Why did Tuesday have to happen?

Everything was going along beautifully. The men’s team had won 4 in a row; the women had racked up their third consecutive win by absolutely smashing Swansea 5-0. They haven’t lost in the league since December 1^st.

So the second half against Leyton Orient was a bit of a blow. That was reflected in the reaction of the crowd, who were too desperate to see the ball pumped forwards. I understood their edginess, though, as the visitors were terrific after the break.

That condition is important though: we put in a poor second half, but at the break things looked fine. Orient’s quality was clear; they haven’t lost an away game since October, after all, and have been flying up the table.

However, the pattern of the game was consistent with plenty of matches which we’ve won this season. We were comfortable with allowing the opposition possession when necessary, but were making more chances than our opponents.

To be honest, when Ollie Rathbone scored (as usual!) it felt like business as usual, and we threatened to add to our lead before they equalised.

However, I must make a distinction between being comfortable allowing the opposition the ball and being comfortable with what they did with it.

For me, Orient’s attacking movement and potency has only been bettered by Birmingham City this season. They attack at pace, their front three staying up front and sprinting onto a constant flow of little flicks round the corner.

Our system, with three at the back and wing backs who provide our width, looking to get as high as possible, leaves us potentially open to a front three which is brave and gambles on the players behind them containing us. Too often in the second half we found ourselves defending a 3-on-3 attack.

Still, this isn’t a reason to panic. Teams are allowed to turn up and execute their plan brilliantly. Leyton Orient most definitely did that. They’ve got some impressive players and work as a coherent unit under a highly rated manager in Richie Wellens.

Blackburn Rovers have been courting him this week, and when a side in the play-offs to go up to the Premier League are showing a serious interest – and the compensation figure they’re quotes is reported to be a cool quarter of a million – then it’s fair to assume the guy probably knows what he’s looking to do!

Also, I need to remind you of my opening point. We had won our previous 4 games. The performance at Northampton had us purring, and while it’s fair to say that one terrific performance shouldn’t be given too much weight, by the same token a disappointing defeat shouldn’t be treated as if it defines us.

The more pertinent concern to take from Tuesday was that in the second half we forgot our identity. Under pressure, and with the crowd expressing its concern, we weren’t able to execute the things we’ve been doing well, the positive elements that allow us to ride out difficult situations.

The new signings are responsible for some of those positive traits we’ve been displaying lately, and we need to understand that they are still bedding in. Once they’re fully assimilated, and the rest of the squad are comfortable with the best way to exploit their strengths, we’ll be less susceptible to a power cut like we suffered against Orient.

Sam Smith’s running in behind the defence is a little different to what we’ve had in recent seasons. Clearly Paul Mullin offers that quality, but Smith is relentless in his desire to get into the space behind the centre backs, whereas Mullin mixes it up, dropping deep or wide more often.

Smith is a constant threat to defenders and a permanent option for our players if they want to go forwards. We need to fully establish the timing of those passes, and how to feed from the second balls he creates, and that process will only improve with work on the training ground.

Jay Rodriguez is so intelligent and reads the game beautifully. His vision is excellent and he pulls off neat little touches and blocks to maximise his team mates’ chances of receiving the ball in good positions. As he has got into the rhythm of starting regularly in League One, the weight of his passing hasn’t always been quite right, but that will come. His combination with Smith is full of potential.

Ryan Longman came on and showed us something different on Tuesday. It was the first time we’d seen him operating on the left, where he’s been used by Hull City in the Championship this season. His crossing from the right has already been extremely impressive, and he was a bright spot of the second half, cutting in from the left, running at players and looking very threatening.

All three of them will make an impact in the coming weeks, without doubt. The second half was poor on Tuesday, but there’s no reason for it to be indicative of things to come.