Well here it is at last. After all the hopes, worries and theories, we got to day 1 of the new season. I had to go into work today which was a pain, but I left in plenty of time to get to the ground. Before the game I had a wander around, looked at the new stand. It looks great... so much better than the old shed that we had for the West Stand, where people would pee up against the back wall, and you could smell the efforts of the fat fryer all over the stand. The only thing I was surprised about is that people accessed the new stand from the pitch side. That could cause problems and will need an awful lot of stewarding.
I took my seat in the "family" section. Not as good a seat as I had asked for, but with 9 of us together it was going to be difficult. But where were the other 8 ? Well Terry is on the east caost with his family, Paul is in Toronto, and I havent got a clue where Trevor was.. oh well. My new neighbours around me seemed OK... very committed to Orient. One young girl (13 or 14) has a voice on her that could strip paint from the walls... Believe me I dont think we will be sleeping through many games this season !
The game started brilliantly, scoring in the first minute or so, and Orient looked like they were sharp, eager and ready to impress. Throughout the first half they had the better of the game, and Macclesfield really didnt look like they were in it. The first part of the second half was different. Macc took the midfield over, and we resorted to trying to play long balls, something we are not very good at. When they equalised it wasnt a great surprise. I was amazed at how many of the Orient supporters turned so quickly with cries of "youre useless" and "bring back Harrison" ... Its a long season.
Efe Echanomi came on and his pace changed everything. He was pushing on the defence and gaps started to open up. All of a sudden we had new options. Then with time running out he picked up a loose back pass, rounded the goalkeeper... and stopped on the line waiting for the defenders to chase him before he scored. Thank God the referee didnt blow his whistle. The place went mad, and there were people on the pitch by the new West Stand... as I said , that is going to cause us problems.
Oh well 2 away games to come, and the next home game is Rochdale at home.... I can't wait.
