Leyton Orient v Barrow

Leyton Orient will play at home against Barrow in the National League on Saturday in a match at Brisbane Road that Barrow are desperate to get something from as they hover one place about the relegation spots.

Let’s hope the Brisbane Road pitch is in better condition that it was last East Monday for the visit of Maidenhead Town when the game was postponed due to an unsafe part of the pitch.

The hosts were set to host former West Ham player, Alan Devonshire’s team for a 3pm kick-off on Easter Monday, but the pitch was deemed unplayable by referee Adam Penwell and his other officials. We were expecting snow but it lashed down with rain the previous day to leave the pitch in an atrocious state on parts of the playing surface.

The wet, soggy weather had hit all parts of the UK and despite Orient having covers on the pitch over the Easter period, it was not enough to prevent certain areas of the surface being unsafe.

The ground staff at Brisbane Road took the covers off at 9.00am and staff and fans alike attempted in vain to ensure Orient would play two games over the festive period having won comfortably against Guiseley on Easter Friday. Despite shifting sand all over the pitch Adam Penwell decided enough was enough and explained to both Devonshire and O’s manager Justin Edinburgh that the game would have to be played at a later date as it was simply too dangerous.

Perhaps the groundsmen should have taken the Australian approach and rather than take sand onto the pitch take sandpaper instead, nevertheless Leyton Orient got the Monday off to give them more time to prepare for the upcoming match against Barrow.

Current form should go with the O’s for this one with two wins and a draw from their last 3 games while Barrow have not won in the last four games and are in dire straits in the National league in 20^th place just one place of Solihull Moors, a team that are on a good run without a defeat in 5 meanwhile Torquay have shown some end of season form and are now only 4 points behind Solihull Moors and Barrow who are both on 41 points. Chester and Guiseley are as good as down and playing outside the National league next season.

Barrow’s main concern at the moment apart from having to fend off Solihull Moors is they can’t score having just managed 44 goals in 39 matches although Leyton Orient aren’t the kings of the goal scoring charts either as they have found the net only 49 times in 40 games. Therefore don’t expect this to be a high scoring game.

The O’s last game was an away win in as they beat bottom of the table Guiseley by three goals to one over in West Yorkshire and the victory almost certainly means the home team are as good as safe now. They also broke the 2018 home hoodoo a couple of weeks back and are back to winning ways on home turf as a comfortable home victory last time out with a 3-0 win against Woking bucked the trend to give the O’s their first home win in the league since Boxing Day.

The corresponding fixture on the 7^th of October produced an entertaining 2-2 draw over in Barrow with both teams on poor runs and each without wins in the previous 6 matches and the defences were broken on almost every attack. The O’s with a better current streak should be better at the back this time around. Strangely all four goals came in the first half as David Mooney stroked Orient ahead when he controlled and dispatching James Brophy’s left-wing cross, before Bedsente Gomis levelled shortly after with a looping header. Craig Clay then connected with a rebound to restore the O’s’ advantage, only for Jordan White to square up things just before the interval with a near finish.

Justin Edinburgh’s men will certainly be looking to pick up three points at home and push Barrow toward further trouble.

Why not have a bet on the O’s – you can via this link.

Orient are 1.97 to win the game with a draw at 3.35.

Barrow to win the game are currently at 3.55.

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