The O’s gave the large crowd another home win, making it three wins in three games against an out of sorts Wrexham team. It was the first time we have won three home league games on the bounce since August 2015.
Leyton Orient 1 – 0 Wrexham
Bonne 29
Saturday 21st April 2018 | Vanarama National League | Matchroom Stadium | Attendance- 5,166 (655 Wrexham)
Following a 1-0 loss to Hartlepool Town on Tuesday night and not being able to keep the unbeaten run going, the O’s came out at a fast pace to the game. We controlled the game and went onto win 1-0 with Wrexham not threatening the Orient goal throughout the fixture and Orient feeling they should have got more goals.
The starting line-up and bench was a little different compared to recent weeks. Our back line of Ling (aged 19), Ekpiteta (22), Happe (19) and Judd (18) was a very young back four. Earlier in the season I would have been very worried about this, but it was great to see them all play excellent. It was the first time they had played as a back four and you wouldn't have been able to tell that. The fact that Wrexham had no shots on target all game shows how good they were. I think Ekpiteta lead the line well and I personally reckon he is future captain material. Special credit should also go to Judd, starting his first game in months and not in his natural position.
It was also good to see Edinburgh keeping the same front 6 for consecutive games again. It gave Koroma another chance to prove that he can be a striker for us next season. He missed a one on one on Tuesday night, but that didn’t faze him against Wrexham. He seemed very confident when going forward and was unlucky a few times with his shots during the game.
On the bench it was good to see another youth team prospect in Charles Clayden, hopefully he can some minutes in the last two games. But the biggest boost was having Charlie Lee on the pitch. He may have only got three minutes, but it was a big surprise to see him on the pitch considering we were told he wouldn’t play again till next season. He got one of biggest applause of the season when he came on.
The match itself was one of the best of the season which considering our last home game was a 4-1 win at home. This game was better, we controlled the game early on and was attacking a lot and looked up for the game more than Wrexham considering they could still make the play offs. An excellent ball by McAnuff from the right found Bonne free in the box and he scored a wonderful header. His only other chance was well stopped by a defender in the second half which looked to beat their keeper.
Regarding the fixture, Edinburgh had this to say:
"I thought we started really well, quickly out the traps and we showed good initiative and always looked bright in and outside the oppositions box. Then we went into half-time with a 1-0 lead and I thought that was thoroughly deserved.".
My only two negatives was again we created a lot of chances and didn’t take them and we need to be more clinical in front of goal. Also Clay was non-existent again and failed to really do much and bottled out of a few challenges.
Team Ratings
Brill 7 – Had nothing to do but very commanding still
Ling 8 – What a throw he has, excellent link up play with McAnuff
Ekpiteta 8 – Future Captain, held the line brilliantly
Happe 8 – Very assured performance on first start in a while
Judd 8 –Great pass to McAnuff which lead to helping set the goal up
McAnuff 8 – The man never stops running and another assist
Adams 6 – Worked hard as usual but got frustrated as the game went on
Clay 5 – Still seems out of his depth next to his inexperienced midfield partner
Brophy 6 – One of his quieter games but still made a nuisance of their defence
Bonne 7 – Great header for the goal and unlucky not to get another
Koroma 7 – Worked hard, needs to learn when to shoot or pass at right time
Subs:
Mooney 6 – Had a little to do but worked hard for the team when needed
Lee N/A – Only had 3 cameo minutes, but was great to see him playing again
Unused Subs:
Grainger
Clayden
Reynolds
In Conclusion
But the future is bright with our back line who were all my man of the matches and I can’t wait for next season to start already. Two more games and I think we will finish 12th.