Leyton Orient 2-0 Grimsby Town (Match Report)
By Mert Ahmet
Leyton Orient eased past Grimsby Town as Tom James’ stunner sealed the Mariners return to the Football League in defeat at Brisbane Road.
The O’s had the crowd roaring in excitement as Head Coach Richie Wellens handed George Moncur his debut, having signed from Hull City on a three-year contract.
The first half started with a high tempo from Orient as Wellens’ side was keen to make an impact in front of the home crowd.
Figure 1 - Martin Belam from Walthamstow, London, CC BY-SA 2.0
However, the first real test came for The O’s Lawrence Vigouroux as a low-driven cross from Driscoll-Glennon led to a close-range shot from Efete. The Orient keeper saved it from reaching the bottom left corner as Grimsby continued to pile on the pressure for the rest of the half.
After yellow cards for Tom James and Rob Hunt and a narrowly missed free-kick from Moncur which went just wide, the season’s first forty-five minutes concluded with a goal yet to be found.
Richie Wellens’ half time team talk clearly resonated with the hosts as it only took them four minutes into the second half to score their first goal of the 22/23 season.
Grimsby’s Luke Waterfall conceded the penalty through a handball decision and it didn’t take Moncur long to impress as he nestled the ball into the bottom right corner of the net from the penalty spot.
Orient was in full flow as they were adamantly knocking on the door for a second goal. The Mariners’ defence began to feel the pressure with a great effort from Moncur blocked by Efete near the hour mark, at the expense of a corner.
The ball was whipped into the box to find a red shirt, but to the demise of Grimsby, their defence failed to fully clear the danger. This led to the ball falling straight to Tom James’ feet and his awareness and precision left the entire crowd at Brisbane Road stunned with an early goal-of-the-season contender.
Orient’s number two struck the ball like a bullet as it flew in off the bottom of the crossbar. The home side were two goals to the good with the three points in touching distance.
Consequently, the day seemed to be going from bad to worse for the visitors as Harry Louis Clifton nearly converted the ball into the back of his own net trying to clear a dangerous cross from the hosts.
Wellens’ men were determined to keep the clean sheet as a shot from inside the box was blocked by Luke Waterfall. Due to his strong defence on the day, Vigouroux wasn’t tested too much and solidified a good performance.
With Rockin’ All Over The World playing at full-time, the first game of the season ended with a victory for The O’s and a man-of-the-match award for Tom James.
The O’s travel to Crawley Town next Saturday in the hopes of cementing the high spirits with another three points.
Leyton Orient: Vigouroux, Thompson, James (56’ Goal), Happe, Beckles, Moncur (49’ Goal), Rob Hunt (Clay 59'), Pratley, Sotiriou (Sweeney 81'), Archibald, Smyth (Smith 75')
Substitutes: Sweeney, Clay, Smith, Obiero, Georgiou, Fish, Sargeant
Grimsby Town: Crocombe, Driscoll-Glennon (Wearne 78'), Waterfall, Smith, Efete, Holohan, Morris, Green (Taylor 67'), Kiernan (Maguire-Drew 67'), Clifton (Cropper 78'), McAtee
Substitutes: Taylor, Amos, Cropper, Pearson, Maguire-Drew, Battersby, Wearne