Orient and Gateshead Playing For Pride

Leyton Orient will take on Gateshead in a long journey up to the North East on Saturday aware that whoever wins the game will finish above the other in the National League this season.

The kick off time for the last game for every team in the league will be the incredibly early hour of 12.30pm UK time (1.30pm CET and Malta time) with the outlook looking cloudy if a little chilly on the weather front and early doors on the pub front.

Both teams are mid table and can neither get into the top half of the table now so the O’s and Gateshead will be battling it out for pride more than anything else in the swansong game of the season.

The O’s are currently sitting in 13^th place with Gateshead behind them in 14^th place albeit with a 6 goal superior goal difference. However as Gateshead are 3 points behind a win for the northern team will leapfrog them to 13^th for the final day of the season.

Leyton Orient come off the back of a 1-0 defeat at home to Maidenhead United on Tuesday night as things went upward for the visitors. That’s Maidenhead player Ryan Upward whose early goal ensured Maidenhead will finish in the top half of the National League table ahead of Leyton Orient. The O’s cannot leapfrog the Magpies having been beaten thanks to a winner from Upward, who was then sent off late on.

Upward was quickest to react from a corner to put the visitors ahead in only the fifth minute as he stabbed the ball home from close range. However he was then upwardly mobile as he was dismissed in second half stoppage time after reacting furiously to a free kick decision.

The O’s were a bit lame and a bit tame after an arduous season of slogging it out to remain in the league so the end of the season can’t come soon enough for the O’s so manager Justin Edinburgh can kickstart hopefully a summer transition for better things next campaign.

Having put Macclesfield’s National League Champions party on ice a couple of weeks ago and then slaughtered Wrexham’s chances of making the play offs a week ago the exuberance in the O’s fight flagged significantly in a match with little to play for as Maidenhead also with nothing to play for showed more aggression and flair over 90 minutes. Wrexham are all but mathematically out of the play offs although a 14-0 win over Fylde in their last game gives them a chance …… and oh look there goes a flying pig. Macclesfield despite having their noses put out of joint by the O’s will enjoy Football League Division Two next season as champions of the National League.

This will be the 4^th time Gateshead and Leyton Orient will have met this term which is a spiky little fact considering they had never met before this season. Having got used to playing each other the two teams appear to enjoy giving us goal feasts too. The corresponding National League fixture at Brisbane Road in October saw Gateshead come away with a 2-0 win. On February 24^th we were entertained to a storming match and a brilliant comeback by Gateshead in London as they rescued a 3-3 draw in the FA Trophy quarter final. The replay was almost as good with Gateshead seeing out that one 3-2. So another goal feast might not be out of the question on Saturday particularly if with nothing to lose we might see a couple of youngsters and a debut or two on the pitch.

Both teams have conceded 55 goals in this campaign and are evenly matched although Gateshead should start favourites on home soil.

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

An Orient win is priced at 2.75 therefore a bet of £15 could see you win back a possible £41.25.

A very friendly bet sees the O’s leading at half time with the game ending in a draw so a bet of £20 could see you rake in a phenomenal £182.00. Worth a punt.

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