Dagenham & Redbridge forward discusses playing in Errol McKellar’s charity match and how Orient will get on next year
Jamie Cureton has scored goals pretty much wherever he has played but for some reason things didn’t work out too well for him during his solitary season at Brisbane Road, but on Sunday he put things right.
The 39-year-old, who fired 20 goals last season for Dagenham & Redbridge, represented Men United in a charity match for Prostate Cancer UK against a Leyton Orient legends team.
When he played for the O’s during the 2011/12 season he scored just once in 23 appearances for the E10 club. On Sunday, however, after taking some light-hearted stick from the Orient fans, he scored twice at Brisbane Road.
His Men United team lost 4-3 but over 2,900 turned out to support Errol McKellar’s charity match and the Daggers forward was delighted to be involved.
Cureton said: “My Dad had prostate cancer two years ago but thankfully had the operation and is doing very well now so as soon as I got the call to play I wanted to.
“Prostate cancer is something I have been around, my family have been around it so it was a big thing for me so I was more than happy to come and do what I can.
“I didn’t score any at Brisbane Road for Orient so I have made up for that. I was getting a bit of stick off the fans so it has been good and it is for a great cause.
“We were 4-0 down and struggling a bit so I was getting a bit frustrated and I didn’t want to get the run around but I have managed to get a couple of goals so I went home happy.”
Although only a charity match, Cureton’s competitiveness was on full display as he harried O’s defensive pairing of John Mackie and Gabriel Zakuani.
The veteran forward could be seen chatting with Orient captain Mackie all afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed cupping his ear to the fans at Brisbane Road after scoring.
Cureton added: “Second half the legends were still playing their proper team and I was chatting to Mackie and saying ‘come on Mackie’.
“I was saying I know it is a charity game but my sportsmanship start to come out and when people are popping it around me I am getting very frustrated.
“But I managed to get two goals and Mackie was like ‘are you happy now’ and I told him not really because we were still losing but I got my sporting frustrations out so it was alright.”
The next time Cureton visits Brisbane Road the home fans will be less friendly, though, as the 39-year-old will be trying to beat the O’s to earn three points for his Daggers side - managed by former Orient player and coach Wayne Burnett.
After suffering relegation to League Two last season nobody is quite sure how the E10 club will fare under new head coach Ian Hendon.
Cureton thinks they will be fine, though, adding: “Orient will be okay, I imagine it could a bit disruptive at the club because some players might not want to play at this level.
“There will be a lot of chopping and changing but you can imagine with the budget that they have got, they should be able to put a good League Two side together that should challenge.”
O’s supporters will be hoping the next time their former forward comes back to Brisbane Road he isn’t in the goals again but would have enjoyed seeing him in action last weekend.
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