On Saturday 27th September Leyton Orient Walking FC over 50s Whites travelled to Billericay on a bright and mild morning

The team had more than a makeshift look about it. Normal captain Shayne Perry had departed for the bright lights of Harrogate and four team members were making their debuts at this level. Who knew what the ensuing hour and a half was to bring to this team though?

The first test was a daunting one against league leaders and the so far undefeated Cheshunt. Orient held their own admirably in the first half, matching Cheshunt for endeavour and skill. Cheshunt were reduced to shots from distance but Freeman in goal dealt with them all with his usual aplomb. Meanwhile A. Woods up front conjured up a couple of decent shots for Orient but alas the keeper was equal to them. At half time J. Woods came on to replace Newman but it wasn’t too long before a Cheshunt forward was left in space to rifle home a crisp shot that left Freeman with no chance. Orient rallied well and A. Woods had another shot that just whistled past the post and just as it looked like Orient were starting to get a foothold into the match the inevitable or avoidable (depending on your point of view) happened. A Cheshunt player was set free and with only the keeper to beat shanked his shot wide. A let off for Orient we thought but not to be, the ref pointed to the penalty spot and a DOGSO was awarded to Cheshunt. When pressed on this decision the referee stated that one of the Orient players had committed a non walking offence further up the pitch and even though there was no player anywhere near the Cheshunt player when he shot, the penalty was still given and duly dispatched. Final score: Cheshunt 2 v 0 Leyton Orient.

Undaunted and with a sense of injustice Orient trooped over to face their next opponents, Heybridge Swifts, who were second in the table -definitely a baptism of fire for the new Orient players. Nevertheless Orient started well, battled hard and created chances and more then held their own but were reduced to five men before half time when Ahktar was blue carded following a number of run-ins with the referee. This set back wasn’t the undoing of Orient who continued to play with poise and confidence despite the disadvantage. However this disadvantage was soon compounded with Ahktar’s return when he almost immediately received another blue card and subsequent red, which meant he not only missed the rest of this match but also the third match. Undaunted (again) the beleaguered Orient battled on, defended well , kept the ball and moved the ball up the pitch, and it was one of those forays upfield that led to a stray tackle and an Orient free kick. Quick thinking by Newman led to him slipping the ball through to A. Woods who turned sharply and rifled a superb, hard, low, left footed shot past the keeper and into the corner of the net. One – Nil to the five men and they were in dreamland but could they hold on? Yes they could and quite comfortably in fact, Heybridge were reduced to a few pot shots which the ever reliable Freeman dealt with. A fine victory indeed. Final score: Heybridge Swifts 0 v 1 Leyton Orient (A. Woods).

Next up were Billericay, a match that Orient hoped to win and with selection now made easier due to suspension, Orient lined up with some optimism thinking that any bad luck with decisions was behind them. If only they’d known.

To be frank there wasn’t too much to say about this match as Billericay played a very defensive game (and to be fair they did it very well) and chances were few and far between for both sides. However controversy is never far away and just after half time, following a good move, the Billericay keeper kicked the ball hard and high. The ball then either hit A. Woods on the head or he headed it (depending on your point of view) and a free kick was given against him. What happened next seemed typical of Orient’s day as the referee then inexplicably proceeded to reach into his pocket and pull out a blue card explaining that it was Woods third offence under the totting up procedure even though nobody watching or playing could remember a single offence committed by A. Woods prior to this. This disrupted Orient’ s play to say the least and any hopes of an Orient win were dashed and the match petered out to a goalless draw. Final score: Leyton Orient 0 v 0 Billericay Town.

After the match the Orient manager, Tim Conlan approached the referee for an explanation for the A. Woods blue card. The referee then proceeded to show him a list of the totting up offences committed by A. Woods, the problem being that two of the offences were actually made in the previous match against Heybridge and the referee seemingly hadn’t noticed that it was now a different game with different opponents. Oh well.

Manager Tim Conlan commented afterwards “I was pleased with our performances today against some really tough opposition, we played well in all three matches but despite our grievance over the DOGSO in the first match I think it’s fair to say we lost to a better, younger and fitter team. Individually we had some stand out performances, birthday boy Freeman was brilliant throughout making some top saves, meanwhile Inkpen in defence had a stormer against three really good, tricky forwards and blocked everything. In midfield J. Woods, Newman, Birnbaum and Akhtar played their hearts out, were resilient, kept the ball well when required and above all kept their concentration. A. Woods was a revelation up front, created a lot of really good shots, held the ball up well and scored a super goal. I’d like to thank all of the players for all they did today, somehow through adversity we built a really good team spirit and there are lessons learnt, not least that it’s pointless arguing with the officials, well done guys”.

Leyton Orient squad: Mike Freeman Gk), Andy Woods, John Woods, Tim Conlan, Maurice Birnbaum, Paul Newman, Noveed Akhtar, Steve Inkpen.

Goalscorers: A. Woods.

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