Tuesday 10th September saw both Leyton Orient over 65s squads make their way to Billericay Town Fc for the final set of over 65 league fixtures.

Orient’s over 65 Reds headed to Billericay looking for the points to keep them in Division 1 next season.

First up for Orient Reds were Grays who were a single point ahead at the start of the day. The starting line up was Sullivan, Mullins, Conlan, Ridley, Cox and Gould in a 2-2-1 formation. Gould making his debut for the over 65s, set about Grays instantly with a shot crashing off inside of the right hand upright only to go across the goal and out for a kick in. Sullivan making his first appearance of the season was tested early on but dealt with the Grays shot with customary ease. Gould was causing Grays all sorts problems, however the referee decided to punish Gould with two green cards for running. Not wanting to go down to five players, Haley replaced Gould just ahead of the break. At half time it was goalless, so a switch to the more orthodox 1-3-1 formation was made with Jacobs replacing Mullins. As the half wore on, with both teams looking to win Ridley and Jacobs had good efforts go wide and Sullivan was called upon to make an important save. The game ending scoreless was a bad result for Orient. Final score: Leyton Orient Reds 0 v 0 Grays Athletic.

Next up, were top of the table Chelmsford who had already claimed the title. Jacobs replaced Mullins in the starting line up. Orient dominated the early exchanges with Ridley and Cox getting good shots away, though Sullivan was called upon at the other end. With seven minutes gone, Cox struck to give the Os a deserved lead. Sullivan was immediately called into action to make another vital save, but Cox again troubled Chelmsford late on with another shot that was saved. Orient were one up at half time and by far the better team with Conlan and Jacobs nullifying the Chelmsford attack. The second half began with the league leaders taking the game to Orient in order to avoid their second defeat of the season. Within seconds, Chelmsford had blasted a shot just wide. Jacobs provided a decisive block to keep Orient ahead. However, the lead was snatched from Orient when the ball was cut back from the byline to find a Chelmsford player waiting to pop the ball into an unguarded net. Worse was to follow with Chelmsford scoring a second with four minutes to go. Chelmsford then played keep ball for the remainder of the game to leave Orient frustrated having given such a good account of them against the champions and to all intents and purposes relegated thanks to other results. Final score: Chelmsford 2 v 1 Leyton Orient (Cox).

The final game of the day was against Paringdon Pirates. With Grays winning elsewhere, the best Orient could hope for was to avoid finishing bottom. Given the paucity of goals, an all out attack approach was taken , starting with four attackers (Cox, Ridley, Haley & Gould) with Mullins holding the fort at the back on his own. Orient dominated the first half with Cox, Gould and Ridley all forcing saves from the keeper with Sullivan making a couple of saves on breakaways. Jacobs replaced Mullins at half time in an attempt to force the issue. The second half began badly with Cox receiving two green cards within a minute. Conlan replaced him going into defence with Jacobs pushing on. The second half was again dominated by Orient with Conlan, Jacobs and Haley all having attempts that were saved or just went wide. Paringdon were on the ropes and had players with two green cards. In the last minute they were reduced to five players conceding a free kick on the edge of the area. From the resulting free kick, Conlan shot just to the left of the goal. And that was that as the final whistle blew. Final score: Leyton Orient 0 v 0 Paringdon.

After play manager Clancy was sanguine in his analysis, “A very disappointing day for Orient over 65 Reds. The four defeats on the previous match day meant at least five points would have been needed to get out of the bottom two. The performance in the first half against Chelmsford shows this team can compete with the best, and there is still the EWFL cup to go for at the start of October. Still a lot to play for.”

In the afternoon it was Leyton Orient over 65 Whites to go looking for goals having gone twelve games without scoring.

Orient White’s first game was against Romford with Spence in goal, Rains at the back, Barrick, Baker and Kassam in midfield with Slater making his first appearance for the whites up front. There was only one team in the game. Leyton Orient. Slater had his shooting boots on immediately troubling the Romford keeper, but the breakthrough came midway through the first half when Baker strolled after a ball that had broken loose on the right wing. Rather than shoot, Baker squared the ball to Slater who precisely tucked the ball into the bottom left of the goal. One nil to The Orient. More was to follow with Slater setting up Kassam and Baker for efforts that would have given the Os another goal ahead of the break. Kassam was replaced by Conlan in the second half with the Os adopting an adventurous 1-2-2 formation. Slater was back in the thick of it having a shot within a minute of the restart though Spence was called upon soon after to make a crucial save. Conlan followed up with an effort that went just wide. This was followed by the over 65’s goal,of the season. Slater received the ball with his back to goal and flicked it to his left to the waiting Baker who hit the ball with pace and precision into the top right bin. Cheston replaced Slater for the remainder of the half. Baker then saw his next effort go just wide. With seconds to go, Spence kept his clean sheet with a save from the floundering Romford. Final score: Romford 0 v 2 Leyton Orient (Slater, Baker).

Next up were Billericay White. Orient started with the same starting line up. The inspired Baker was back troubling the opposition keeper within minutes of the restart with another powerful shot pushed behind by the keeper. Rains and Spence were more occupied with Billericay forcing Spence into action on a couple of occasions. At half time the game was goalless with Orient in control. Cheston replaced Baker at the interval. The second half saw Orient on the front foot. Within four minutes Slater replicated his pass in the Romford game to find Kassam in the space that Baker had vacated. Kassam neatly tucked the ball into the bottom left corner to give Orient the lead. Conlan came on for Slater with five minutes of the half remaining. Orient continued to press for a second goal, with Cheston and Conlan nearly adding to the lead, though some restraint may have been more prudent. Nevertheless, Orient ended victorious. Final score: Billericay White 0 v 1 Orient (Kassam).

The final game of the day was against Chelmsford. Orient took advantage of a gap between games to watch Chelmsford struggle against Billericay White and only get a draw. There were important take aways from the game, particularly for Rains in defence who analysed the Chelmsford danger man. An Orient win would see them leapfrogging Chelmsford in the table. The same starting line up was used again. Spence was brought into action early on, but within three minutes Orient won a free kick outside the area. Barrick teed up Slater who smashed the ball past the keeper to give the Os the lead. Minutes later Kassam came close to doubling the lead. Meanwhile Rains was on a mission to stop the Chelmsford striker hitting a sniff of goal and Orient were one up at the break. Cheston replaced Baker and Conlan replaced Slater at half time to bolster the Orient defence. This worked to great effect. Rains was winning his personal duel with the Chelmsford striker keeping him quiet and Orient kept possession throughout. There was a scare when Chelmsford hit the post late on, but Orient held firm and claimed their third victory of the day. Final score: Chelmsford 0 v 1 Leyton Orient (Slater).

After play manager, David Clancy enthused, “After the events earlier in the day, this provided some redemption. From the outset, the team were instructed to go for goals and trust in Spence and Rains keeping them out. The forward play of Slater added an extra dimension. Not only did he score two excellent goals he provided assists for Kassam and Baker, who played better than I have ever seen him do in the past. Captain Barrick deserves a lot of praise for bring out the best in the team and making the adjustments to the shape of the team as necessary guiding players through matches. Somewhat under utilised today, Conlan provided excellent hold up play and Cheston brought robustness to midfield, even if he was a little too adventurous when the Os needed to just see the game out. A good season overall for the Leyton Orient over 65 Whites thanks to some solid defending. With a few more goals it would have been a great season. The cup will offer the opportunity to go again now the Whites have found the golden touch.”

Leyton Orient over 65s Reds squad: Tony Sullivan (Gk), Mick Mullins (Cpt), Phil Jacobs, Tim Conlan, Trevor Ridley, Alan Cox,
Howard Gould, Tony Haley.

Leyton Orient over 65s Whites squad: Aidan Spence (Gk), Jon Barrick (Cpt), Peter Rains, Hassan Kassam, Simon Baker, Derek Slater, Chris Conlan, Len Cheston.

Goalscorers: Slater 2, Cox Baker, Kassam.

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Image used © 2024 Trevor Ridley

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