Clapton Orient Reserves played nippy, purposeful football at Homerton, and their 3–2 victory over West Ham Reserves might easily have been more emphatic without any suggestion of fortune. True, they turned round a goal behind - Appleby having neatly diverted a centre past Bower after a brisk dash down the West Ham right - but the home side were so palpably at ease under this early reverse that one never doubted the eventual swing of the afternoon.
Beadling, in the West Ham goal, kept his side afloat with several excellent saves before Stevens finally levelled matters, Brandon’s remarkable headed clearance only postponing the inevitable. Stevens, lively and enterprising throughout, soon struck again with a splendid second goal, the ball rising high and true into the top corner.
Orient should have added a third. During a fierce spell of pressure Beadling was bowled over, and only Brandon’s cool - indeed cheeky - double‑handed stop on the line prevented the ball from crossing. The offence was as plain as daylight, and the comic sequel came when the culprit himself placed the ball for Dan Steel to take the penalty. Steel, however, made the familiar mistake of trusting pace over direction, and his thunderous drive was caught and cleared with almost embarrassing ease.
In general play Steel, though a little stiff in his movements, contributed steadily; yet the outstanding half‑back on view was Randall of West Ham, whose long experience of first‑class football showed in every intervention. According to the programme, no fewer than six of the forwards - three for each club - play merely for recreation. Of these, Stevens was most prominent, though A. G. Cox, West Ham’s inside‑right, at times worked the ball cleverly to the benefit of his centre and outside‑right.
The back play on both sides was sound. Brandon, quick enough to fancy himself on the running track, and Speak defended with composure, while for Orient the familiar pairing of Johnston - slim as ever but hard as nails - and Jones yielded little.