Go on then, be honest, how many times have you watched it? I am of course referring to Jamie Donley’s wonder strike/ Stefan Ortega’s own goal (please delete according to your preference/ taste!), which was pretty much on a loop in the Orient Nerd household on Sunday morning and has had a fair few watches throughout this week!

It was both a stunning and audacious piece of skill, and the sheer unadulterated pandemonium that spread around Brisbane Road showed just how much it meant to us all. Without over romanticising it, that was the moment that summed up just how far the club has come: from the depths of despair to taking the lead against the reigning Premier League champions.

From start to finish it was one of my absolute favourite football-watching days of my entire life. There was a crackle in the air right from when we arrived at Leyton station (just in time for the opening of Kapture and the Coach & Horses of course!), the whole environs seemed to be abuzz with anticipation. Even the recent matches where we have been set to secure promotion and the league title, as fantastic as they undoubtedly were, didn’t feel quite as intense as this.

Going into a match against a team of City’s calibre, with a manager who has won the lot (and more than once it has to be said), despite their relatively poor form over recent months; there was always the fear that we would be outclassed, humbled by a team with much greater financial resources and quality even if picking their second string, and that the match would be over as a contest before it even really got started.

Thankfully that was anything but the case as Orient matched our more vaunted opposition right from the kick-off, and once we went ahead we held the lead right up until the 56^th minute. In the end while it was gutting to lose the match, we can be incredibly proud of how we acquitted ourselves and point to the quality of players that Pep Guardiola had to introduce to get the better of us. (For more on the Manchester City match and our cup run as a whole keep an eye out for the next issue of the Orientear). 

After the City match it was important, dare I say even more important, to get our push for the play-off places back on track starting with the home game against Mansfield on Tuesday evening. While there was always a concern that after the intensity and exertions of Saturday, this match might carry with it a feeling of “after the Lord Mayor’s Show”, it was in no doubt beneficial to be able to bring in the likes of: Rarmarni Edmonds-Green, Randell Williams, Dilan Markanday and Azeem Abdulai as fresh legs.

What was most impressive was the way we set about our task and if we are being completely honest had the 3 points in the bag after just half an hour. Even as good as we have been since Richie took the helm, how many times have we been able to say that?  Admittedly Mansfield were poor, woeful even, but some of the football that we played in that opening period was as slick and incisive as I remember seeing us produce.

Both of the debutants, Edmonds-Green (aka REG) and Williams seemed to slot seamlessly into the side despite only having joined the club recently. The former looked a cool and composed presence at centre back, the latter a real livewire on the left wing. Markanday looked as lively as he has in his previous matches for us, but the real props for the evening should go to Abdulai, who despite being surprisingly deployed at centre forward put in the kind of display that suggests he can play just about anywhere.

It wasn’t just the players coming in that caught the eye though, those that had given so much on Saturday and were asked to back up did so with a commitment to the cause that was both impressive and encouraging to see. While everyone played well, the performance of Ethan Galbraith in particular stood out. If we are to lose him in the future, as sadly seems likely, we can only wonder at how much he keeps adding to his transfer value.

Speaking after the match gaffer Richie Wellens was absolutely spot on when he said: ”The biggest credit that I can give to the players is the fact that there was no hangover from Saturday.”, and the level of professionalism that we showed has to augur well going forward.

With the level of performance that we have shown that we are consistently capable of putting in, the hugely effective strengthening of the squad that we did in the January transfer window, and the return to fitness of some of those who have been out injured; there definitely seems to be something bubbling away within this squad. As we said last week (Orient Nerd Weekly Ramblings- All good runs come to an end but with the tonic of huge day in E10.  ) there is still everything to play for this season, where back in November the top six seemed like a distant pipedream now it feels like a very realistic ambition.

It won’t be easy of course and we are just about to enter what on paper looks like a very tough run starting with the visit of 12^th placed Lincoln City to Brisbane Road, a fixture of course in which we will remember Derek Reynolds. While we should take nothing for granted, a second successive home victory in a week has to be the target.

After that things start to get really tough with three consecutive away matches against top 8 opposition in Wrexham, Bolton and Birmingham. If we could come out of those largely unscathed with say 4 to 7 points (maybe even more!) added to our total, that would set us up nicely for what looks like being another pivotal game at home to Charlton. However it plays out it is looking like being a very important fortnight for the O’s and our play-off aspirations.

Before signing off for this week it would be remiss of me not to mention the fact the announcement of the rearranged fixture at Wrexham came on Monday, a whopping eight whole days before the match is due to take place, leaving travelling supporters with little time to arrange time off from work, book transport and accommodation if needed.

I completely get that it isn’t the club’s fault, that we were “mandated” by the EFL, and it is a brilliant gesture to fund coach travel; but it just shows once again where us loyal supporters, the lifeblood of the game (or so we’re constantly told!), feature on the priority list of the powers that be.

Up the O’s!