Os beat Pool to keep survival hopes alive

Emdad Rahman
Leyton Orient 2-1 Hartlepool

THE FIGHT TO avoid relegation is still alive as Leyton Orient as Omer Riza’s battlers came from a goal down to beat fellow relegation battlers Hartlepool Utd 2-1 at Brisbane Road.

Orient fans were vociferous right from the off with loud chants of “Becchetti Out” reverberating around the Matchroom Stadium. The team started on the front foot, with attempts from Liam Kelly and Victor Adeboyejo saved by Joe Fryer in the Hartlepool goal. Yet despite the early home pressure, it was Rhys Oates’s neat, right-footed finish from the edge of the six yard box which put the visitors ahead.

Orient fans and players refused to be muted, and – with a backdrop of slogans against the club supreme ringing in their ears – it was the lively Victor Adeboyejo who hammered home a deserved equaliser for Orient, taking Michael Clark’s pass to shoot home from the right side of the six yard box. It got better for the home fans on 34 minutes, as Steven Alzate fed Tristan Abrahams to strike home into top right hand corner and make it 2-1.

The second half saw Michael Woods replace Nicky Deverdics for Hartlepool. The most notable action of the second half saw Sandro Semedo go close for Orient with a left footed attempt from outside the box. Paul McCallum replaced Steven Alzate on 70 minutes to beef up the Orient attack, with Devante Rodney replacing Padraig Amond for Hartlepool shortly after. Liam Donnelly was dismissed in injury time after collecting two quick yellow cards for dissent.

The Pool may be one place above Orient, who are propping up the league, but on the evidence of the performances shown by Omer Riza’s outfit in recent games there’s hope for this season and the next – especially if the spine of the team can be kept together. Despite the loss, Dave Jones’s Hartlepool remains a point above the relegation zone. The end of the game saw Orient fans take to the pitch to continue protests against owner Francesco Becchetti.

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