On Tuesday 26th March a mixed Leyton Orient Walking FC squad were pleased to take part in and support the Mind Charity Tournament held at Billericay Town FC. The games were played in bright sunshine, which was a welcome contrast to the weather forecast.

Orient’s first game was against against Chelmsford City Blues. The O’s started with Brunt in goal, T.Conlan at the back, a midfield three off Gould, Perry and Hyatt with Okocha up front. This was an even contest with chances few and far between. Orient were solid defensively with T.Conlan and Perry keeping Chelmsford at bay. On the few occasions Chelmsford did break through the ever reliable Brunt thwarted their attempts on goal. Hyatt provided some neat touches in midfield and Gould and Okocha tried valiantly to make the breakthrough. The midfield three were replaced by Dowling, Clancy and Stevenson for the second half. Unfortunately despite some neat passing movements from the O’s the game ended goalless. The correct result. Final score: Leyton Orient 0 v 0 Chelmsford City Blues.

The next opponents were Redbridge B. Orient soon gained the upper hand and opened the scoring when Stevenson found Clancy on the right hand side of the penalty area. Clancy’s effort hit the foot of the post but fortunate Gould calmly slotted in the rebound. The second half proved to be the Gould and Okocha show admirably assisted by Dowling. Okocha provided two assists to allow Gould to complete his hat trick, Gould returned the favour by providing the assists for Okocha’s two goals. Final score: Redbridge B 0 v 5 Leyton Orient (Gould 3, Okocha 2).

The final group game at the group stage was against Billericay Blue. A draw would put Orient into the quarter finals. Billericay started strongly and their key player fired a tremendous right foot shot just wide. Shortly afterwards the same player bore down on the O’s goal. The wily and vastly experienced Stevenson cunningly allowed the Billericay player the opportunity to shoot with his left foot. Which he duly did and the ball ended up in the back of the net. Much to the relief of his teammates the hapless Stevenson substituted himself at half time. The O’s enjoyed the majority of possession during the second half but Billericay were well organised and resilient and the breakthrough did not materialise The single goal defeat meant the Orient were out of the tournament after having only conceded one goal. Final score: Leyton Orient 0 v 1 Billericay Blue.

This was a well organised tournament and Leyton Orient performed admirably. Every player made a positive contribution and said how much they had enjoyed the day. A measure of the O’s performance came in the fact that Billericay made the final only to lose on penalties to Chelmsford Clarets.

After play captain Phil Stevenson was enthusiastic about the day, “Orient were committed to the spirit of the event and were the only team to have men and women in their squad. There is always a silver lining. Being knocked out early meant the Orient players had first choice of the refreshments that were provided post tournament. Thanks to Billericay for hosting the event and to Stuart Short for organising the tournamanet for such a worthwhile cause. It is always a pleasure to play at Billericay. Thanks also to the referees, who did a good job, and without whom these events would not be possible.”

Leyton Orient squad: Colin Brunt (Gk) Shayne Perry, Lynda Dowling, Tim Conlan, Howard Gould, David Clancy, Sherrille Hyatt, Andrew Okocha, Phil Stevenson (Cpt).

Goalscorers: Gould 3, Okocha 2.

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Image used © 2024 Trevor Ridley

Location

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