Northampton Town U18 1 - 2 Leyton Orient
Football League Youth Alliance South East Conference

ORIENT'S under-18s put a dent in Northampton's Youth Alliance title aspirations with an excellent 2-1 victory over the Cobblers last Saturday.

Midfielders Musa Manneh and Joe Boakye were on target to give their O's their second successive victory and move them up to seventh in the league table.

Orient began on the front foot and played with a good tempo from the first whistle. Their positive passing game brought about an early chance for Jake Argent, but excellent defensive work from the home centre half saw the opportunity pass.

Argent then felt he should have had a penalty, but Orient finally got the breakthrough they deserved when Callum Compton moved the ball out wide for Moses Odubajo to get another good move going.

Odubajo spotted Manneh's excellent run into the box and he arrived at the right time to finish in some style.

Somewhat against the run of play Northampton levelled when a long throw from the left caused confusion in the O's box, and Orient went in at the break wondering how they were not ahead.

Northampton upped their game after the interval and started to threaten themselves, but Orient grabbed the decisive goal 20 minutes from the end when Boakye found the top left hand corner of the net with a fantastic free kick from 25 yards.

The Cobblers searched for a an equaliser, and they almost grabbed it at the death when they hit the underside of the crossbar, but the O's held on for the points.

Orient: Thomas Lovelock; Alan Mabuyaku, Stephen O'Hara, Cestor Mike, Ryan Nelson; Moses Odubajo (Billy Lobjoit 75), Joe Boayke, Callum Compton, Musa Manneh; Chris Benjamin (Jack Dekanski 88), Jake Argent