The Leyton Orient Chronicle
Match28 Nov 2026
Leyton Orient make home a hard place to visit
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
The terraces30 Nov 2026
One of their own: Azeem Abdulai
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match28 Nov 2026
Leyton Orient see off Barnsley
Three points for Leyton Orient, 1‑0 the final word against Barnsley in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Dylan Levitt in the eights
A performance of 8.15 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Leyton Orient count the cost of losing Claudio Nzang
23 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Harry Shaw, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
No hiding place for Zak Lovelace
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Zak Lovelace, and the manager let it.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Dom Ballard runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Gustavo Pereira gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Gustavo Pereira is on it.
In brief
- Looking ahead A reunion for Demetri Mitchell
- The dugout Dane Scarlett left out for tactical reasons at Leyton Orient
- The terraces The stands have heard the Dom Ballard talk too