Leyton Orient 3-0 Woking
Matchroom Stadium, Vanarama National League.
Leyton Orient bounced back to winning ways after a comfortable 3-0 home win against fellow national league strugglers Woking. A Macauley Bonne brace and a well-deserved James Brophy goal, saw the E10 side claim their first home win of 2018.
(Picture by Simon O'Connor Photography).
At the beginning of the day both teams were without a win in their previous 6 and both, sat five points above the relegation zone on 44 points. It was clear both teams needed a win, especially at such a crucial point of the season where form can be so important come the 28th April. A run of disappointing results can be hard to break out of, whereas two or three consecutive victories could see a team safe. The latter of which I hope Leyton Orient will now achieve across the Easter weekend. An away game to all but relegated Guiseley and a home fixture against Maidenhead, the O’s will be targeting maximum points.
Justin Edinburgh made one change to the team that drew away to Eastleigh, with Macauley Bonne returning to the starting line up, for Dan Holman who dropped to the bench. In the lead up to the game it was unclear whether or not Macauley Bonne or Ebou Adams would feature due to being called up by their international sides, Zimbabwe and Gambia respectively. It is my understanding they chose not to travel due to club commitments and if that is the case then that dedication to Leyton Orient should be recognised.
The official attendance was 5673, with 479 making the 50 mile trip from Woking. An incredible crowd for a bottom half non-league clash. I personally feel the ticket offer ‘football for a fiver’ bought back some fans who had been watching from afar since May 2014, however also provided an opportunity for many younger people to attend their first Orient game and in some cases first football game. Not only was an adult ticket £5, concession tickets were priced at only £1. I noticed one particular tweet on twitter where the club gifted a young fan and his dad a Orient scarf on his first visit to the O’s. I think the importance of acts like this sometimes go unnoticed and the importance can be overlooked. Not only will it make a young fans day but it will almost ensure they return at some point due to this experience.
Offers and promotions such as this are incredibly important for our much beloved club. With West Ham around the corner and the increasing number of Premier League games shown on TV, it will become harder to engage the next generation of Leyton Orient fans and promotions such as ‘football for a fiver’ allowing people the opportunity to access live sport is fundamental for the future, and therefore the club deserves credit for a promotion I hope to see again in the near future.
Anyway, back to the football. Play was quickly stopped after an injury to Matt Harrold in the third minute of the game, which saw Dan Holman take his place. After a short break, Woking come close to breaking the deadlock, when Jason Banton smashed the ball against the woodwork from 25 yards out. However, it was Orient and Macauley Bonne who broke the deadlock after impressive work from O’s substitute Dan Holman.
That lead was quickly doubled when an exceptional run from James Brophy saw the midfielder bought down for a penalty in the 17th minute of the game. Bonne made no mistake and smashed the ball past Baxter to not only double his personal tally for the day but also Orient’s lead to two.
At the end of the first half Orient were cruising and a 2-0 lead was well appreciated around the Matchroom stadium. The start of the second half however I found confusing. From being in control, Orient started the second half on the back foot, and a couple of good saves from Dean Brill and some last ditch defending Orient were at risk of letting a very poor Woking team back into the game.
In my opinion it wasn’t until the initially worrying injury to Woking’s Regan Charles Cook that Orient settled again. After going down off the ball on the 65th minute, it was fairly worrying to see after him being clearly distressed and having difficulty breathing. Fortunately, it was later revealed he suffered two broken ribs rather than something more serious. The fact Woking had made their three subs meant they ended the game with 10, and Orient started to take control again.
Perhaps slightly controversial but I feel left questioning Edinburgh’s approach to the second half of some games this season. I don’t understand the negative approach to sit back and also reduce the width in the middle of the park. It invites unnecessary pressure that makes the whole stadium anxious. Memories of Gateshead and Dover were beginning to come prominent, where orient conceded 3 second half goals after being comfortably in control of both games.
However, after the injury James Brophy secured the win and ensured the points were staying in East London with a lovely driven shot into the bottom right hand corner. A goal that was deserved for a man of the match performance. His constant running on the ball terrorised the Woking defence for 90 minutes.
The final score ended 3-0 to the O’s in a good but not great performance. It was satisfying to get the first 3 points at home of 2018 and also nice to keep a clean sheet, but I feel Orient were playing with fire for the first 20 minutes of the second half and a Woking goal could have changed things.
Player Performance.
Dean Brill – Made a couple of important saves in the second half and always looked comfortable, 8.
Sam Ling – I was seriously impressed by Lings performance. Calm and composed on the ball but also solid defensively. Unlucky not to score in the first half from a Brophy cross and was much better than Caprice has been in recent weeks, 8.
George Elokobi – Everyone loves George, and seeing him take on 3 players and beat them all on a mazy run towards the halfway line bought one of the biggest cheers of the day. Otherwise commanding in the air, 7.
Josh Coulson – Reliable, didn’t give Woking striker Louis Theophanous much at all, relatively comfortable performance., 7.
Joe Widdowson – Was okay, decision making could be questioned but not a bad performance, 6.
Jobi Mcanuff – I was surprised to hear some of the fans attitudes towards Jobi’s performance. I thought he was calm, composed and bought a maturity to a team that we had been missing recently, 8.
Ebou Adams – Every time I watch him play I am seriously impressed. Run the midfield again, won every tackle and his calmness on the ball is ridiculously good. He has been one of the standouts in a relatively disappointing season, and I know I talk for every orient fan when I say we would love to see him stay. He would be the name on the back of my shirt in the summer that’s for sure, 9.
Craig Clay – Average performance, a better ball through to Bonne could have earnt him an assist, 6.
James Brophy – Incredible performance, run the game down the wing. Carried the ball superbly and ended in a goal and assist, which could have easily seen him have 3 or 4 assists, 9. MOTM
Macauley Bonne – 2 Goals, unlucky not to have a hattrick, looked sharp again, impressive, 9.
Dan Holman – Another player who gets a lot of stick at Orient, mainly for the fact he hasn’t scored enough goals. However, the work rate Holman put in on Saturday was faultless. Looked like him and Bonne linked up well and I think this should be the strike partnership going forward, 8.
(Koroma, Harrold and Mooney didn’t feature enough to really get a respective rating.)
I feel their is a real spine of a team forming with the likes of Elokobi/coulson, with Ebou Adams in front of them and Macaulay Bonne leading the line. If they can keep Ebou Adams and this spine of the team next forward, I think adding talented players such as James Brophy will stand us in good stead for a positive season next year.
I’m sure the people at the club who overlook transfers such as Martin Ling will hopefully be putting the required actions into motion to get Adams permanently, he seems to be enjoying it with us and the fans all love him.
Overall it was pleasing to get the 3 points and to hear rocking all over the world again once more. Nothing better than singing that for the rest of a Saturday afternoon after getting 3 points. If only we could win 3-0 every week.
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