence before calmly rounding Nelson and sliding the ball towards goal. Ravenhill did well to slide back on the line and clear the ball, seemingly with his chest and the referee pointed for a corner. The linesman had other ideas, however, and put his flag across his chest to signal for a penalty. A fracas ensued with Notts' players clearly furious at what appeared to be, and was later confirmed by the television to be, a horrendous decision. Paul Ince was sent to the stands for his protests before Revell was finally able to take the kick. Nelson came to the Magpies' rescue once again though as he managed to get a strong hand to Revell's strike. From the resulting corner, Revell was denied again as his far post header was hacked off the line by Pearce.
This seemed to give Notts more impotus and Neal Bishop saw a goal bound effort hacked away by the Orient defence, whilst Westcarr headed a McDonald cross inches wide with Jones stranded. This was as good as it got though for Notts and the introductions of Sam Sodje, Njogu Demba-Nyren and Lewis Gobern failed to drag the Magpies back into the game. Eventually their fate was sealed when Sodje foolishly conceded a free kick on the Orient left and Cox swung in a delightful delivery that Notts completely failed to defend, with Whing stealing in to glance a header into the bottom corner. This killed the game as a contest but Orient still had chances to add to Notts' misery, with Jose-Paul M'Poku firing wide when clean through and Tommy Carroll struggling to get a shot away after dancing through the Notts defence. The referee finally blew after seven minutes of injury time to confirm a first defeat on the road in the league for Notts since mid-November and the end of their worst performance for even longer.