Sunday dawned grey and tense. The 70s were first into battle, breakfast barely digested before a semi-final against Six Fours Le Brusc. Cox, Ridley and Barrick all came close as Orient controlled large stretches, but once more goals proved elusive. Penalties followed. The French prevailed. Ridley’s strike later secured third place against Hartshill, scant reward for some of the best football played all weekend.

Then came thunder. Lightning suspended play for 70 minutes, players sheltering beneath marquees as the Mediterranean briefly turned monsoon.

When action resumed, the Over-60s edged past Portsmouth on penalties after another dominant yet goalless quarter-final performance, Spence saving twice magnificently in the shootout. That set up the inevitable rematch with Manchester Old Boys. It was a contest played with immense caution and mutual respect, neither side willing to yield an inch. Chances were almost non-existent. Again penalties decided it. Again heartbreak arrived. Orient fell 3-2 in the shootout to the eventual champions before later losing the third-place match to Bray despite overwhelming possession.

The 65s, meanwhile, gained their revenge on Bray through Howard’s calmly taken penalty before another semi final shootout defeat - this time against efficient Grimsby - ended hopes of the final. Weston restored spirits with three superb penalty shoot out saves to secure third place in a third contest with Bray.

Come the evening, after the emotional drain of finals won and lost, some of the Over-70s gathered to watch Tottenham. (Hadn't they suffered enough? - ed.) Others chose a more uplifting route. At the Caledonian karaoke bar, whatever hair remained was metaphorically - and in certain cases literally - let down (and put on). Zelkowicz brought unexpected elegance to proceedings, channelling Brandon Flowers with a rousing rendition of Mr. Brightside that quickly became the soundtrack of the evening. Weston, meanwhile, might have been invited to leave the building - embracing full showman mode, donning wig and sideburns to deliver The Wonder of You. Then came Cox, calm and composed amid the chaos, demonstrating that while others were enjoying karaoke, he was quietly mastering it. On the floor, the Wadham Lodge Posse disco-fingered, bumped, hustled and funky chickened the night away. Scarcely believable that those legs - combined age running into the thousands - had spent the weekend reliving those school playground glory days chasing an inflated pig's bladder to oblivion. This was life worth living.

That Monday night, raising a glass to Club Captain Phil Stevenson on his birthday, one could see the very soul of the Club writ large. It was a celebration not just of a man, but of its DNA: inspired leadership, profound togetherness, and a radiant, defiant joy in the twilight years of life.

And so the weekend closed as these weekends always do: with tired legs, stiff backs, overflowing stories and the strange emotional cocktail football uniquely provides. Triumph and frustration. Laughter and regret. Friendship and competition existing side by side.

“Feo, fuerte y formal” - ugly, strong and dignified.

The phrase fitted these Leyton Orient sides perfectly. There was resilience in their football, honesty in their camaraderie and dignity in the way they carried themselves throughout the tournament. Ultimate silverware largely escaped them, but something more enduring travelled home instead. 

As Leyton Orient Walking Football stalwart Paul Franklin reflected afterwards: “I would take the friendship and camaraderie we all have over trophies any day.”

Maybe that was the real victory. Though next year, naturally, they will aim for both.

And perhaps that is why these tournaments matter more with age. The trophies, eventually, gather dust; the knees stiffen, the pace fades and the scorelines blur into one another. But memory clings stubbornly to the smaller things: the walk along the coast before kick-off, the laughter in hotel corridors, teammates sheltering together from a storm, the improbable save, the missed penalty, the song sung badly but joyfully long after midnight. Football, at this stage of life, becomes less a pursuit of glory than a quiet act of defiance against time itself - a refusal to surrender the bonds, rituals and dreams first formed in youth. And in that sense, these Leyton Orient sides returned from Mallorca victorious, because they carried home the one prize sport can never truly measure: the enduring comfort of belonging.

And somewhere, one suspects, Young Mr Grace would have approved.

“You’ve all done very well.”



Full Results, Squads & Goalscorers

Over-60s

Teign Drifters 0 - 1 Leyton Orient (Okocha)
Wellington 0 - 1 Leyton Orient (Woods)
Bray Wanderers 0 - 0
Portsmouth 0 - 0
Manchester Old Boys 0 - 0
Cambridge Caballeros 1 - 1 (Okocha)
Hartshill Strollers 0 - 0

Quarter Final 
Portsmouth 0 - 0 Leyton Orient (Leyton Orient win 3 - 1 on penalties)

Semi Final 
Manchester Old Boys 0 - 0 (Manchester Old Boys win 3 - 2 on penalties)

Third Place Play Off
Bray Wanderers 1 - 0 Leyton Orient

Leyton Orient 60s Squad: Aidan Spence, Paul Franklin, Jason Edwards, Nad Pillay (C), Jake Zelkowicz, Andrew Okocha, Andrew Woods.

Goalscorers: Okocha 2, Woods.


Over-65s

Gala 1 - 1 Leyton Orient (Howard)
Oxford United 0 - 0 Leyton Orient 
Bray Wanderers 0 - 0 Leyton Orient 
Grimsby 0 - 0 Leyton Orient 
Gibraltar 0 - 0 Leyton Orient 

Quarter Final
Bray Wanderers 0 - 1 Leyton Orient (Goukd pen.)

Semi final 
Grimsby 0 - 0 (Grimsby win on penalties)

Third Place Play Off
Bray Wanderers 0 - 0 Leyton Orient (Leyton Orient win 2 - 1 on penalties)

Leyton Orient 65s Squad: Weston (C), Tim Conlan, Andy Barrick, Howard Gould, Neil Burns, Simon Slater, Jack Kotonou, Steve Guerrini, Trevor Ridley.

Goalscorers: Howard 2.


Over-70s

Portsmouth 0 - 0 Leyton Orient 
Six Fours Le Brusc 0 - 0 Leyton Orient 
Hartshill Strollers 0 - 0 Leyton Orient 
Teign Drifters 0 - 1 Leyton Orient (Cox)

Semi Final
Six Fours Le Brusc 0 - 0 Leyton Orient (SFLB win on penalties)

Third Place Play Off
Hartshill Strollers 0 - 1 Leyton Orient (Ridley)

Leyton Orient 70s Squad: Tony Weston, Chris Conlan, Jon Barrick, Phil Stephenson (C), Steve Tongue, Alan Cox, Trevor Ridley.

Goalscorers: Cox, Ridley.

Splendid match report -Nad Pillay