On a beautiful sunny Sunday 18th August Leyton Orient Walking FC over 50s began their FA Cup campaign in Harrow, West London.

Orient were up against three teams with only the winner on the day going through to the regional finals.

For the first match against London Irish Orient lined up with Akhtar in goal, Hardin, Franklin and Coyle in midfield and Lillington up front. The first half was fairly even with Franklin and Lillington having decent efforts on goal. The O’s defended well and Akhtar in goal had little to do. The game was on a knife edge as both teams had committed three running infringements and a fourth offence would result in a penalty. Okocha and Pillay replaced Lillington and Hardin at halftime. The O’s started the second half brightly and began to control the game. Then there was a fourth offence by London Irish and Orient were awarded a penalty. Franklin’s effort was saved. The O’s continued to dominate and when an opposition player was blue carded the game was there for the taking. Then a rush of blood from an Orient defender, Rohm, who charged forward to intercept an opposition free kick meant a London Irish player was free on the edge of the box to score the only goal of the game. For the rest of the tournament Rohm was ordered not to leave his own half. A game the O’s should have won resulted in a single goal defeat. Final score: Leyton Orient 0 v 1 London Irish.

The next opponents were Barnet who had Steve (I’ll play for anyone) Eades in their lineup. Doesn’t he look nice in Orange? NO. On a serious note Barnet had won their two previous games and if Orient lost they were out of the competition. This was an excellent performance from the O’s. They soon began to control possession and the passing and movement was of a high standard. Orient had a number of shots but unfortunately none on target. Then the O’s were offered a golden opportunity to take the lead when a Barnet player encroached into his own penalty area. History repeated itself and Okocha’s effort was well saved. Fortunately this did not prove crucial. Within sixty seconds another Barnet player repeated the offence and this time Okocha made no mistake from the spot. A couple of minutes later a good through ball from Pillay, found Okocha who fired a ferocious shot into the top corner. A two goal advantage at the interval. In the second half Orient played intelligently. They retained possession and Barnet found it difficult to get any time on the ball. Final score: Brnet 0 v 2 Leyton Orient (Okocha 2).

This vital win gave Orient a chance of qualifying for the regional finals.

Orient’s next game was against Uxbridge Amblers. The first half was possibly the O’s worst performance of the day. The passing was sloppy and the movement was limited. The O’s did however, get the lift they needed. Okocha was fouled on the edge of the box, the ref deemed it a goal scoring opportunity and awarded a penalty. Okocha duly put Orient one up. In the second half the Orient lads improved and Lillington and Franklin both had good efforts well saved. Both were later guilty of spurning good opportunities. The last five minutes was a tense affair. Despite having a slender lead the O’s had committed three running offenses. Luckily there were no further mishaps and Orient decisively won the game. Final score:: Uxbridge Amblers 0 v 1 Leyton Orient (Okocha).

Onto the final game against against Staines Town Strollers. Leyton Orient and Barnet were now level on points and goal difference was probably going to decide which team went through. At kick off the O’s goal difference was superior by one. At the same time as play Orient also kept an eye on Barnet who were playing at the same time on the adjoining pitch. Once again Orient started brightly. The passing and movement back to the previous high standards. Midway through the first half Okocha chased a long ball from Franklin, he just managed to keep the ball in play and he then had the presence of mind to square the ball to Pillay on the edge of the box, who finished with great certainty. Orient were leading one nil at half time and the Barnet game was goalless. So far so good. The O’s continued on the front foot at the beginning of the second half and the same two players created a second goal, Okocha squaring the ball to Pillay who again produced a tidy finish. Orient were now in total control, so much so that Rohm picked the ball up in his own half, defied his managers orders, progressed into the opposition half and smashed a long distance effort into the back of the net. Final score: Staines Town Strollers 0 v 3 Leyton Orient (Pillay 2, Rohm).

Barnet won their final game 1 v 0, so Orient’s progress the the regional knockout stage was guaranteed.

Being the sporting character he is, Orient manager Stevenson went over to console a despondent Eades and informed him he should have played for a big club.

With a note of glee in his voice the Orient manager, Phil Stevenson, enthused about the day’s football, “In a very disappointing season this was a tremendous performance. To overcome the disappointment of losing the first game and then finishing top of the group showed great fortitude. Akhtar performed well in goal, Rohm (mostly) was solid at the back, Coyle, Pillay and Franklin passed the ball well and controlled the majority of the games and Okocha was a constant threat up front. A special mention to Hardin and Lillington who both made strong contributions when required. A thank you to the organisers for this well run event and also to the referees whose performances were top drawer. PS. Steve you know you are welcome back anytime.”

Leyton Orient over 50s squad: Noveed Akhtar (Gk), Paul Franklin (Cpt), Adam Rohm, Mark Harden, Andrew Okocha, Julian Lillington, Andrew Coyle, Nad Pillay.

Goalscorers: Okocha 3, Pillay 2, Rohm.

© Copyright 2024 Leyton Orient Walking FC
Image used © 2024 The FA & Phil Stevenson

Location

Bannister's Sport Centre, Uxbridge Rd, Harrow HA3 6SW, UK