Following on from the dramatic comeback against Barnsley we rounded off a crucial Easter period with the short trip to Cambridge. Due to it’s proximity to London and the fact the ground is a long walk from Cambridge station this is one that a lot of people opt to drive to. If you do go by train however there are numerous decent pub options in the town centre, although you should be prepared to undertake the 30-40 minute walk to the ground or jump in a taxi. We opted for the excellent Cambridge Blue which offered a good selection of real ales and also a decent selection of spirits. If you’re a Whiskey drinker then this is definitely the bar for you.

The Abbey Stadium is badly in need of modernisation. They’ve moved the away fans out of the one ”modern’ stand now and into the awful Habbin terrace. They’ve also stuck a temporary contraption with some seats in on this terrace too. Home fans get the rest of the Habbin terrace, as well as a covered terrace behind the goal, the original ‘Main’ stand and the stand which used to be the away stand behind the goal.

With the effort levels that went into the Barnsley fightback it was unsurprising to see a couple of changes to the starting lineup with Markanday and Clare both coming in. Orient, not for the first time in recent weeks, were slow out of the blocks in a dull opening period. This culminated with Stokes bundling the ball home to give Cambridge the lead, although there looked to be a foul on Brown which wasn’t spotted. It was hoped that this would wake up the visitors, but the rest of the half followed the same pattern as Cambridge successfully deployed the low block and saw the half out without any real danger to their goal.

It was no surprise that there were changes at half time, with Agyei and Jaiyesimi replacing the completely anonymous pair of Markanday and Williams. Orient immediately saw an upturn in attacking fortunes as Agyei started to cause the Cambridge backline problems. After 67 minutes Orient’s pressure finally paid off when a cross from Agyei was headed home by Kelman. After 78 minutes Jamie Donley produced a moment of magic to fire Orient ahead when he turned and fired into the bottom corner from just outside the box. Cambridge, needing a win to have any chance of avoiding relegation suddenly seemed to start pushing forward as Orient sat deeper. Agyei was presented with a half-chance to seal the points when Stevens slipped taking a free kick, but he was unable to find the target from the halfway line. Orient saw out the 6 minutes of stoppage time without too much drama to stay in the playoff places and virtually condemn Cambridge to relegation.

This result meant it was 4 wins in a row for Orient, having gone behind in all 4 matches. You can’t fault the spirit, but the slow start to games must be a concern to Wellens and the management team. With Bolton and Huddersfield now dropping out of the playoff race it is a straight shootout between ourselves and Reading for that final spot. Our superior goal difference could be the deciding factor in what is sure to be a dramatic end to the season. Next up we face Wycombe at home as Reading travel to Bristol Rovers, then we head to Huddersfield as Reading play Barnsley on the final day. Hopefully after my next blog I’ll be writing about how we’re looking forward to the playoffs.