Orient Golds’ Shine At The Top

21 Mar 2023 by Trevor Ridley

On a typical March spring day with a mixture of sunshine and showers Leyton Orient Walking FC entered two teams in a tournament at Billericay to raise funds for Basildon Mind. The teams had to play in separate groups at the group stage to qualify for the semi-finals.

The Reds lined up with Brunt in goal, Cheston, Dooley, Stevenson, Mullins, Eades and Taylor sharing the midfield workload with Ridley up front as he recovers from his operation and injuries.

The Golds had Sullivan in goal, Dooley, Brooks, Birnbaum, Jackson, Barrick and Cox were the workhorses feeding Green and Lillington up front.

Leyton Orient Reds results were:

Leyton Orient 0 v 0 Billericay Whites
Redbridge 0 v 6 Leyton Orient (Eades 3, Ridley 3)
Leyton Orient 1 v 0 Eastwood Falcons Two (Eades)
Hawkwell Athletic 0 v 2 Leyton Orient (Ridley 2)

The Reds played some excellent flowing football, Ridley and Eades posed a threat throughout this stage. Although the shooting boots needed time to get going after a goalless first game. Stevenson did his Pirolo impersonation with four assists against Redbridge. The tough game came against a very strong Eastwood Falcons. An early goal from Eades led to intense pressure on the Orient goal, but with disciplined defence and Brunt in fine form, Orient held out for a vital win. In the final game Orient played a composed game winning comfortably.

Leyton Orient Golds results were:

Leyton Orient 1 v 1 Billericay Green (Lillington)
Billericay Reds 0 v 1 Leyton Orient (Cox)
Leyton Orient 0 v 0 Eastwood Falcons One
Concord 0 v 1 Leyton Orient (Cox)

After the group stage, Captain Jon Barrick commented, “the team played with a solid defense and were dangerous on the break. Brook and Birnbaum were a formidable barrier that led to Sullivan, who was nursing a painful lost filling, having a quiet time in some of the games.” Jon praised the whole team who worked very hard in all the games.

Both teams won their groups and were then drawn against each other in the semi-final. The semi- final was closely fought with both teams trying to mark each other out of the game. Stevenson opened the scoring when his shot squirted past a surprised Sullivan. Eades and Ridley continued to pepper the Golds goal without scoring. Lillington then limped off with a badly turned ankle forcing Brooks into a more advanced role. The turning point came when Brooks turned superbly and slotted in an equaliser, no more Brooksy got turned jokes. He celebrated in glorious fashion sprinting the length of the pitch as if Spurs had actually won a game. The goal lifted the Golds and Green escaped the defence with a neat turn to put the Golds ahead. An increasingly tired Reds could not find that vital breakthrough but it took a superb Sullivan save to deny Stevenson in the last minute. Final score: Leyton Orient Golds 2 v 1 Leyton Orient Reds (Brooks, Green)(Stevenson).

Leyton Orient Golds then faced Billericay Green again in the final. These were two very tired teams trying to find that one shot for glory. Both keepers were in excellent form. There was one outstanding save from the Billericay keeper from a Birnbaum shot and Green and Cox tried hard to keep testing the Billericay keeper. For Orient, Sullivan made a series of excellent saves and Orient defended resolutely. At the end both captains agreed to share the trophy to avoid resolution through penalties. Final score: Leyton Orient Golds 0 v 0 Billericay Green.

Congratulations to Leyton Orient Golds for a battling display throughout the competition and the first silverware of the season for the Club.

It was an excellent tournament organised by Billericay Town FC and Basildon Mind. £1400 was raised for Charity.

Leyton Orient Reds squad: Colin Brunt, Len Cheston, Phil Stevenson, Mick Mullins, Steve Eades, Vince Dooley, Mark Taylor, Trevor Ridley.

Leyton Orient Golds squad: Tony Sullivan, Tony Brooks, Maurice Birnbaum, Stuart Jackson, Jon Barrick, Alan Cox, Colin Green, Julian Lillington.

Goalscorers: Ridley 5, Eades 4, Cox 2, Lillington, Green, Brooks, Stevenson

© Copyright 2023 Leyton Orient Walking FC
Photo © Copyright 2023 Trevor Ridley



Location

New Lodge, Blunts Wall Rd, Billericay CM12 9SA, UK

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