With nothing much to play for, other than trying to finish the season as well as we can and to try to build some momentum to carry us through the summer and into the 2024/25 campaign, it is difficult to properly assess Orient’s last two performances.

Going into the Cheltenham game on the back of two defeats, I think we all wanted to get a decent result against a team fighting for its League 1 life. While it really wasn’t much of a spectacle, the one really good aspect for O’s fans was seeing us score three very good goals, all from outside the penalty area too!

The opener from Ethan Galbraith (his second of the week no less!), after being teed up by George Moncur, showcased the attacking potential of the young Northern Irishman. Even though he was deployed at right back once again, he was one of, if not the, standout player on the park and we have to assume that for next season we will try to use him in his more natural position as often as we can.

Ollie O’Neill’s stunning effort just before the halftime break was arguably even better and provided further reinforcement of what a gem of a player we managed to pick up in the January transfer window. While Ruel Sotiriou’s 11^th league goal of the season, and his first for 9 matches, provided the icing on the cake and may have even been the best of the lot.

Tuesday evening’s performance against Exeter had even less at stake, as neither side had anything really to play for other than working to secure their spots in the top half of the table. Despite a decent enough start it turned into a frustrating evening for Orient as we ended up playing the final 20 minutes with 10 men, let our two goal lead slip, and had to settle for a draw.

Ollie O’Neill opened the scoring with another remarkable strike, this time curling a corner from the left over the despairing reach of Exeter keeper Viljami Sinisalo and straight into the net. A veritable “Olimpico” as it is termed in Argentina (with apologies for more football nerdery!). Only O’Neill will know for sure whether he truly meant it, but it certainly gave the fans at Brisbane Road a lift on a surprisingly chilly evening. In all my time watching football I am not sure I have ever seen a goal direct from a corner live.  

When substitute George Moncur made it 2-0 just past the hour mark, we really should have had the three points in the bag and just managed our way to the end of the game. However when Brandon Cooper, himself on as sub at half-time, had to leave the field with an injury we had already used all five of our permitted substitutions, were unable to replace him and subsequently had to play the remainder of the game a man short.

With the benefit of hindsight It is easy to suggest that Richie should have kept one of his changes in reserve for just such a situation, but in fairness it seemed that the first two changes: Zech Obiero for Ruel Sotiriou and Cooper for Omar Beckles were enforced through injury. Equally I am sure he wanted to give Dan Agyei some more game time as he continues his return to full fitness, so that only left the changes which saw Tom James replace Rob Hunt and Moncur replace Max Sanders.

If there had been more at stake maybe he would have held back, but for me it was the way we seemed to drop off to try to hang onto what he had that invited Exeter back into the game. We could also have defended a lot better on both the late goals that the visitors scored. In the grand scheme of things the result won’t really affect us, we just have to hope that the squad, especially the younger members, can use it as a learning point going forward. 

Over the course of the last two matches we have been able to get a look at 19-year-old midfielder Zech Obiero and recent acquisition as a free agent Jack Simpson. Obiero played 78 minutes against Cheltenham and looked very comfortable and assured on the ball, obviously he still has a lot of development to go, but the fact that he was trusted to replace Ruel Sotiriou when the latter needed to go off early in the game on Tuesday, suggests he is gaining the manager’s trust. Every football fan loves to see “one of our own” make it with their club, and Zech might just be the latest to come off the Orient youth production line.

When Jack Simpson came on as a sub against Peterborough, there was fairly understandably a somewhat muted and confused response from the Brisbane Road crowd. Some booing was audible and there was less applause than would normally be expected when a new player is making his first appearance. I think we all know why his signing has been such a bone of contention amongst the fanbase, as well as the meetings and discussions that the player has had both within the club and with Orient supporters groups. Everyone will have their own opinion on the decision to bring Simpson into the club, however as he is now one of our players I am focusing on judging him purely and utterly as a footballer, and the early signs are very encouraging.

The first thing you notice is that he is big (really big!), but he also has a composure on the ball, a seemingly good and broad range of passing, and is very clearly a communicator and organiser. There were times during the Exeter game when he momentarily swapped sides with Omar Beckles and was basically telling the more experienced vice-captain where he needed to be. At 27 and having some experience of playing at higher levels, it seems clear that he may well be the first piece in the ongoing development of our squad ahead of next season.

Of course next up is the small matter of a trip to face second-place Derby County tomorrow afternoon. With potentially both Sotiriou and Cooper now added to our ever-lengthening injury list which the gaffer described as “it was severe but it’s extreme now”, it looks like a very big challenge indeed. I think you would be hard-pressed to find any O’s fan with any great confidence that we can get any form of result at Pride Park, but aren’t these the sort of games that we all got excited about when we sealed promotion on that fateful night in Gillingham very nearly 12 months ago?

In the words of Orient legend Peter Kitchen in the Yellow Advertiser this week: “Every O’s player should be excited and highly motivated because these are the clubs, the stadiums and the crowds that they should want to play at and in front of every week and it will be a test of how far we’ve come this season and how far many can go.”  With only three games to go until the end of the campaign, this feels like a trip we should all aim to enjoy, however it plays out on the pitch. Remember it wasn’t so very long ago that we thought we had no chance whatsoever when we visited Fratton Park at the start of the year.

Up the O’s!