On a Tuesday night under the lights at Brisbane Road, the O's road out victorious in a vicious battle with Solihull Moors.
Leyton Orient 3 v 0 Solihull Moors
Leyton Orient Starting XI: Brill, Judd, Coulson, Ekpiteta, Widdowson, Dayton, Lee, Clay, McAnuff, Koroma, Bonne
Solihull Moors Starting XI: Boot, Williams, Reckford, Storer, Daly, Gudger, Carter, Yussuf, Maxwell, Wright, O'Keefe
Summary
Last night's clash started off in a lively manner with end-to-end action within the opening ten minutes which certainly would have pleased the neutrals.
However, it was the home side who came out of the blocks the fastest, the likes of Josh Koroma and Macauley Bonne were knocking on the door early but was denied by Solihull Moors keeper, Boot.
Solihull later grew into the game as there patient build-up play nearly paid off. Brill was forced to make a stop just after ten minutes from Wright's effort and later made an excellent double-save to deny Storer of a goal.
For the next 15 minutes, Orient absorbed the pressure from multiple Solihull attacks. However, centre-back, or brick wall we're not too sure, Marvin Ekpiteta was the shining light in an impressive defence.
The former East Thurrock defender made multiple clearances, blocks and tackles which certainly helped towards the O's keeping a clean sheet.
In addition to this, despite a few stray passes, Craig Clay provided a strong and convincing performance within the heart of midfield. Clay demonstrated his ability to battle within midfield, along with Charlie Lee, and provided an element of composure within the centre of the park.
Craig later demonstrated his defensive responsibilities as he cleared Wright's shot off of the line to keep the scores level at the 40 minute mark. However, despite Orient being put under constant pressure and Dean Brill providing an excellent performance, just before half-time - the O's pounced.
From a Jobi McAnuff delivery, Charlie Lee rose above the rest to head the O's into the lead just before half-time.
A key theme within this fixture was the feistiness of the meeting. There was many late challenges, off-the-ball incidents and even questionable decisions from the referee. Solihull defender, Reckford, recieved a second yellow for his late challenge on Koroma, reducing the Moors to ten-men in the early stages of the first half.
Despite growing in confidence and dominance in the fixture, the O's came under attack once again. This time with Storer directing a shot towards goal but, yet again, Brill was on hand to keep a clean sheet.
The lack of a player appeared to show for Solihull within the final stages of the fixture, as Koroma bombed down the wing into the open space to later square the ball to Macauley Bonne - finding the back of the net in the 86th minute.
Orient later scored an almost identical goal just a few minutes later, with Myles Judd playing the ball into the path of Matt Harrold, who replaced James Dayton earlier, and converted.
Although the final result may be slightly flattering, this was a professional performance which the players and fans certainly enjoyed.
Player Ratings
Brill - 9 - A detrimental figure against Solihull as he made some excellent saves which kept the O's in the fixture.
Judd - 8 - A calm and composed performance, Judd should certainly be proud of himself.
Ekpiteta - 9 - My personal Man of the Match. An excellent find by Steve Foster as his defensive contribution was incredible, Elokobi will find it tough to break into the side now.
Coulson - 7 - A strong and sturdy performance from super Joshy Coulson, rarely put a foot wrong.
Widdowson - 7 - Consistent threat to Solihull with his over-lapping runs.
McAnuff - 6 - Solihull did well to keep McAnuff quiet, pushing the captain onto his left foot on most occasions.
Clay - 8 - The Scotsman is starting to prove his worth within an Orient shirt with another battling performance at the heart of midfield.
Lee - 7 - Acted as a great link towards defence and midfield and recycled the ball to great effect.
Dayton - 6 - A quiet evening for Dayton, largely marked out of the game much like McAnuff.
Bonne - 6 - Despite finding the back of the net late on, Bonne seemed to struggle against a very physical side.
Koroma - 6 - He certainly grew in confidence as the game progressed, setting up Orient's second goal and defended from the front.
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