On a cold and dour day at Wadham Lodge , Leyton Orient Walking FC entertained the Running is Prohibited (RiP) Club from the Barnet/Muswell Hill border. It was a return set of games for the visit made to the RiP ground last year.

Orient fielded two teams, Reds and Whites. The games were 7-a-side and Orient played the two RiP teams twice. David Clancy made his debut as over 65s manager which wasn’t easy as he had to keep his eyes on two games at the same time.

For their first game of the day Orient Whites lined up with Russo in goal, defensive duties shared between Howard, Cheston and Martin. Dooley, Barrick and James held the midfield and Slater was left to plough a lone furrow up front. It was David James debut for the Club. Whites kicked off against RIP B. Defenses dominated, with shots on goal at a premium howevr RiP took the lead. Howard showed good movement as he maneuvered through the RiP defense to equalise for Orient with an excellent shot. Neither side could create a chance to win the game. Final score: RiP B 1 v 1 Leyton Orient Whites (Howard).

At the same time Leyton Orient Reds were taking on RiP A. Orient Reds played with Cooper in goal throughout. Lester and Brooks in defence with Mullins moving between defence and midfield as needed. Wahlhaus and Baker in midfield along with Cox, Ridley played as the sole striker. This was hard fought affair where both teams tended to cancel each other out until scored the opening goal. Lester replaced Mullins at half time. Orient fought hard to get back into the game but pre season rustiness showed and there was to be no equaliser. Final score: RiP A 1 v 0 Leyton Orient Reds.

In the second round of games Orient Whites faced RiP A. This was the Whites best performance. Again the defense was strong, restricting the RiP attack. Russo blocked the shots that came his way. Cheston got onto a Slater flick to open the scoring with a pile-driver of a shot. RiP equalised but Slater was alert to a poor clearance from RiP to score the winner. Final score: RiP A 1 v 2 Leyton Orient Whites (Slater, Cheston).

In the Orient Reds second game, this time against RiP B, Orient put themselves on the back foot. An inexplicable throw out from keeper Cooper gave RIP an easy opening goal. With Lester and Mullins waiting on the left and right hand side of the area the RiP forward had the easier of tasks to put his side into an early lead. Brooks replaced Ridley at half time. Having learned the lesson of the first game, a well worked move saw Cox free on the edge of the RiP area to score a fully deserved equaliser for the Reds. Final score: RiP A 1 v 1 Leyton Orient Reds (Cox).

The third game of the day was Orient Whites return game against RiP B and this did not go well. Orient lost Martin to injury early in the game. The O’s then conceded and then completely lost their way. The intensity and discipline that characterised the earlier games disappeared. Dreadful defensive errors proliferated. Dooley managed to score a consolation goal. Final score: RiP B 3 v 1 Leyton Orient Whites (Dooley).

Orient Reds third game of the day was against RiP A who had beaten them earlier in the day. As the saying goes ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’ and Orient were determined to put a chill in the boots of RiP. This lead to a tight game which at one point saw Ridley return as the striker to immediately have a shot from just over the half way line that led to a corner – typical Ridley. This was much to the consternation of his manager as Cox was unmarked and arriving in support on the left hand side. Baker replaced Lester at half time. The Orient Reds defence were resolute with a ‘they shall not pass attitude’. Finally in the second half, Ridley got a little closer and hammered in the winner with a big I told you so smile! Final score: RiP B 0 v 1 Leyton Orient Reds (Ridley).

Leyton Orient White’s final game against RiP A was even worse than their previous game. Orient started competitively then fell away badly. Again defensive errors made life easy for the RiP forwards. The team was collectively tired and could not compete with a RiP team who showed more energy. Final score: Leyton Orient Whites 0 v 4 RiP A.

Orient Red’s last game was a somewhat uneventful finale although Cooper did make a number of invaluable saves in the second half to make up for his earlier gimme. Tiredness set in for all the players which allowed both defences to dominate the game. Wahlhaus replaced Cox at half time. Final score: Leyton Orient Reds 0 v 0 RiP A.

After play Chairman Cheston commented that “when the Whites were good, they played with great intensity and movement, they were defensively strong and supportive to Slater up front. However all that seemed to disappear in the third and fourth games. More defensive errors were made in those games than in the whole of last season’s Essex League campaign. The RiP teams were well organised sides and increasingly Orient struggled to play out from the back, and then made errors.”

Manager, David Clancy commented, “had the referee seen the tackle from behind that led the RIP’s fortuitous goal in the first game, Whites would have had a well deserved win. The second game was a superb performance and Whites were deserved winners. Unfortunately, despite competing well in the third game, Whites inexplicably gave away three goals which lost the game. The fourth game is probably best forgotten, the younger RIP raising their game as Whites ran out of steam having played for over an hour and that was reflected in the scoreline.There is a lot of good as witnessed in the first two matches with some good team play from back to front. Having four different scorers is very encouraging however moving forward it is essential to cut out the costly defensive errors. Do this and there is every chance this team will prosper in the upcoming season.”

Clancy then went on to comment on the Orient Reds saying “The main issue for the Reds in this set of games was the lack of midfield play. With three instinctively attacking players looking to get forward, they would all too often be too far from goal looking to shoot rather than working the ball in closer. On the one of the rare occasions this did happen, the Reds bagged an easy goal. The Reds scored half the number of goals the Whites did against the same opposition, despite having more of the play. In the game the Reds were victorious in, Baker heeded his manager’s instructions and after coming on a substitute dropped deeper to be more available which made a difference. The defensive trio of Brooks, Mullins and Lester diligently performed their roles, and though RiP did manage to breach them in the final game, Cooper excelled.”

Leyton Orient Whites squad: Ray Russo (Gk), Len Cheston, Gary Martin, Micky Howard, David James, Vince Dooley, Jon Barrick (Cpt), Derek Slater.

Leyton Orient Reds squad: Chris Cooper (Gk), Mick Mullins (Cpt), Trevor Ridley, Tony Wahlhaus, Alan Cox, Tony Brooks, Alan Lester, Simon Baker.

Goalscorers: Howard, Cheston, Dooley, Slater, Cox, Ridley.

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Location

Wadham Lodge Sports Ground, Kitchener Rd, London E17 4LL, UK