Ebbsfleet United 3-2 Leyton Orient - Daish ready to offer deals

Tuesday 21st July 2009

EBBSFLEET UNITED 3-2 LEYTON ORIENT
Pre-Season Friendly
Tuesday 21st July 2009
Stephen McCartney reports from Stonebridge Road

EBBSFLEET UNITED’S team of young, hungry trialists’ embarrassed Leyton Orient’s full-strength first team - leaving boss Liam Daish with plenty of food for thought.

Lance Cronin, Dean Pooley, Darius Charles and Michael West were the only familiar faces on show, with the remaining 18 man squad all trying to impress to earn a full-time contract with the Blue Square Premier club.

Michael Gash and Ricky Shakes didn’t feature and veteran defender Paul McCarthy joined Daish and Ian Docker on the bench, offering guidance to the next generation of hungry Fleet stars.

The Fleet went into their third pre-season friendly wearing an Argentina style kit yet again, as their kit suppliers have yet delivered their traditional red and white kit for the forthcoming season.

And the full-strength League One visitors should have broken the deadlock inside the opening two minutes, when striker Adrian Patelea was released in behind the Fleet back four, but thankfully he dragged his shot across Cronin and past the far post.

It was no surprise when the east Londoners opened the scoring after fifteen minutes.

Loick Pires whipped in a cross towards the far post from the left and J.J. Melligan rolled the ball across the face of goal and Jason Demetiou comfortably tapped the ball into the net from just two yards.

The Fleet’s first chance of the game arrived just past the half-hour mark when lone striker, the ginger haired James Lindie was released in behind the Leyton Orient back four by the impressive Jamie Forshaw, but his right-footed angled shot was tipped around the far post by the diving Glenn Morris.

Leyton Orient Scott McLeish’s 33rd minute close-range header was ruled out for offside, before the Fleet grabbed the leveller just three minutes later.

Central midfielder Forshaw, formerly of Scotland under 16, Norwich City and Southend United, picked the ball up, turned and cracked a stunning left-footed drive from 25-yards, which gave Morris no chance as the ball flew into the top far corner.

All their hard work, however, was undone as Stephen Purches’ 42nd minute ball over the top released McLeish, who sold Cronin and rolled the ball across the goalkeeper and into the far corner.

Thinking it was job done, Leyton Orient’s lead lasted only 128 seconds, as 19-year-old Fleet midfielder Michael West punished slack defending from Ben Chorley to calmly round the advancing goalkeeper to slot the ball into an empty net.

The Fleet faithful at the Plough End chanted “sing him up” in Daish’s direction, as Forshaw won the game for the Kent side in the 52nd minute with yet another stunning strike.

He was released by Lindie with an excellent through ball, leaving the embarrassed Leyton Orient defence in his wake on the lush playing surface.

Forshaw’s initial shot was parried at the foot of his near post by Morris, but his follow up shot was a peach, rifling the ball over the helpless goalkeeper and into the top far corner from an acute angle to give the Fleet a deserved win.

That was basically the only goalmouth action of the second half, other than Leyton Orient substitute striker James Scowcroft heading wide late on, but tonight’s performance pleased Daish, as he builds up to their Blue Square Premier opener at Altrincham on Saturday, 8th August.

“We always go into a game looking to win, and hope to put a good performance,” a proud Daish told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards.

“I was more pleased with the performance. Obviously the result’s nice but you don’t gain anything in pre-season’s but the performance, I thought, was half decent.”

He added: “I think there’s some players there that maybe we would really like to start talking to now and getting something secured. I was pleased with a number of them tonight.”

Daish praised both his goalscorers, West and two-goal hero Forshaw.

“He showed a lot of confidence, good feet,” he said of youth team product West. “He’s only nineteen himself, so he’s still a baby, but if he keeps learning, he’s going to develop.

Speaking about the impressive Forshaw, Daish likened him to former Fleet midfielder Jon Keeling.

“I think he played really well Jamie,” he said. “He’s not the biggest but nor was Jon Keeling, but he’s got that low centre of gravity and he can twist and turn and physically he looks like he can deal with it.”

The Fleet continue their pre-season campaign with a trip to Blue Square South Bromley, who defeated tenants Cray Wanderers 3-1 tonight.

Daish said he will look at more players at Hayes Lane and expects to make decisions of a number of trialists’ after the game.

“I shall imagine there will be (more players on show),” said Daish. “There will be players dropping down that have probably been let go by other clubs and league clubs that are probably bigger than us and now they’re starting drifting down.

“It will be a different side. We’ve still got three games to go, we might play a different side altogether and make decisions on other players so we can move on, and put certain players, if they’re not for us, we can move (them) on and look forward to Colchester and Barnet.”

Daish has asked supporters to not shout from the rooftops following tonight’s impressive display, admitting there’s still a lot more work to do before the real stuff begins.

“Well, I’m not getting carried away with it and the players won’t get carried away as much,” he said.

“You could win the next three games, but it doesn’t really mean anything. It’s going to be a totally different game away to Altrincham on the first day of the season.”

But, despite a summer of supposedly doom and gloom, following the loss of a vast majority of last season’s squad due to budget cuts, maybe this season won’t be too bad after all!

Ebbsfleet United: Lance Cronin, Michael Kamara (Serge Tjurikov 73), Jordan Collins, Charlie Howard (Kane Wils 55), Dean Pooley (Charlie Reed 76), Darius Charles, Jamie Forshaw (Jimmy Froud 81), Gavin Herroo (Luke Hickey 81), James Lindie, Michael West (Liam Hook 61), Ishmael Welsh (Scott Ginty 68).
Subs: Will Salmon, Andy Pearson, Sean Hillier, Sam Beagle.

Goals: Jamie Forshaw 36, 52, Michael West 44

Leyton Orient: Glenn Morris, Stephen Purches, Ben Chorley, Tamika Mkandawire (Haraldur Freyr Gudmunsson 72), J.J. Melligan, Scott McLeish, Jason Demetiou (Sean Thornton 67), Loick Pires (Harry Baker 67), Jimmy Smith, Adrian Patelea (James Scowcroft 74), Charlie Daniels.
Subs: Jamie Jones, Andrew Cave-Brown, Luke Ashworth, Daryl Sydes.

Goals: Jason Demetiou 15, Scott McLeish 42

Attendance: 770
Referee: Mr Paul Kelly (Walderslade)
Assistants: Mr Lee Dyson (Luton, Kent) & Mr Ollie Jackson (Rainham)
Fourth Official: Mr Chris Myatt (Dartford)