Leyton Orient 2-0 Harrogate Town
Leyton Orient Starting XI: Brill, Happe, Coulson, Ekpiteta, Widdowson, Clay, McAnuff, Brophy, Maguire-Drew, Koroma, Bonne.
Harrogate Town Starting XI: Belshaw, Fallowfield, Senior, Falkingham, Howe, Emmett, Burrell, Beck, Kerry, Kitching, Thewlis.
Harrogate kicked off the afternoons action, attacking the South end of Brisbane Road, however it was the goal they were defending which was to be under threat with just a minute on the clock.
Macauley Bonne found himself bearing down on goal only for his attempted chip to be palmed into the path of Koroma who’s effort was impressively blocked for a corner.
The resulting corner, although taken short and on the ground, ultimately delivered the same result as many set pieces the O’s have taken this season, with Josh Coulson’s massive forehead giving Orient a massive goal in the race for the title.
With a 1-0 lead, Orient immediately had some defending to do in order to preserve the advantage however the Harrogate corner posed no threat following on from their deflected effort.
20 minutes into his 100th appearance for the O’s, striker Macauley Bonne thought he had doubled the lead when he had home from close range after clever build up play from Widdowson and McAnuff. However, celebrations were rightfully cut short due to the raising of the linesman’s flag. The Zimbabwe international would have to wait to score his 50th goal in an Orient shirt.
After the initial flurry of attacks and high intensity from the home side, Harrogate began to get a foothold on the game as the half was drawing to an end. However their few efforts were little cause for concern for the league leaders.
The second half started with Dean Brill being put under pressure and earning a free-kick in his own six yard box after a Harrogate corner threatened an equaliser.
Josh Koroma then took it upon himself to try to establish a two goal margin between the sides, though his left footed strike flew over Belshaw’s bar at the end of the forwards jinking run.
On the stroke of the hour mark, Thewlis had a glorious opportunity to level the scores through a defensive mix-up. The Town striker rounded Brill at his near post but took too much time setting up the shot when he was in on goal, enabling Ekpiteta and Coulson to get back and pressure the forward into striking the foot of the post. Makeshift wing-back, James Brophy recovered to clear the danger after the rebound, providing a huge sense of relief within Brisbane Road.
With the game still in the balance, Justin Edinburgh made substitutions midway through the second half. Harrold and Jamie Turley replaced Maguire-Drew and Koroma respectively. Simon Weaver had made three changes in personnel for the travelling side with 10 minutes left to play.
For the second time within half an hour, Thewlis got the better of Dean Brill in a one on one situation on the edge of the Orient box. The Harrogate number 12 managed to get his effort on target this time around however his luck remained the same as he was miraculously denied an equaliser by the boot of a heroic Josh Coulson at full stretch.
Although a substantial five minutes of second half stoppage time was added, Harrogate would go on to regret Thewlis’ wasted opportunity.
The official Man of the Match, James Brophy whipped in an in-swinging left footed corner in the 93rd minute and it was Matt Harrold who was determined to attack the delivery and triumphantly head the ball into the top right hand corner, supplying a 2-0 lead and wrapping up all three points.
Harrold in injury time with two minutes before the final whistle replicated Coulson’s work just two minutes after the first whistle of the afternoon. The victory leaves Orient two points clear at the top of the table with a superior goal difference and two games left to play.
Player Ratings
Brill: 7
Widdowson: 7
Happe: 7
Coulson: 9
Ekpiteta: 7
Brophy: 8
Clay: 9
McAnuff: 8
Maguire-Drew: 7
Koroma: 7
Bonne: 8
Subs:
Harrold: 8
Turley: 7
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