Disappointment at the postponement of their opening round of Essex League games was put to one side as Leyton Orient 50s Whites travelled to Romford instead for three instructive friendlies against their hosts.
A new-look Whites side under new captain Jason Edwards, acting as interim manager on Saturday as he recovers from long-term injury, blended experience with newcomers and took full advantage of Romford’s kind invitation to gain valuable match practice.
Romford’s B team clearly had the advantage of knowing each other’s games inside out but the experimental Whites won the last of the three games and would have fared better in the other two had they not left keeper Tony Weston repeatedly exposed.
Orient started the first game very brightly, retaining possession well and breaking the Romford back line seemingly at will, peppering the home goal with shots that were largely either just over or narrowly wide.
The Whites did find the net through Julian Lillington but frustratingly it was disallowed when referee Damien, who officiated excellently throughout, spotted a running offence off the ball that Orient could have no complaints about.
Dean Gibson and Maurice Birnbaum replaced Peter Rains and Andy Homer at half time but the Whites started the second half sloppily and the poor marking that was the biggest negative of the day cost them with two Romford goals in quick succession.
The Whites started to pass the ball well again and pulled a goal back through Paul Newman after good work by Stuart Wright but Romford were able to see the game out. Final score Romford 2 Leyton Orient 1 (Newman). Orient: Weston, Rains (Birnbaum HT), Homer (Gibson HT), Wright, Newman, Lillington.

The sloppiness from large parts of the first match carried on into the second as the Whites were unable to stop a Romford side who had changed tactically and were moving up the field by dribbling more.
Orient responded by giving away too many free kicks for tackling rather than jockeying and too many times were caught ball watching and therefore left players unmarked.
To compound matters, when Orient did have the ball they gave it away cheaply and just before half time the inevitable happened when a Romford player who found himself free on the edge of the box slotted home.
At half time Lillington, Rains and Homer replaced Mark Harden, Wright and Gibson but Orient carried on in the same vein and switched off at a corner early in the second half to go two down. Romford saw the game out comfortably but at least Orient showed a greater capacity to retain the ball in the closing minutes. Final score: Romford 2 Leyton Orient 0. Orient: Weston, Birnbaum, Gibson (Homer HT), Wright (Gains HT), Newman, Harden (Lillington HT).

Orient had learned their lessons by the third game and the penny had dropped that if you track players and jockey the man with the ball it is difficult to break you down. They also retained the ball in possession much more effectively.
Wright was a constant threat with his close control and dribbling and was rewarded with two outstanding individual goals, the first with a terrific strike into the bottom corner and the second and some trickery with another super finish.
With something to hang onto Orient tracked the opposition with more discipline and determination and frequently got into good positions. They deserved their tangible success of the day. Final score: Romford 0 Leyton Orient 2 (Wright 2). Orient: Weston, Gains, Homer (Gibson HT), Wright, Newman (Birnbaum HT), Lillington (Harden HT).

Interim manager Edwards said afterwards: “Many thanks to Romford for organising these matches at such short notice. It was a good workout for a group of players unfamiliar with each other. We started and finished well but our marking and tracking back were lacking at times. As a team we were also too quiet.
“The main objective today was to give everyone plenty of game time but the amount of changes we made did disrupt our flow at times. We did play some lovely football at times and as we play together more we will improve. All in all a useful morning.”

Leyton Orient Squad -:
Tony Weston (GK)
Paul Newman (Cpt)
Peter Rains
Andy Homer
Maurice Birnbaum
Mark Harden
Dean Gibson
Stuart Wright
Julian Lillington


Report by Paul Newman.