As part of the Everything Orient series 'Away Days', @QuaneRoman reviews his adventures across the country and takes a look at everything from the best ground, best food and most importantly, the best pubs. Next up, Concord Rangers.
Thames Road (The Aspect Arena)Â
Capacity: 3,250 (375 seated)Â
Occupant: Concord RangersÂ
Town/City: Canvey Island, Essex
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On Saturday, I made the 36 mile journey to Canvey Island in South Essex to see an Orient side face former O's midfielder Sammy Moore and his Concord Rangers side in a pre-season friendly. Here is my recount of the day.Â
1. The Journey - 8/10
Luckily for me Benfleet, the station that serves Canvey island, is on my local rail line so we got to Benfleet with ease taking just 20 minutes from my front door. We didn't have too long to wait for the shuttle bus either which took us straight onto the island and where all the bars were. Later on we just about made the bus that took us to the ground which took 5 minutes from the seafront. So we managed to get our connections right today, only waiting about 15 minutes on the way back.Â
2. The Area - 8/10Â
I came to Canvey thinking the place wasn't going to be amazing, judging on its reputation and what I've heard from mates and other people, but when I arrived I felt pleasantly surprised. We walked up the hill to the famous Canvey Wall walkway which ran along the coast and there was this beautiful beach running along the shore with crystal blue water. The water didn't look like the muddy River Thames, it looked as if we were in a foreign country. Then a few bars and shops appeared up the front and we found ourselves on the beach, with a couple of drinks, in the golden sun. Not what I expected from a trip to Concord.Â
3. The Pubs - 6/10Â
We went in a bar called the Oyster Bay on the seafront, a really nice area outside on the street where you could drink out in the sun with the music playing over the loud speakers. The bar inside the ground was nice, the toilets basically on the Orient dressing room, the bar had a nice beer garden both out pitch side and behind the back where the turnstiles were.
4. The Ground - 4/10Â
The Aspect Arena is sort of away from most stuff in Canvey, being surrounded in an industrial estate and a 10 minute walk from the nearest bus stop, beyond the ground at the other end was just a dead end. The ground wasn't amazing, despite a good bar it wasn't too big and quite tight with limited covered terracing/seating areas around the ground. Even though there was only just short of 700 in attendance, the ground looked full to capacity.Â
5. Food & Drink - 3/10Â
I bought a cheeseburger and chips at the ground, queuing up for most of the first half missing both of Concord's goals. It wasn't the best burger, the chips were okay but the meal just bloated me for the rest of the game and that made me feel a bit more exhausted as it was harder to drink.Â
6. The View - 6/10
Situated at the corner flag I had a good view of both teams attack, it was a good option for a spot to stand as the seating areas and the covered terrace was quite busy and uncomfortable. A caravan site ran adjacent to the ground, I had a pretty good view of the trailers running down the side of the stand.Â
7. The Programmes - 0/10
Once again on this pre season the hosts didn't produce programmes, bit of a shame as I felt they could've sold out due to the amount of people that wanted to buy one. At one point they ran out of team sheets to give out to people.Â
8. The Atmosphere - 5/10
The atmosphere was slightly better than East Thurrock but still there wasn't a lot of singing going on, quite a relaxed, typical pre-season atmosphere.Â
9. Away Support - 7/10
A lot more familiar faces at Concord today, Orient took over the Aspect arena, plenty of red shirts, a very good turnout for the O's. However there were hardly any Orient at the seafront before the game, most people put off from its distance from the ground and the station. Despite the positives there were the odd Claret & blue top around the ground.Â
10. The Performance - 6/10
Not the best of first half performances but Orient upped their game in the second 45, coming back from 2-0 down to beat the beach boys 3-2. A good result, another good result against Southend & St Albans will put us in good stead for the new season.Â