Football – England – League One Play-Off Semi Final 2nd Leg
Tuesday 13th May 2014 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Leyton Orient and Peterborough United face off once again in the second leg of the play-off semi final tonight at the Matchroom Stadium with both sides still on level terms.
After the first ninety minutes at London Road, the teams are locked at 1-1 on aggregate with the next ninety minutes (plus possible extra time and penalties if need be), determining which side will progress to the final. Leyton Orient trailed Peterborough for much of the first leg having gone behind to a goal from Posh striker Assombalonga, but Odubajo equalised with a little over 15 minutes remaining, and they held on to take the fight to Peterborough on home turf.
The play-offs are a different creature altogether from the regular season but The O’s won just three matches in their last eleven league matches of the season with home wins against Gillingham 5-1 and Tranmere Rovers 2-0 along with a 3-1 win at MK Dons on the last day of the season.
Leyton Orient were also getting a bit anxious in their last few home matches too with just the two aforementioned home wins in their last six at the Matchroom Stadium.
Visitors Peterborough United look the slightly better equipped side to deal with the pressures of the play-offs and they possessed the better form going into these knock-out stages than their opponents, having lost just twice in their last eight matches prior to the first leg.
However, those two defeats (Wolves 0-2 and Bradford City 0-1) both came away from home where they’ve been susceptible all season with an overall finishing away record of 9-2-12 38/37 – the worst away record of the top six in League One I might add.
Manager Darren Ferguson will therefore be desperate for his side to keep things tight at the back for as long as possible and try and hit The O’s on the counter with prolific striker Assombalonga spearheading their attack once more.
With just ninety minutes now separating these two sides from a possible place in the play-off final, the stakes have increased somewhat and I expect another tight and nervy tie at the Matchroom again tonight. I’ll therefore back a low-scoring game due to the tense situation and we could go into extra time here. 1-1 on the night after ninety minutes.
Pick: Under 2.5 goals @ 1.90 Pinnacle
