Tuesday 13th January: Middlesex Friendly Over 65s Festival

On a dull wet day, a squad of over 65s rose early from their slumbers to make their weary way over to the other side of London for another Middlesex tournament as preparation for the new season. Captain Baker had already forewarned the squad that their would be plenty of rotation as nobody would want to stand for very long on the touchline in the rain. He also reminded everyone that we must put into practice what we had worked on in training the
previous week - namely quick decisive passing and movement to set up goal scoring opportunities.

As we weren't playing in the opening round of games the squad stood under shelter as the rain teemed down and Baker named his starting six. The ever reliable Weston in goal, Inkpen at the back, Barrick in the middle, Dooley and Baker on the flanks and Gurman up front. Our first match was against Cedars, who had already warmed up in the opening set of fixtures. Orient however started confidently, knocking the ball around with ease and creating some early pressure on the opposition. Barrick was directing the play from the centre despite being harassed and nibbled at by opposing players. Eventually the referee had seen too much contact and awarded Orient a free kick. Barrick calmly set up to free Dooley in the centre, who rifled the ball home. 1-0. In the second half Dooley and Baker were replaced by
Brennan and Gall. Orient continued to keep their shape and carve out chances before Barrick was denied a goal scoring opportunity and a penalty was awarded. Inkpen stepped up to take the spot kick and expertly fired the ball low into the bottom lefthand corner, giving
the keeper no chance. The O’s were cruising now, keeping possession and passing neatly,determined to see out the game. A rare foray upfield by Cedars added a little pressure to our defence and Gall inadvertently stepped back in to the area resulting in a late converted
penalty by Cedars. The final whistle blew and Orient had their first victory under their belt.
Final Score: Cedars 1 - 2 Leyton Orient (Dooley, Inkpen)

Game two was against Stingers. Baker reshuffled the pack by bringing off Barrick and Gurman with Baker moving up front and Dooley slotting into midfield. Once again Orient started brightly, passing and moving quickly to put pressure on the opposition. Brennan was set up twice in as many minutes, almost hitting the target on both occasions. At the break
Barrick replaced Inkpen and Gurman came on for Gall. Dooley moved to the back, Baker to the left of midfield and Barrick back to central midfield where once again he began to dominate proceedings, with accurate short passes to the flanks. Eventually he found Brennan on the right and this time he was not to be denied with a fine, unstoppable shot into the back of the net. Once again Orient saw out the game with neat, tidy possession football.
Final Score Stingers 0 - 1 Leyton Orient (Brennan)

Next up were RIP Monday. Brennan and Baker took a rest, with Gall and Inkpen coming on to replace them. By now Orient, with two wins behind them, were confidently knocking the ball around creating delightful triangles that bamboozled the opposition. Weston in goal continued to roar out instructions on where he wanted players to be when kicking out from his area and ensuring that markers were always goal side when out of possession. On the odd occasion when RIP Monday attempted some long range shots on goal, Weston was always ready to collect or divert the shots. In the second half Baker and Brennan came on for Dooley and Gall. Orient continued to press for an advantage until finally Brennan collected the ball on the right and sent a pinpoint pass to Gurman in space who gleefully blasted the ball into the net past the hapless goalkeeper. Once again the O’s ensured they kept good possession until the final whistle to see out the victory.
Final Score: RIP Monday 0 - 1 Leyton Orient (Gurman)

Our final game was against RIP Thursday, who looked a decent side having watched their previous match. However Orient’s tails were up and they were determined to get four out of four wins. There was simply no stopping them, they were on a roll. The team pursued the opposition aggressively and with energy when out of possession, denying any chance of RIP Thursday getting any kind of rhythm going. When on the ball, the O’s passed quickly and decisively and it was only a matter of time for Gurman set up Barrick who thundered a lowdrive into the opposition’s net. Within a couple of more minutes Orient had put the game to bed with a delightful passing sequence between Gurman, Barrick and Brennan where the ball was eventually given back to Gurman who poked home the second and decisive goal. Barrick and Gurman were substituted for the second half, but by now any changes were so seamless that Orient easily saw out the second half with good defensive play and sensible passing football.
Final Score: RIP Thursday 0 - 2 Leyton Orient (Barrick, Gurman)

As we were packing up our things after four straight victories, an RIP Thursday player approached Baker and said ‘Have you guys been practising? That was a very impressive performance!’ Indeed it was. Captain Baker remarked that ‘We were strong in every department today and it didn’t matter how many times I switched players at half time, it made no difference to the shape or the style of play.’ An extremely satisfying morning of football!

Leyton Orient Squad: Weston (Gk), Baker (Cpt), Inkpen, Dooley, Barrick, Gall, Brennan, Gurman.
Scorers: Gurman (2), Barrick, Dooley, Inkpen, Brennan