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Despite a tweet from Leyton Orient's Texan vice-chairman Kent Teague that free drinks are on offer at the Matchroom Stadium, no one is sprinting down Leyton High Street. The commuters file out of Leyton Tube station calmly, stopping to pick up the Evening Standard or looking at their phone. Perhaps they don’t follow Teague or the Orient on Twitter, or perhaps they have read it and realised the offer only applies for travelling Gateshead fans.
The Heed haven’t won away all season under portly new gaffer Steve Watson, so perhaps the free drink is a gesture from the O's to soften the surely impending blow of a fruitless 550 mile round trip?
“Have a good evening and a safe trip home” chirps the turnstile operator as he takes a crisp £20 note for entry. Teague has done his research for sure as the small number of Gateshead fans is immediately apparent. His outlay on free drinks will be minimal.
“Do you mind sitting at the front” says the smiling steward as the fans head towards the seats. “Cos the numbers are small we want to keep you all together” he adds whilst his supervisor nods towards a man heading higher up. The potential rebel is simply unfurling his Gateshead flag across a few rows of empty seats.
Meanwhile in the far corner of the pitch a brass band with steel drums is making a Katy Perry song sound reasonably enjoyable as the players warm up in front. It’s also clear the away support all know each other as they shake hands, embrace and swap quips.
“Enjoy the Mega Bus Jeff?” shouts a voice as another fan troops in, before a burly man shouts “JJ… JJ… JJ” towards the Gateshead players down the far end of the pitch like Alan Partridge summoning Dan. To the surprise of almost everyone he receives a wave from the away teams warm up area from JJ O’Donnell whose hearing must be dolphin-esque, especially with the band blasting out nearby.
No sooner have the band taken a brief rest, then the PA bursts into life playing ‘Despacito’ at ear splitting volume. The band don’t take it lying down and pipe up again in a direct challenge to Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. After a couple of minutes of both parties playing at the same time, the band admit defeat and down tools as the KLF begin to boom out the speakers on all four stands.
“We’re Gateshead” screams a man arms aloft as the game kicks off. He gets little traction from his fellow supporters who appear to be a mixed, largely middle aged crowd. The muted enthusiasm doesn’t last long though as speedy winger Hannant puts in a perfect cross for Burrow in the box and the Heed number 10 powers his header into the net. The away fans cheer as the whole team runs across to celebrate with them, but the home fans are furious.
The Orient centre half Ellis is wearing a Phantom of the Opera style mask and looks ridiculous. He and the Orient goalie Grainger are getting a tough time whenever they have the ball. “Get it fackin forward” is a common cry from the fans assembled behind the goal in the Tommy Johnston stand.
Caprice surges down the wing a couple of times and is double teamed by the Gateshead defence. Thankfully for the children in the audience, and perhaps disappointingly for the Heed backline, its tricky Orient winger Jake Caprice they have to deal with rather than the American lingerie model of the same name. The Phantom gets more abuse as he takes his time taking a throw in opposite the 18 yard line. He leans against the advertising hoardings while the locals scream at him, before unleashing a mammoth throw of Rory Delap proportions that suggests the wait could have been worth it. It's not.
Gateshead have their tails up. O’Donnell and Hannant are causing the Orient defence problems, who are understandably nervous given the barracking they are getting from the stands. Randomly an old man in a hi-vis vest walks round the perimeter of the pitch with a large teapot and some cups as the game continues. “Is he serving the free drinks?” asks a voice behind, while someone else cracks the obligatory “milk and two sugars mate” gag to smiles.
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As the half time whistle blows the boos ring out before the brass band pipes up again to return a carnival atmosphere to proceedings. The away fans are a happy bunch as they queue at the kiosk clutching their drinks vouchers. Thankfully the old man isn’t serving the drinks and it’s a tea, coffee or Bovril for all.
Orient start the second half strongly as their supporters decide to ramp up the noise in a positive way. Gateshead look to have survived the early pressure but Mooney suddenly appears all alone in front of goal with no one near him. The crowd behind stand up in anticipation but he stumbles and scuffs his shot at the keeper. It’s a howler of a miss and the fans behind cannot believe what they’ve witnessed.
Screams of derision ring out before the O’s fans snap out of it and break into song again. Mooney is put out of his misery and subbed by O’s manager Steve Davis to a smattering of boos. The home fans switch from howls of frustration to singing and chanting and back again as Orient continue to fluff their lines. They are desperate to back their team, but the player’s en-masse are having a stinker.
Suddenly a few torch lights illuminate around the stadium. It’s far from a Coldplay concert but is clearly co-ordinated. Watson brings on Maxwell for Gateshead to add some presence in the midfield in a very literal sense. If the number 15 isn’t nicknamed ‘House’ in reference to the coffee and his brick sh*thouse frame he should be.
With six minutes to go the Phantom inexplicably nods the ball past his own keeper and Burrow has the simple task of passing the ball into the empty net. It’s been a hideous night for the 3,000+ Orient fans attending and a great one for the 63 Gateshead fans jumping up and down in the corner of the stadium.
They break into song as the final minutes count down, with ‘Haway the Lads’, ‘We can see you sneaking out’ and ‘Heed Army’ seemingly on loop. Meanwhile on the pitch, 'House' charges around pinging balls here, there and everywhere, and the Gateshead defence stick to their task while Orient look dejected.
The final whistle blows to booing from most of the crowd as the Heed Army celebrate with their team, who all walk across to acknowledge them.
“That was f*cking canny that mind” says a man to his mate as they trudge out of the stadium and who would argue. A first away win of the season and a free brew, what more could any National League fan want.
Ratings:
Gateshead fans - 10/10 - pleased they all had a good evening, friendly bunch and not a mag or safc shirt in sight.
Balti pie – 4/10 – same supplier as last season, need a search party to find the chicken, just minging
Brass band – 7/10 – No colliery band but played some good tunes
Moment of the match – Bloke living in one of the apartments overlooking the pitch in his dressing gown, vaping away and supping a pint of ale in a proper glass while he watched the game. What a place to live. 10/10 for style.
Bottom pic is of the Heed fans from the club twitter
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