Ten-man Leyton Orient were held to a 0-0 draw as visitors Hartlepool United rode their luck at The Breyer Group Stadium.
Pools failed to make their extra-man advantage count, and manager Matthew Bates will be relieved to return to the North-East with a point after his side’s lacklustre showing.
Joe Widdowson was given his marching orders early in the second half. The Orient left-back caught Michael Woods with a late challenge, leaving referee Adrian Quelch with no choice but to show him a straight red card.
The O’s controlled large spells of the game, playing good attacking football, but lacked a clinical touch as the Monkey Hangers clung onto the game.
Half Chances
James Dayton was given far too much space in the opening 45 minutes and tried his luck twice from distance. First, cutting inside from the right flank and releasing a left footed strike over Scott Loach’s bar. The winger once again found himself in space, this time on the edge of the penalty area, but on his weaker right foot he failed to hit the target.
At the other end, Pools displayed their counter attacking abilities. Forward Luke James threatened with a beautiful solo run, but the number 33 didn’t have the finish to match and skewed his shot well wide.
With the half time whistle approaching, James Brophy capitalised on a loose pass to get in behind the Hartlepool line, sprinting 20-yards before pulling the ball across the edge of the box where star-striker Macauley Bonne set Craig Clay to curl over the bar.
Fighting Spirit
The second half started as the first had finished. Orient were on the front foot but Widdowson’s dismissal momentarily killed the mood in the stadium. On 57 minutes, the left-back caught Woods with a late challenge as he stretched to win the ball after a loose touch on the half way line.
Despite having less men on the field, Orient only grew stronger. Veteran midfielder Jobi McAnuff nearly opened the scoring but curled a 25-yard free-kick narrowly wide of the top corner.
Then, James Alabi forced a wonderful save out of Loach after being played in behind by Clay. The former Stoke striker found himself to the right of the penalty area, but could only lash his effort against the foot of the Hartlepool stopper.
Nail Biting Finish
Orient came close again, but this time Brophy fizzed an effort wide from a similar position to Alabi. With 14 minutes to go, the pressure wasn’t over. Man of the Match, Marvin Ekpiteta, forced Loach into a point blank save after heading McAnuff’s free-kick towards goal.
At the other end, Hartlepool’s Connor Newton was denied by the post and the right-hand of Dean Brill in stoppage time. The substitute would have nicked all three points for the visitors, but Brill did brilliantly to keep the left footed effort out.
O’s fans roared their players on until the final whistle, but the men in red couldn’t give the home faithful the fairy-tale ending they were praying for.
Match Stats
ORIENT: Dean Brill, Joe Widdowson, Josh Coulson, Jobi McAnuff, Craig Clay, Macauley Bonne, James Dayton (Matt Harrold 80’), Myles Judd (Sam Ling 72’), James Brophy (Josh Koroma 72’), Marvin Ekpiteta, James Alabi.
SUBS: Sam Sargent, Alex Lawless
GOALS: –
BOOKED: Judd 50’, Dayton 58’, McAnuff 64’
SENT-OFF: Widdowson 57’
HARTLEPOOL: Scott Loach, Peter Kioso, Mark Kitching, Carl Magnay, Liam Noble (Connor Newton 89’), Ryan Donaldson, Niko Muir, Michael Woods (Josh Hawkes 81’), Andrew Davies, Nicky Featherstone, Luke James (Marcus Dinanga 82’)
SUBS: Lewis Hawkins, Kenton Richardson
GOALS: –
BOOKED: Kioso 25’, Magnay 59’, Woods 64’, Davies 74’
REFEREE: Adrian Quelch
ATTENDANCE: 6,877 (594 Hartlepool)
