Tuesday 10th February : Middlesex Friendly Over 65s Festival
Report by Simon Baker.

As ever it was overcast and damp, with a little light rain, as a squad of over 65s arrived in
Middlesex for another warm up festival prior to the start of the new league season. The lads were buoyant and in good spirits, having come away from said festival in January with four
out of four wins. Confidence was high as captain Baker addressed the team in the dressing
room, emphasising the importance of pass to feet and move to create space and
opportunities for scoring goals. It’s a simple game, just stick to what we did last time out.

First match was against Hive and we lined up with Weston in goal, Inkpen at the back,
Barrick in central midfield, Dooley and Brennan on the flanks and Gurman as striker. A poor start found Orient struggling to get a foothold on the game as stray passes, poor marking
and a lack of communication hampered the team. Baker shouted in vain from the touchline
to try and urge the team to find their rhythm - and fast! An uncharacteristic mistake by
Barrick resulted in a goal to the opposition as an underhit back pass to Weston was
intercepted by their striker who slotted the ball home. At half time Baker brought himself and Gall on in place of Dooley and Brennan. Gradually the Os began to wake up and start
playing some half decent football, A couple of minor chances were created, but not enough
to get back on even terms.
Final Score: Hive 1 - 0 Leyton Orient

The next game was against Extra Time Welwyn (where do they get these names from?).
Once again Orient started hesitantly, giving the ball away carelessly and unable to get a
toehold in the game. Welwyn’s striker was released one on one with Dooley and twisted and turned his way past to fire an unstoppable shot into the net. Half time changes resulted in a
more positive half with Inkpen firing two trademark long range efforts at goal and Dooley
narrowly missing the target as the ball bounced off the post and into the grateful arms of the goalkeeper. As the referee put his whistle to his lips to blow full time, Welwyn struck again
with a fine shot that signalled the end of the match.
Final Score: Extra Time Welwyn 2 - 0 Leyton Orient

How can a team that won four matches so confidently last month, now struggle to play?
Barrick summed it up by saying ‘We’ve forgotten the basics!’ Our penultimate game was
against Inter RIPs. To start with Orient remembered the basics and finally began to string a
succession of passes together and at least keep some possession. Weston made a fine
save from a whizzing shot from Inter. Gradually the old mistakes came back to haunt us and before long Inter had the ball in the back of the net and Orient on the back foot. Despite
continuing to press for an equaliser a late second put the game to bed.
Final Score: Inter RIPs 2 - 0 Leyton Orient

The final match was against Cedars, who we comfortably beaten last time out. Orient began with purpose and before long a decisive pass from Barrick found Gurman in space who
blasted the ball home. Finally we had a lead to hold on to. We continued to play brightly until half time. In the second half the old mistakes started creeping in again and before long an
error at the back presented Cedars with an equaliser. Weston furiously booted the ball back to the centre as frustrations boiled over. Orient continued to press for a winner but it was to
no avail.
Final Score: Cedars 1 - 1 Leyton Orient Gurman)

Back in the dressing room the team mulled over what went wrong. It’s fair to say most of the team were off their game today and were only able to demonstrate what they were capable of in fits and starts. Still, you learn a lot from losing, and it will be back to the drawing board
in training to iron out the errors and improve next time.

Leyton Orient Squad: Weston (GK), Baker (CPT), Barrick, Dooley, Gall, Gurman, Inkpen,
Brennan
Scorers: Gurman