Orient - Bringers of Misery

Jobi McAnuff celebrates his stunning winner.

Over half-time during Saturday's 1-0 loss to Leyton Orient, I jumped down a few rows to have a quick chat with my Dad, who had mistakenly bought seats next to where my season tickets were last year. We both lamented how miserable the first 45 minutes had been, before he unearthed a deeply hidden memory of mine.

"Do you remember when we played Orient in the Cup, about fifteen years ago?"

Perhaps since the passing of those years, I don't remember it with any clarity. My feeling when I reflect back on that experience is more a symphony of dismal pessimism washing over the stands. A sense of frustration and anger that a team with decent players, including Robert Prosinecki in his twilight encore year, could be exposed with such simplicity by Leyton Orient.

Perhaps thankfully, few images of the game exist.

As a nine year-old boy at the time, you could say that such an experience is something of a Pompey rite of passage. To experience something utterly turgid is all part of the fun, and undeniably makes the peaks of football fandom feel an awful lot loftier. At that age, however, it's a moment akin to the unmasking of Father Christmas - the ultimate realisation that your football team can and will perform embarrassingly.

In case this hasn't jogged your memory - Leyton Orient, of the fourth-tier, came to Fratton Park and beat second-tier Portsmouth 4-1.

"I seem to remember we scored an own goal that day," I pondered.

I was wrong - Orient's Dean Smith opened the scoring with an OG.

"Yeah, and Kawaguchi came and apologised to the fans after the game. He did a lap of dishonour..."

There's always been the temptation to scapegoat. After the cup-drubbing, Kawaguchi received much of the flack for his reluctant starring role in the subjugation. However, his story isn't as simple as being the target of ire, suffering the consequential axe and leaving behind a shudder-inducing reputation. Despite his flaws, the fans admired Kawaguchi's upbeat attitude, as he vowed to work hard in training and retain his place in the squad. This made him something of a cult-hero at Fratton Park.

Kawaguchi's attitude transcended his shortcomings as a 'keeper.

Fans are very receptive of the players' work-rate, and there is at least a semblance of self-scrutiny when it comes to the boo-boys. Benjani's efforts in front of goal were admirable, but initially comical. Nevertheless, he received perhaps the most vocal support of all during Pompey's 2006 Great Escape, which eventually paid dividends with his outstanding goalscoring form a couple of years later. More recently, there has been an understanding that Kyle Bennett needs the fans' support to remain confident; an understanding which has helped to improve Bennett's form.

It is telling, therefore, that the fans didn't hold back in displaying their anger at yesterday's performance.

Chaplin looked feisty, but headed over Pompey's best chance.

"We were sat about here, weren't we?" Dad enquired.

"I think so. Yeah, I seem to remember watching the own goal from here. Blimey, I forgot just how dreadful that was."

"Hopefully it'll be a bit less dreadful today."

However, Orient delivered another 90 minutes of abject toil for Pompey. Cut to ribbons at the back, toothless going forward, and lacking any real intensity; 1-0 ended up a flattering result from the home side's perspective. It would be reactionary and unhelpful to suggest the result has any significance in Portsmouth's fight for promotion, but the performance itself suggests some deep issues that will require swift resolution lest the optimism seep away.

Newly-signed Michael Smith had a fruitless day in front of goal.

Much has been made of manager Paul Cook's tetchy post-match interview on Express FM, but the significance of this is relatively small in the grander picture. A smart brain like his can identify the issues within his team, and there's no benefit to his communicating this directly to the media. Sir Alex Ferguson knew this when persistently blaming referees - issues of poor performance, lack of effort and disorganisation are all problems to be dealt with internally.

Fifteen years on, the misery emanating from an Orient defeat almost feels like a twisted parody. Faith should not slip away so easily though, and if there's anything to hold onto, it is that unlike that dreary cup tie under the doomed stewardship of Graham Rix, we haven't been knocked out of the League just yet.