Orient midfielder reflects on 3-1 win over Daggers, the fans support and another good performance
Lloyd James didn’t realise Saturday’s match with Dagenham & Redbridge was his hundredth start for Leyton Orient, but was delighted to celebrate it by picking up three points against their local rivals.
The big east London derby in League Two finished with Ian Hendon’s side winning 3-1 after goals from Paul McCallum, James, from the penalty spot, and Dean Cox sealed a comprehensive victory.
Dagenham pulled one back through former O’s forward Jamie Cureton, but the Brisbane Road outfit had dominated proceeding for much of the match.
James was thrilled with the win and believes Orient need to continue performing like they are to maintain their promotion push.
The 27-year-old said: “I didn’t actually realise it was my hundredth start; I am just delighted to be out there after the injury I got last year.
“I feel like I am slowly getting back to myself and with a pre-season under my belt it is great to be out there and to score is an added bonus. Like I said before we got the three points and that is the main thing.
“It is very important to keep the good performances up and it is an added bonus when we perform like we did against Dagenham.
“The turnout we got was absolutely fantastic from the fans and if they can keep turning up in numbers like that and we keep performing like this, then they’ll keep coming.”
James mentioned the support of the Orient fans and the 1,456 in attendance made themselves heard throughout the encounter at Victoria Road.
The former Wales under-21 international praised the O’s faithful and also admitted Hendon’s team could have won by more.
He revealed how the Brisbane Road head coach wasn’t best pleased when James went for an ambitious volley when an easy pass was on.
James added: “We had a good spell at 3-0 and had a couple of chances. The gaffer weren’t too pleased when I tried the left-foot volley and it went 20-yards over the bar!
“I could have maybe rolled it to Sammy Moore, but we were pleased. We did have a few chances second half and we were a bit disappointed to concede that goal at the end.”
The Orient midfielder continued to praise the O’s support before discussing what League Two football is like.
He added: “The fans were fantastic and it did feel like a home match because they were out singing the Dagenham fans all game.
“Some teams in League Two are going to be about physicality but we have shown we can do both. I think we mix our play up well and we have gone long and also played some great stuff so I don’t see nothing wrong with that.”
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