On a brisk April afternoon the newly promoted Orient Over 50s Whites travelled to Chelmsford for the first round of matches in Division 2 of the Essex Walking Football League.

With only one sub and some concern over the box-to-box capability of a couple of players, a 3-1-1 formation was adopted. For the first match against Eastwood Falcons, Orient started with Brunt in goal, a back three of Rohm, Adams and Stevenson with P.Weston pushing up to support Andrew Okocha in attack. The veteran Stevenson had warned the team not to concede an early goal. Orient nonetheless found themselves a goal down after a couple of minutes – a low shot from the left. Orient started to get into the game with some good interplay between Weston, Stevenson and Okocha and the latter shot just over the Eastwood goal. Eastwood, however, got a second goal from a quick break – so quick that the Orient players were expecting the ref to rule out the goal for running but alas the goal stood. Okocha had a shot well saved but the first half finished with Orient two goals down.
Birnbaum replaced Adams for the second half which Orient started brightly with shots from Stevenson and Okocha. It was Okocha who then scored with a sharp shot to cut the deficit to a single goal. More Orient pressure saw a shot from Weston get blocked and a long-range strike from Birnbaum which went narrowly wide but Orient could not get the draw their second-half performance possibly merited. Final score: Eastwood Falcons 2 v 1 Leyton Orient (Okocha).

For the second match against Chelmsford City Clarets, Adams started in place of Stevenson. Both teams had early efforts on goal go wide. From a free kick situation, both Okocha and Weston had good shots blocked by the Chelmsford defenders. Chelmsford hit the post following a 2-on-2 break and then scored with a low shot following a free kick. Three more Orient shots were blocked before the first half ended with Orient one goal down. Stevenson replaced Adams for the second half which proceeded to be an open affair with Brunt making a couple of good early saves. Rohm shot just wide following a free kick and Okocha had a fine curling shot well saved by the Chelmsford keeper again following a free kick. Unfortunately, Chelmsford then got a crucial second goal – their number 66 getting the better of Rohm for once to hit a low shot past Brunt. Good work by Birnbaum set up Okocha for a shot which hit the post. Further efforts on goal came in from Rohm, Weston and Stevenson but Chelmsford held out. Final score: Chelmsford City Clarets 2 v 0 Leyton Orient.

The final match of the day was against Billericay Town Blues who had pipped Orient to the Division 3 title the previous season. Adams started in place of Birnbaum. Orient started on the front foot and Weston had an early shot go over the bar before Okocha turned smartly and shot to force a save. Billericay had a shot go wide before Okocha had another shot saved, following good work by Stevenson. An errant crossfield pass from Stevenson was then intercepted by Billericay but Brunt rescued Stevenson’s blushes by making a fine double save. The first half finished goalless. The second half saw an early shot from Stevenson after being played in by Okocha. Billericay shot just wide following a 3-on-2 break. Birnbaum replaced Adams. Billericay then had a shot saved in the top corner by Brunt and had another shot go wide. A shot from Weston was blocked and then a shot from Okocha went just wide before the final whistle. Final score: Billericay Town Blues 0 v 0 Leyton Orient.

(Stand-in) Manager, Shayne Perry, noted “Orient deserved to get at least four points having been the better team for long spells in each of the three matches but walked away with just a solitary point. Every player gave their all and the squad spirit and energy was excellent despite only having one substitute. There are things to work on – not conceding first, getting quick support to the striker and the striker spotting opportunities to lay the ball off whilst also being the the primary shot-taker when they can get a half-yard of space.”

Leyton Orient squad: Colin Brunt (Gk), Adam Rohm, Bob Adams, Phil Stevenson, Maurice Birnbaum, Paul Weston, Andrew Okocha (Capt)

Goal scorer: Okocha

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Image used © 2024 Trevor Ridley

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