EFL League One, Sunday December 29th
A rare Sunday afternoon at the football for me saw me head over to East London and Leyton for a EFL League One contest between Leyton Orient and Cambridge United, a side my late father followed for a number of years along with his beloved Sunderland of course, so it felt fitting that I should go and watch this one with that in mind.
Sadly for The U's it has been a season of struggle so far, they sat in the bottom four and came into this one off the back of two defeats, a heavy home loss against Huddersfield Town and a boxing day defeat at Charlton Athletic, their only two positive results of December had seen a good home win over Shrewsbury Town and a very decent away point at Wrexham, showing that on their day they can mix it with the best.
They would have to be on their metal today though against possibly the best side in the league in December, Orient had played six, winning five of those and drawing the other, and without conceding a goal in any of those games too, terrific form indeed, form that had taken them from the danger of a relegation battle to being on the verge of the top ten, it had been a remarkable month indeed.
The majority of a crowd of just under 9,000 were therefore hopeful that the hosts could complete the month with a win, although early on it was a very loud away contingent of just over 1,200 who were celebrating a shock lead or at least a lead that was against the form guide when Orient goalkeeper Josh Keeley produced a magnificent reaction save after seven minutes to deny Dan Nlundulu.
Had that gone in maybe it would have been a different contest, Orient took a while to settle if truth be told and the visitors were certainly not playing like a side who are in the bottom four, but just past the half hour mark Orient managed to edge in front and settle some nerves as after some sublime skill from Dan Agyei, the attacker managed to turn past two defenders before squaring the ball back from the byline for Ollie O'Neill to apply a finish from close range.
Agyei was having a superb game and on the stroke of half-time the dangerous Orient attacker shrugged off two tackles in a 40-yard run before blazing his shot high and wide of the target, it would have been a superb goal, but it meant that the hosts would go into the break with a slender lead, although the match was still very much in the balance.
The U's did have a decent spell at the start of the second period but were unable to really test Keeley in the hosts goal, but after this initial spell they created very little as Orient took over the contest, headed by the superb Agyei who was causing havoc down the right hand side, and it was no surprise when the O's pretty much sealed victory with twenty minutes remaining.
U's centre half Michael Morrison was struck in the region no man wants to be hit in, meaning he was down on his knees, and although he did get up and try and stop the Orient attack, he could not, and the hard working Charlie Kelman crossed for Jamie Donley to stab home from close range at the back post, and saw the centre half fall back to his knees again, some visiting players did moan about why play wasn't stopped, but it wasn't, and Orient were well on their way to another win.
It was their sixth win in seven in December, unbeaten as well, and no goals conceded, it's been 703 minujtes since The O's last conceded in any game, that was Oldham Athletic in their FA Cup tie at the end of November, a remarkable run of form as said before and it has taken them into tenth spot and only six points off the playoffs, do Orient dare to dream?
For the visitors it's a third straight loss and another disappointing afternoon at the office, some of their fans booed them at the end, the frustration is evident right now and they remain in the bottom four and five points from safety, they have a lot of work to do between now and May if they want to remain in the division, I for one hope they can do what with my connections to them through my late father of course.
Full time Leyton Orient 2 Cambridge United 0
There was a full fixture list in the division today, below are the results and how the up to date table:-
Leaders Birmingham were held at home by bottom half side Blackpool, allowing Wrexham to close the gap to just a point after they won at home, the leaders do have two games in hand though so could increase the gap if they get points in those games, Wycombe slip to third after they suffered a rare loss as they lost to Charlton who are now only four points off the play off places now.
Bolton and Barnsley, two other sides chasing a top six spot, both managed wins to keep in the hunt of a top six position, they were helped slightly after Huddersfield were held at home by bottom side Burton, although the basement side didn't gain any ground on Shrewsbury after they earned a point at home to Northampton, another side battling to stay out of the bottom four.
Perhaps the most barmy game of the day came at St James Park, Exeter, which saw the home side came back from 1-4 down at half time to earn a stoppage time point at home to Crawley Town with the march ending 4-4!!! It's never over till it's over definitely the motto used by the hosts there, but a big blow to the visitors who would have climbed out of the bottom three had they won.
Anyway that's all for now, hope you've enjoyed reading and a happy new year to you all!!!
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