Orient Away 24/25 – Crawley

As the season started to wind down we headed off on the first of two upcoming local trips with a visit to West Sussex to take on Crawley. If you’re travelling by train Crawley is easy to get to with frequent trains from Victoria, London Bridge and Thameslink stations. The town itself is unremarkable, and there’s not much on offer in the way of pubs. We opted for The Railway, which as the name suggests is next to the railway, but I’ve heard good things from others who went to The Brewery Shades so will probably check that out when we next visit. The ground is a 25-30 minute walk from the town centre/station, but there is a regular shuttle bus as well. If you do walk, then Closer to the ground is the New Moon which is also a good stop-off for away fans.

The Broadfield stadium hasn’t changed much in recent years. Away fans get a covered terrace at one end of the ground, and a few seats in the ‘Gazebo’ stand. The ground is completed by a covered terrace and a large seated stand for home fans.

The team news arrived and it was a relief to see Omar Beckles back marshalling the defence. The rest of the side pretty much picked itself with Abdulai and Markanday backing up Kelman in attack. There wasn’t really much to write home about in the first half. You wouldn’t have thought it was a match that Crawley had to win in their relegation battle, and Orient had to win to keep in touch with the playoff places. It was no surprise that the half ended goalless with both teams pretty much cancelling each other out.

The second half didn’t start well for Orient, as Clare inexplicably challenged for a ball in the area with his arm up, and the ref pointed to the spot. Armando sent Keeley the wrong way to give the hosts the lead. However it didn’t take Orient long to get back in it, as just a couple of minutes later Kelman evened things up when he latched on to a long ball and cut inside and hit a well placed shot into the bottom corner. The game turned on it’s head a minute later when Orient were awarded a penalty following a goalmouth scramble. Kelman (Again Ole Ole) made no mistake as he slotted home Orient’s first spot kick in the league this season. On the hour mark Orient switched things up with Cooper replacing Jordan Brown. Orient were in total control at this point, and Crawley didn’t look like getting back in it. There were a further two changes ass Ball & Agyei replaced an ineffective Abdulai and Markanday. Agyei almost set up a third for Orient as Beckles came agonisingly close to connecting with his teasing ball across goal. There was a final change for Orient as Jaiyesimi replaced a tiring Kelman with Orient comfortably remaining on top. Going into stoppage time Crawley’s bizarre tactic of passing to their keeper and putting him under pressure finally unravelled when Ball won possession inside the area and teed up Donley to put the match beyond doubt.

With most of the other results going Orient’s way we are bizarrely still in the playoff hunt. All we can do now is take each game as it comes, hopefully win it, and see where it takes us. To coin an old cliché we have 4 cup finals left, starting with Barnsley at home on Good Friday before another local trip to Cambridge on Easter Monday where we will be hoping it’s not a case of “It’s the hope that kills you”. See you there.

Orient Away 24/25 – Burton

As we head into the home straight for this season we headed for the midlands to take on relegation threatened Burton Albion. Orient don’t have a great record against the hosts, having never registering a victory against them in the three meetings between the two, and this would have to change to keep the play-off hopes alive.

You can’t get a direct train to Burton from London, so your options are to get a train to either Tamworth or Derby and change there. We opted for Tamworth as it was the easier/cheaper of the two. With no trains back following the game we stayed at the Go2 hotel opposite the station. It’s an old Railway Warehouse converted into a hotel, and although basic was decent enough for one night.

If you like a drink then Burton is your place, especially if you are a real ale fan. There are numerous breweries here (Hence the teams nickname of The Brewers) and even more pubs. Having sampled quite a few of these establishments last year we opted to try The Leopard, The Dog, The Lord Burton, Coopers Tavern and The Weighbridge Inn. Out of these The Dog & The Weighbridge were easily the best in my opinion.

The ground is around 2 miles from the town centre, so you can either undertake the 35-odd minute walk (Easy enough to find down one straight road) or jump in a cab. It’s a standard type of ‘New Build’ smaller stadiums with identical sized stands on each side (3 terraced and one seated). Bizarrely they forced us all to cram into the small seated section for away fans even though we had tickets for the terrace.

Dan Happe returned to the side to partner REG at centre back, but otherwise the starting lineup was as expected, with the likes of Abdulai and Markanday still unable to force themselves into a starting berth. Burton flew straight out of the blocks and tested Keeley when he was unable to hold a powerful effort from Larsson, but it was Orient who took the lead on ten minutes as Agyei tapped home a rebound after Kelman saw his effort saved. Orient should have gone two up but Brown couldn’t find the target, before Burton started to get a foothold back in the match. In a rare breakaway Kelman saw another effort saved by Crocombe, but in the main it was Burton testing the Orient backline. Just before half time Orient should have taken the lead when Crocombe lost the ball in the area, but in the midst of a scramble Jaiyesimi was booked for his tackle on Sweeney, which resulted in the latter being replaced following a lengthy period of treatment.

As the second half started it was clear to see Burton had been fired up by the halftime team talk. Unfortunately it was also clear to see that, yet again, Orient’s team talk had the opposite effect. It was no surprise when Burton found an equaliser on the hour mark when Webster slotted home. Four minutes later the hosts had the lead as the Orient defenders thought it would be a great idea to watch Burrell run in and tap home a rebound after Keeley had made a good save. I’d like to say that Orient then huffed and puffed to try and get back in the match, but that simply wasn’t the case. They looked anything but a playoff chasing team as, despite fresh legs being introduced in the form of Abdulai, Markanday and Perkins the hosts were able to easily see time out and take the three points.

Orient away ends are ‘Interesting’ at the moment. A couple of scuffles broke out between our own fans, and there were numerous instances of some fans telling others that they ‘Must Stand’ or ‘Must Sing’ etc. Anyone that gives up time and money to go away should be free to support the team how they see fit, without being ‘policed’ by others.

Anyway, back to matters on the pitch. Although the playoff dream isn’t over, it’s looking highly unlikely now. To sneak in we would almost certainly have to go unbeaten until the end of the season, with most of the matches being wins. Not impossible, but not likely. In truth though we are not geared up for Championship football. At the time of writing we have lost 16 out of our 39 matches so far in this division, which makes you wonder what championship teams would do to us. We also have to consider the huge turnover of players there will be this summer. It’s not looking likely that we would be able to keep the ‘better’ loan players, and with the amount of players that will be out of contract, plus the increasing probability that Galbraith will be sold, it’s going to be a huge summer recruitment wise. It will be interesting to see what happens with the takeover and if that has any bearing on where we go ‘Shopping’ in that respect.

As the season winds down we have more away games than home games left, although lack of available holiday’s means I’ll have to miss out on the trip to Mansfield. With that in mind next blog will be from the local trip down to Crawley. See you there.

Orient Away 24/25 – Blackpool

After a really tough week on a personal level, and what seemed like an eternity of playing every Tuesday & Saturday we finally headed to Blackpool having had a fixture free midweek period. A trip to the Fylde Coast is always a strange one for me having spent a chunk of my life living there, but I can’t say I really miss the place.

The majority of trains from London will lead you to Blackpool North, which is quite a way from the football ground. It is however handily placed for all of the ‘touristy’ stuff like the Golden Mile, Tower etc. We headed down to the seafront upon arrival, and couldn’t resist popping into Coral Island (A place where I lost far too much money to remember in years gone by). You won’t go short of places to drink in Blackpool, but ‘When in Rome’ so to speak we decided to head to somewhere that did the typical tacky seaside drinks in Tommy Cutlers bar. After sampling various drinks including a fish bowl and some 75% ‘Death Bomb’ shots we headed off to the ground.

Bloomfield Road hasn’t changed much recently. Away fans still get part of the one stand that is different to the rest, and there are a few pillars in the way. Apart from this the rest of the ground is easily above League One standard.

There were a few changes to the starting lineup with Jaiyesimi and Clare coming into the team along with a much welcome return for Jack Currie. There wasn’t really much to report from the opening half hour with both teams evenly cancelling each other out, but that changed when Kelman headed home a fine cross from Jaiyesimi. A few minutes later Fletcher treated everyone to the miss of the season (Possibly of his career) when he somehow fired over a gaping goal after taking the ball past Keeley. Blackpool were well on top at this point, and only some fine saves from Keeley prevented the hosts from getting at least an equaliser before half time.

Blackpool started off the second half in a similar manner with Keeley once again being called into action to keep out Ennis. Orient did manage to catch Blackpool on the break but Kelman saw his shot from a tight angle hit the crossbar. After a further period of pressure from the home side they finally foiund a way past Keeley when Carey fired the ball home. The parity was to last just a couple of minutes though, as Kelman was given the freedom of the Fylde Coast to tap home Agyei’s cross. Shoryly after Orient had another let-off as Ennis somehow hit the post when it looked easier to score. The Josh Keeley show continued with the stopper making another couple of fine saves. Blackpool were handed a huge chance to equalise with a couple of minutes left when Cooper missed a through ball, leaving Beesley one-on-one with Keeley. However, Beesley strangely chose to try to lob the ball over Keeley and it dropped harmlessly on to the roof of the net. That was to be the final chance as Orient were to hold on for a first win at Bloomfield Road in a generation, even if they had to ride their luck doing so. After 5 straight defeats though, you will take a win any way you can get it.

After the game we headed off to spend time with family, as we were able to wind down after a stressful period from a personal point of view. Unfortunately we had to have our cat Jordan put to sleep, and I’d like to dedicate this blog to him. I’ll miss that little chap.

The quirks of the fixture list now means that following that intense period of all those games in four weeks, we now don’t have a game for twelve days due to international call-ups. I wouldn’t want to be a football manager trying to plan for those eventualities. Next up on the road is Burton on April Fools day – see you there.

Orient Away 24/25 – Rotherham

There is no let up with the barrage of fixtures at the moment. I felt drained heading off to Rotherham, so lord knows how the players and staff felt heading towards their tenth match in five weeks. With it’s tram/train links to nearby Sheffield it’s not too bad to get to Rotherham from London, and the ground is a short walk from the station.

We had a quick drink at The Old Queens Head in Sheffield before heading in to Rotherham. I picked a few pubs out to visit in Rotherham, and the less said about the first two (The Three Cranes & The Mail Coach) the better. When you pop in to the Wetherspoons for food and it’s the best pub of the three then you know the other two are not up to much. The two pubs nearer the ground (The New York Tavern and The Cutlers Arms) saved the day though. These two were proper pubs, and I wouldn’t hesitate to visit either again.

I am a fan of The New York Stadium. A lot of people hold Brentford up as the blueprint for new stadia in the lower divisions, but I think this one is a better stadium. With it’s steep stands the view of the pitch is excellent, and it’s not just a “soulless bowl” either.

There were no real surprises with the starting line-up, with Ball & Agyei coming into the team. The defence practically picked itself with all the players unavailable due to injuries and suspensions, and Charlie Kelman again led the attacking line.

There was not much to report from a dull first half. We knew this would be two teams with contrasting styles, with Rotherham being more direct and Orient favouring the possession based game as chances were few and far between. Orients biggest threat was when Agyei was able to run at the defence, and Rotherham were at their most threatening when they got the ball up quickly to Clark-Harris, but it was no surprise that the first half ended goalless.

This carried on into the second half until Rotherham started getting on top with it becoming apparent that fresh legs were needed in the Orient side. Rotherham took the lead on the hour when, in a mirror image of the previous Saturday, Orient failed to deal with a corner and Sibley slotted into the bottom corner. Bizarrely it took a further seven minutes to get the subs on, but eventually Williams and Jaiyesimi replaced Agyei and Markanday.

Orient immediately started to create more chances, with Kelman somehow blazing over and a curling effort from Donley went just wide. Orient bought Abdulai, Perkins and Clare on for Kelman, Donley and Ball, but never really looked like getting back in it as the home side comfortably managed the game out to take the three points.

It was a poor performance all over the pitch, and a team that were lacking in ideas and confidence. The “Work Ethic” that served us so well during the unbeaten run after the Oldham cup game also wasn’t in evidence, as the press just wasn’t there and too often our full-backs found themselves in 2-on-1 situations. The playoff dream is certainly not dead yet, but it’s been made a hell of a lot more difficult following four straight defeats. Here’s hoping we can stop the rot against Northampton then start to put another run together.

I just want to end this blog by dedicating it to a friend of mine who passed away recently. He wasn’t an Orient fan, but did come to a few matches whenever Orient were in the North West. One of the reasons I do this blog is that he kept on at me that it would be a “Good Idea”. RIP Bill – you will certainly be missed.

Next up is a game against Northampton before we finally get a break from midweek matches and head up to Blackpool. See you there.

Orient Away 24/25 – Birmingham

After having to miss the last couple of away trips it was good to get back on the road again to take on title favourites Birmingham. Regular readers of this blog will know that I like a pub visit and Birmingham, or more specifically Digbeth, didn’t disappoint in that aspect. We ended up taking in The Bullring Tavern, The Big Bulls Head, The Anchor, Hennessey’s Bar (Great food), The White Swan and The Spotted Dog and apart from The Bullring Tavern I’d recommend a visit to any of them. Out of those pubs mentioned The Spotted Dog is the closest to the ground, with it being around a 15 minute walk.

The last time I was at St Andrews it looked very different as away fans had a section of the huge terrace behind the goal, and most of the ground has been redeveloped since then. Away fans get part of the Gil Merrick Stand, which is an odd stand in that the lower tier is huge and the upper tier is tiny in comparison. The rest of the ground is completed with the old Main Stand and the two newer ones giving a feel that this is a stadium that really shouldn’t be in League One (and probably won’t be for much longer)

With the defence still being decimated by injuries it was a formality that Cooper and REG partnered each other at centre-back (If Cooper hadn’t been fit to play I honestly don’t know who would have filled in with every other centre-back injured). This was also the first time in a long while that we had seen both Agyei and Kelman start together as it became clear Orient weren’t going to just sit back and try to soak up the inevitable pressure.

However, the gameplan went out of the window after 12 minutes when Currie was shown a straight red card. I’ve seen a lot of debate on the decision and in my opinion it was harsh, although when you do go in with both feet off the floor (Even though they were only just) then you do give the ref a decision to make. Personally I think it should have been a yellow, but the fact that both feet were off the floor for that short period you could argue there wasn’t ‘Control’. Wellens responded by replacing Markanday with Sweeney (Needed) and Kelman with Ball. Personally I would have kept Kelman on, as his work rate would have been more likely to cause a Birmingham error at the back, but with an eye on Charlton on Saturday I can see why Wellens sacrificed him. Birmingham almost took the lead when Willumsson headed over, before Jamie Donley tried his party trick of lobbing the keeper from distance, but his effort sailed over. Birmingham were well on top but a combination of Orient defenders throwing themselves in front of everything, poor finishing and the woodwork meant the first half ended goalless.

The second half started in the same vein that the first half finished, with Birmingham piling on the pressure until Gardner-Hickman eventually opened the scoring. Orient replaced Agyei with Abdulai before Wellens picked up his customary yellow card. Orient bought Williams and Perkins on for Donley and Galbraith as attention started to turn to Saturday and keeping the legs fresh. Birmingham continued to pile on the pressure before Ethan Laird (The best player on the pitch IMO) sealed the inevitable points for the home team. This was met with a chorus of “Why the fuck are you still here” from the Birmingham fans to our right. The answer to that is simple. We’ve seen worse than losing 2-0 to the team that will likely win League one. A lot worse. It was also good to see the majority of Orient fans sticking with the team until the end and clapping them off. It’s a shame the red card incident happened, as I genuinely believe it would have been a good contest had it remained 11 v 11.

I’m not going to pile in on the ‘Birmingham have spent x million’ bandwagon. Yes they’ve spent a lot of money, but ultimately everyone in League One would love to have that sort of spending power. They also generate (So I believe) more income than most clubs in the Championship and after seeing years of decline and a stadium in disrepair they now have owners that are willing to fund big plans and take them forward.

If someone had offered a draw in the three games at Wrexham, Bolton and Birmingham I think most Orient fans would have taken it and said “Job done”. It just so happens the 3 points have come from a win and two defeats, and as the defeats weren’t heavy there’s not much damage to the goal difference. I’ll take that. Next up a huge game at home to Charlton before yet another midweek trip up to Rotherham. See you there.

Orient Away 24/25 – Exeter

Our latest away trip was a visit back to a familiar haunt with a midweek journey down to Devon to take on Exeter City. Exeter are a team that we never seem to go too long without playing, and this was evident with this being my 22nd visit there with Orient.

Exeter is a cracking place to visit, and is reachable with frequent trains from Paddington. The more adventurous can go the Waterloo route which is usually cheaper but takes an hour longer. You’ll most likely arrive at St Davids station, which is around a mile from the town centre. There are frequent trains to Exeter Central though which is, as the name suggests, more handily placed for the town centre.

A midweek trip did give us a bit more time in town, and enabled us to visit a few pubs – The Mill On The Exe, The Prospect Inn and the White Hart in the town centre and the Bowling Green which was a few minutes walk from the ground. All of these are well worth a visit (Special mention to the food in the White Hart as it was superb). We did have one other pub on the list, the Bishops Blaize, but unfortunately it was closed.

Exeter are in a similar position to Orient in that they have pretty much expanded capacity as much as they can. The huge ‘Big Bank’ Terrace behind the goal is the centrepiece of the ground, and it is complemented by two decent new stands along the side. Away fans get a covered terrace behind the goal, which I believe used to be at The Hive in Barnet until Exeter took it on.

Again the team virtually picked itself amidst the injury crisis, with Kelman leading the line supported by new signings Markanday and Abdulai. Orient flew out of the blocks and raced into an early lead when Markanday found Abdulai who fired through a crowd into the bottom corner. The celebrations had barely finished when Orient found themselves 2-0 up. Jamie Donley chested the ball down and hit an audacious cross-field volley into the path of Abdulai, who was given the freedom of Exeter to slot home his second. Shortly after this Sean Clare curled an absolute beauty into the top corner as Orient went 3-0 up with not even 15 minutes played. After 34 minutes Markanday made it 4-0 when Exeter lost possession trying to play out from the back, and he also found himself in acres of space with the simplest of finishes in front of him.

Exeter came out for the second half and had obviously got a bit of the hairdryer treatment as they quickly got two goals back in quick succession. Both goals were pretty much carbon copies of each other as the Orient defence couldn’t cope with the physical presence of Alli as he headed home two crosses. In days gone by it would have been ‘Typical Orient’ to collapse at this point. However, as we’ve seen on numerous times this season, this is no ‘typical Orient’ team. They rode out the storm of an Exeter team that had worked up a head of steam, before Abdulai steered a cross into the bottom corner to make it 5-2. Just as you thought the game would just fizzle out, Jamie Donley popped up to Volley home an outrageous effort that he really had no right to score from. This wrapped up a remarkable 6-2 scoreline, which I believe is a first for me in over 1500 matches attended.

Results elsewhere meant that we finished the night in the playoff places, which is unbelievable when you consider just two short months previous a defeat to Huddersfield left Orient in the relegation zone. We’ve got a huge February in front of us. We play a lot of teams that are pushing for the playoff places, as well as a certain cup tie which nobody seems to fussed about. See you there.

Orient Away 24/25 – Peterborough

After a tense and dramatic cup outing on Tuesday we headed off on the short tip to Peterborough, for another one of Sky’s fantastic early kick-offs that would have been watched by a handful of people (Let’s face it – most neutrals would have tuned into the South Wales derby).

Peterborough is a good trip – it’s easy to get to with frequent trains from Kings Cross, the town centre and the ground are within walking distance of the station, and near the ground is the excellent Charters Bar where you can grab a drink on an old barge converted into a pub/restaurant.

London Road is a proper old school ground, although unfortunately we were moved from the new stand behind the goal which we had last season, to the outdated and in much need of levelling and rebuilding stand on the side. Good luck with the legroom if you opt to sit and are anything over 5ft 6in. The view from this stand is ok, but there is one pillar annoyingly slap bang in the middle. The rest of the ground is made up by a two-tiered stand down the other side, the new stand behind the goal (Which replaced one of the best away terraces in the football league a few seasons back) and the terrace behind the other goal which has been converted to seating.

With the current injury pile-up the team pretty much picked itself, as Markanday came in for his debut having signed on-loan from Blackburn. Following an impeccably observed silence to remember the late Denis Law the game got underway. Orient seem to be following a tradition of serving up forgettable matches whenever our games are moved early for Sky, and this one was no exception. I’m pretty sure that any remaining neutrals would probable have switched over to the South Wales derby long before half time. This is far from a criticism – it was fully expected after the exertions on Tuesday, as most of the players looked like they were running on empty.

Peterborough came out the stronger team in the second half, with Beckles and James throwing themselves in to block good efforts from Mothersille. On the hour mark the ineffective Donley was replaced by Jaiyesimi, and Obiero was replaced by Brown. Brown did get onto the end of a Markanday corner, but headed wide when he should have hit the target. Chances had been few and far between but then all of a sudden the game opened up with both teams going at each other, but very little quality or end product. There was time for two more subs with Cooper replacing Pratley and Sweeney replacing Markanday, but the game fizzled out to the inevitable goalless draw.

I’m not his biggest fan but I have to give a shoutout to Charlie Kelman. After the shift he put in on Tuesday he found himself doing the running of three players in the second half but stuck to it even though he was getting barely any service. We really need to sign a striker in this window to take some of the pressure off him. Also it’s testament to how far we have come in the league when, if someone had offered a draw here at the start of December, almost every Orient fan would have snatched it without a second thought. However there were grumblings from some of “Two dropped points” etc so it just shows the run we’ve been on in that time. Personally given the efforts put in on Tuesday I would gladly have taken a 0-0 before the game. It’s another point, another clean sheet, and it keeps us within touching distance of that playoff pack. Next up in the league is a tough game at home to Reading, who are also in the play-off chasing mix, quickly followed by a Tuesday night trip down to Devon to take on Exeter. See you there.

Orient Away 24/25 – Barnsley & Bristol Rovers

It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these blogs. I didn’t go to Wigan, and with have been too busy/lazy to do one over the Christmas period. Since the last blog we have had an amazing upturn in fortune, and it was all kicked off by Josh Keeley going up to score ‘that’ goal against Oldham. Since then we haven’t looked back and this continued in the two away trips.

First up was a trip to Barnsley. I like going to Oakwell and Barnsley is a decent place to visit. The station is in the town centre and a short walk from the ground and there are a few decent pubs to choose from. You can’t go wrong with The Old No7 which is a short walk from the station. If you like your terrace clobber there’s also an 80’s Casual Classics store here which usually relieves me of around £100 of my hard earned.

Oakwell is a decent stadium for this level, although one stand could badly do with being rebuilt. Away fans get a large stand behind the goal which gives a decent view.

As I am writing a blog covering two matches I won’t go into too much detail with regards to the actual football, but the Barnsley game was played in awful conditions with both sides struggling to contend with a strong crosswind. Orient coped with the conditions better and raced into an early two goal lead in the first half. The expected Barnsley onslaught never really arrived and with Kelman making it 3-0 just after half time the Barnsley side just seemed to give up. Orient were handed a fourth on a plate when the ball was parried off Perkins giving him the simplest of tap-ins to seal an emphatic away win.

Orient followed this match up with another emphatic win at home to Crawley and a hard fought win at home to Cambridge before heading down to Bristol. There is a new station (Ashley Down) which is a lot nearer the stadium than any of the others and is around a 20 minute walk. The down side to this (pardon the pun) is that all of the pubs around the ground are ‘Home fans only’ with some of them going to the lengths of asking for proof of address! We did manage to get into The Royal Oak but did see other Orient fans turned away.

There is a new stand at The Memorial Ground which is shared between home & away fans, and with the inclement weather we were herded into this instead of the usual open terrace. It’s not a great stand as the facilities are poor (Portacabin toilets etc) and there are numerous pillars obstructing the view. It’s also only got one exit for away fans which I wouldn’t like to need to get out of in an emergency.

It was another game where Orient took an early lead when Galbraith saw his effort go in off the post. Chris Martin was handed the chance to equalise from the spot before Jamie Donley fired Orient ahead from what seemed like an impossible angle from a free kick. Orient then went 3-1 up when Perkins dispossessed a Rovers defender to set up Kelman for a tap in. By now Orient were well on top and were carving Rovers open at will. They really should have put the game beyond doubt before Martin turned and slotted home his second. There was a huge letoff for Orient in stoppage time when a ball in was misjudged by Keeley and, after bouncing off the bar twice, was bundled home. It turned out that Martin was about to tap home for his hat-trick but his team-mate decided to jump in front of him and handle the ball home. Madness.

We headed home having moved up from 21st to 8th in the space of a month, and all sparked off by that goal from Keeley. I remember tweeting at the time that every season needed a kick-start and that hopefully was the moment, and it seems it was. Coming up we have a couple of home matches before we head to Peterborough where the normal blogging service should resume. See you there.

Orient Away 24/25 – Stevenage

I didn’t bother to do a blog after the visit to Boreham Wood in the cup. The constant changing of fixtures to suit TV, the constant moving of fixtures because a team has some kids called up to sit on a bench in Moldova, clubs viewing supporters as walking pound signs and fleecing them at every opportunity have all combined to make me feel completely disengaged with it all. A trip to Stevenage for an early kickoff didn’t do much to relight the fire, but back on the horse we go.

It’s well documented that this is one of the worst away trips of the season. You can’t find a decent pub, and the game is usually instantly forgettable as both teams try to out-hoof each other for 90 minutes. The one saving grace it has is that it’s a short easy hop from London, with frequent trains from King’s Cross/Farringdon and the ground only being a 20 minute or so walk from the station. Drivers can also take advantage of the huge car park opposite the ground. With the lack of a decent pub option we opted to drink around Farringdon, but if you want to you can try The Old Post Office near the station, but it’s not great. Near the ground is Our Mutual Friend which is a small but ok pub. Apart from that there’s not much choice unless you want to head away from the ground up towards the old town.

The Lamex stadium is a small but adequate one for this level. Away fans get a seated stand behind the goal, and home fans get an almost identical one opposite. The majority of the home support opts for the long terrace down one side, and the ground is completed by a small seated stand down the other.

The starting lineup was pretty much as expected, with Wellens keeping faith with the team that easily despatched a very poor Blackpool team a couple of weeks before. Now on to the game. It is no exaggeration to say that there was NOTHING whatsoever to report from an abysmal first half. It was literally 45 minutes of Orient players overhitting long balls with the wind behind them, and Stevenage players hitting long balls up into a wind which was blowing the ball back at them. I’m sure any ‘neutral’ viewers on Sky would have turned over to better pickings rather that sit through that dirge.

We all hoped for some change in the second half, and we got some. This time it was the Orient players who looked shocked that long balls into a strong headwind were coming straight back at them (who knew?) and the Stevenage players looking shocked that long balls forward with a strong wind behind them were going straight out of play (again – who knew?). The most notable thing to come out of the match was that Orient had more foul throws (2) than efforts on target (1) in what was, yet another, instantly forgettable encounter between these two sides. By the time the afternoon games had been played we ended the day in the relegation zone – what a delight.

I’m not going to Wigan as I can’t justify over £200 for the two of us to trek up there for an early kickoff right on top of Christmas. We would have gone had it been a regular 3pm kickoff, but with the early switch we are now out. Next blog will be from Barnsley where by then hopefully we will have made use of the numerous home games and started to climb the table. See you there.

Orient Away 24/25 – Wycombe

Following what can only be described as an ‘ugly’ win against Rotherham we headed off to a ground that we rarely taste success at with the short journey to Adams Park. Although Wycombe itself is easy enough to get to, with a fast train from Marylebone getting you there in just over 20 minutes, the ground itself is over 2.5 miles from the station. There is a shuttle bus or taxis if you don’t fancy a walk that takes the best part of an hour, but it is a pain in the arse nonetheless.

The pub we wanted to head to (The Rose & Crown) didn’t open until midday, so we had the choice of the Wetherspoons or The Tree Tuns. Not really wanting to suffer a Wetherspoons we opted for the latter, and soon found out that this was one of those rare occasions that the Wetherspoons would have been the better bet. I genuinely think the last time the toilets had seen a clean the year started with a 19. We couldn’t get out of there quick enough, so drank up and hotfooted to the excellent Rose & Crown for opening. This pub is highly recommended if you are ever in the area and even comes complete with friendly resident dog.

Despite it’s inconvenient location Adams Park is not a bad ground for this level. Away fans get a decent sized stand behind the goal, whilst the majority of the home support opt for the covered terrace at the other end. The ground is completed by a two-tiered stand down one side and another smaller stand down the other

You don’t really need to guess the majority of the starting lineup these days. You know we are going to start with either Agyei or Kelman alone up top and the other one shoved out wide. The only real question mark was who was going to step in on the right hand side of defence in place of the suspended Tom James, and the answer to that was Dom Ball. It was a surprise to see Darren Pratley starting his second game in five days at 39 years old, but that’s what Wellens decided to go with.

Given Wycombe’s form, their position in the table, and the amount of goals they score you got the feeling that the best way Orient could get something from this match was to keep it tight and frustrate them. Of course this being Orient that lasted for all of four minutes before Onyedinma was presented with a golden chance to open the scoring for the hosts. Given the lack of goals in this Orient team there was a foreboding feeling that the tie had already been decided. However Wycombe, despite being on top for the majority of the half couldn’t add to their lead despite creating some good chances. You got the feeling that the best way Orient could get in the match was to see it through to half-time and regroup. Of course this being Orient that didn’t happen as yet more kamikaze defending saw everyone admiring Udoh as he turned and slotted home. Cue the away side being deservedly booed off at half time.

Orient made two changes just after half time in an attempt to get back in the game, with Graham and Obiero replacing Pratley and an ineffective Agyei. Just four minutes after though Wycombe wrapped up all three points as even more diabolical defending ended with Humphreys firing home. There was a further change when Kelman was hooked for Perkins who didn’t, as usual, have any impact whatsoever. Wycombe comfortably saw the game out for the easiest three points they will earn all season.

I gave my opinions last week as to what is going wrong, so I’m not going to go back over that old ground. However it is plain to see that SOMETHING needs to change otherwise we will just sleepwalk into relegation. I have no idea what that something is, but with the well documented financial losses etc it’s doubtful that there will be a huge influx of players in January. Maybe in the short term the manager has to swallow his pride and try something different, as it’s plainly clear that the way we set up each week is not working.

Next up another short trip, this time to Borehamwood in the FA Cup. I would imagine that the hosts will be thinking there will be no better time to get a cup upset against us, and I worry that if we go a goal behind things could get pretty toxic in that away end. See you there.