Key events
49 min: Brilliant defending from Khusanov! He made a bad mistake against Chelsea a fortnight ago but he’s probably saved a goal there. Donley played a nice pass to Galbraith, who slid a perfect cross into the corridor of uncertainty. Kelman was about to tap it in at the far post where Khusanov got back to poke the ball away from him.
48 min “Happy memories of watching the Os back in the day – but nothing as intoxicating as this,” says Paul Griffin. “At this rate, City are going to be all out for revenge when they meet Leyton Orient in next season’s Vertu Cup.”
47 min Marmoush’s shot on the turn is saved comfortably by Keeley.
46 min Pep Guardiola has made a double substitution at half-time: John Stones and Abdukodir Khusanov are on for the centre-backs Vitor Reis and Ruben Dias.
Half-time reading
Half time: Leyton Orient 1-0 Manchester City
Leyton Orient could be 45 minutes away from one of the all-time-great FA Cup shocks. They lead through Stefan Ortega’s own goal, the result of an astonishing piece of skill from Jamie Donley. He hit the bar from 50 yards and the ball deflected in off the backpedalling off Ortega.
City, who lost their new signing Nico Gonzalez to injury, were increasingly threatening as the half progressed. Donley cleared off the line from Bernardo Silva and Josh Keeley made a fine save to deny Omar Marmoush. You’d still expect City to turn things round. Even if they do, we’ll be talking about Orient’s goal for as long as the FA Cup lives.
45+5 min “One of the joys of going to Brisbane Road in the 1990s was standing on an open, windswept half-filled home terrace where the supporters and more importantly the players could hear all the cursing, malice, despair and that rarest of things, some encouragement, coming from the home fans,” begins Ian Burch.
“At that time the O’s were engaged in a rivalry with lowly Brighton and drew them at home in the FA Cup. O’s forward Tony Richards was usually the target of most of the home’s fans animosity, but on this occasion, he stunned the malcontents, Brighton’s large away following and no doubt himself by scoring a hat trick as the O’s won 4-2.
“Up waiting for a corner at the home end a bloke behind the goal got Tony’s attention with ‘Tony, Tony, great goals son’ which got a thumbs up and a shy smile in return, there was then a pause followed by ‘Tony, Tony, you’re still effing useless though’.
“Tony kept his dignity by staring at his feet bless him. I have some very happy memories of watching the O’s, no doubt a bit different to those of a forward carrying the hopes and dreams of a Div 2 crowd on his back.”
I didn’t realise John Sitton watched the game from behind the goal when he was manager. Ho ho ho.
45+4 min An Orient corner is cleared to Donley, 25 yards out. He hits a stinging half-volley that takes a deflection and is held to his right by Ortega. I think Donley’s original effort was off target but it was another sign of his stratospheric confidence that he took the shot on.
45+3 min: Fine save by Keeley! Savinho’s delicious outside-of-the-boot cross is volleyed towards goal by Marmoush, 10 yards out, and Keeley does superbly to change direction and keep it out. Marmoush probably should have scored but it was still excellent goalkeeping.
45+2 min McAtee has a sniff of a chance but then overruns the ball on the edge of the area and is dispossessed.
45 min There will be six added minutes, mainly because of the treatment required by Nico Gonzalez and Josh Keeley.
43 min “The magic of the etc., eh ?” says Jeremy Boyce. “I went to Fortress Brisbane many years ago, following the mighty Shrews. It wasn’t very magic at the time. Any news from loveable Leeds v menacing Millwall?”
1-0 Millwall.
42 min McAtee is booked for a cynical foul on Jaiyesimi.
42 min A good break from Orient. Kelman gets away down the left – Orient are getting lots of joy there – and slides the ball back to Perkins 15 yards out. He screws a first-time shot over the bar with his left foot.
40 min City are really pressing. Savinho has another shot blocked on the edge of the area after making an excellent angled run in behind. A cleaner first touch would have put him straight through on goal; instead it was slightly behind him and that allowed a couple of defenders to get back.
39 min Savinho whistles a half-volley over the bar from the edge of the D. Decent effort but a few yards too high.
38 min Galbraith is a bit fortunate to escape a yellow card after taking out Grealish. I think it might have been Donley, the man of the moment, who cleared that Bernardo Silva shot off the line.
Edit: it was indeed. What a day he’s having!
37 min: Off the line! After an extended spell of City pressure, Grealish teases a lovely ball to find Bernardo Silva beyond the far post. He cushions a volley past Keeley from a tight angle but an Orient player gets back to boot it off the line.
36 min Savinho, who has been City’s most dangerous attacker, is fouled on the right. Marmoush takes and Gunodgan’s near-post header is blocked at source.
34 min Keeley is okay to continue. I’m trying to assess where that Donley effort sits on the Radfordometer. Given City’s status as the greatest team in England for the last eight years, I’d argue it’s right up there.
33 min “This all feels eerily reminiscent of that weird Fergie era between 2004-06,” says Nick Parmenter. “A combination of reliance on players past their best or too young with summer signings not good enough and with some January signings who will be stars in 12-18 months and with a star striker where the team have to funnel the ball to him or else he doesn’t offer much. Sorry if that seems long winded!”
Not at all. Of course, Man Utd only emerged from the funk when they sold their star striker.
32 min Savinho’s corner is met by the head of Dias and saved comfortably by Keeley. He then throws the ball straight out of play so that he can receive treatment. Not sure what happened there.
30 min Bernardo Silva’s shot is blocked after a bit of a scramble in the Orient area.
28 min When do City start to panic? Not yet, clearly, but Pep won’t want to be 1-0 down after an hour. He does have Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden on the bench if necessary.
27 min This is a tremendous line from Gary Naylor.
Have we ever had an own goal win Goal of the Month? Because I think we will.
26 min City are having lots of the ball, this being a football match, but so far Keeley hasn’t had a difficult save to make. Their only big chance was Gundogan’s in the 10th minute.
24 min Savinho’s attempted crossfield pass hits Jaiyesimi straight in the face. There’s a break in play while he’s checked for concussion.
23 min My colleague Tom Davies, one of the true good guys, is an Orient fan and will be at the game today. What I’d give to see a 30-second video of his face before, during and after that extraordinary goal. Those of us who support or supported a big club will never know that kind of joy.
22 min: Man City substitution Poor Nico Gonzalez is limping off to be replaced by Bernardo Silva. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious; he landed awkwardly when he was challenged in the lead up to the Orient goal.
20 min Gonzalez is down with a back problem and looks in a fair bit of distress. Welcome to English football and all that.
18 min City thought there might have been a foul on Gonzalez just before Donley’s shot. There’s no VAR in this round of the cup, though I don’t think it would have been overturned anyway.
Jamie Donley, on loan from Spurs, has gone straight into FA Cup folklore. He ran onto a loose ball, just inside the City half, spotted Ortega off this line and drove a first-time chip towards goal. The ball hit the underside of the bar, then bounced off the backpedalling Ortega and into the net. Technically it’s an own goal but it was an extraordinary piece of skill from Donley. The audacity on him!
GOAL! Orient 1-0 Man City (Ortega og 16)
Orient take the lead in amazing circumstances!
14 min: Chance for Orient! A long ball releases Kelman, who scoots away from Reis and into the penalty area. His touch is heavy, possibly because Reis was leaning into him, and forces him wide. Bbut he still manages to stretch and screw a shot towards goal that is blocked by Ortega. Good save.
12 min City are dominating possession as you’d expect, with 75 per cent so far. Savinho’s deflected cross bounces towards the onrushing O’Reilly, whose shot from the edge of the area is blocked. When Savinho is on – and he has started really well – he’s close to unplayable. He’s only 20 and has the potential to become one of the world’s best players.
11 min “The coupon on Gundogan there,” says Niall Mullen. “I came back from Catalonia for this?”
As well as everything else, it looks bone-chillingly cold out there.
10 min: Gundogan misses a great chance! Gonzalez clips a delicious angled pass over the defence to Savinho, who cushions a volley across goal towards Gundogan. He can’t sort his feet and shoots tamely wide from eight yards. He may have been put off by an air shot from Simpson.
7 min City won a couple of corners in quick succession; neither amounts to much.
5 min Orient have started well and are trying to hurt City with early balls down their left. City’s right-back Rico Lewis generally moves infield when they have the ball.
4 min Kelman’s backheel releases Currie, whose superb cross runs tantalisingly across the six-yard box with Ortega rooted to his line. Reis is caught in two minds and gets a bit lucky when he is fouled by Donley (I think) at the far post.
4 min Grealish, who is being booed every time he touches the ball, cuts inside with intent but drags a shot well wide of the near post.
2 min Jaiyesimi is released on the left by a long pass. He moves into the area and tries to wriggle past Lewis, who stays on his feet and does enough to allow the ball to run through to Ortega.
2 min It’s a grim afternoon in East London: wet, windy and more than a little brisk.
1 min Peep peep! Orient kick off from right to left as we watch.
A reminder of the teams, who are taking the field as I type.
Leyton Orient (possible 4-2-3-1) Keeley; Galbraith, Simpson, Happe, Currie; James, Brown; Perkins, Donley, Jaiyesimi; Kelman.
Substitutes: Phillips, Sweeney, Cooper, Agyei, Ball, Pratley, Obiero, Carter, Markanday.
Manchester City (possible 4-1-4-1) Ortega, Lewis, Reis, Dias, O’Reilly, Gonzalez; Savinho, McAtee, Gundogan, Grealish; Marmoush.
Substitutes: Carson, Stones, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Akanji, Nunes, Khusanov, Foden, Mubama.
Referee Darren Bond.
The hero of Orient’s run so far has been the young Irish goalkeeper Josh Keeley, on loan from Tottenham. He scored a last-minute equaliser against Oldham in the second round, then saved a penalty from Derby’s Callum Elder in a third-round shootout.
Today’s game is a lunchtime kick-off. But 30 years ago yesterday, dinner was on the menu in the Orient dressing-room.
(NB: Clip contains language, a lot of language, that some readers may find offensive.)
Rules and regulations
The last time these teams met was a 2-2 draw in the second tier in May 1966. Orient were relegated that year; City were promoted would be champions of England two years later. Their last FA Cup clash was 99 years in the quarter-final. It was a one-sided affair.
Team news
Richie Wellens makes four changes to the Orient side that lost at home to Stockport a week ago. Tom James, Jack Simpson, Diallang Jaiyesimi and Sonny Perkins replace Brandon Cooper, Darren Pratley, Azeem Abdulai and Dilan Markanday.
With Real Madrid waiting on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola has made eight changes from the defeat at Arsenal. The survivors are Stefan Ortega, Savinho and Omar Marmoush. The new signings Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez make their City debuts.
Leyton Orient (possible 4-2-3-1) Keeley; James, Simpson, Happe, Currie; Galbraith, Brown; Perkins, Donley, Jaiyesimi; Kelman.
Substitutes: Phillips, Sweeney, Cooper, Agyei, Ball, Pratley, Obiero, Carter, Markanday.
Manchester City (possible 4-1-4-1) Ortega, Lewis, Reis, Dias, O’Reilly, Gonzalez; Savinho, McAtee, Gundogan, Grealish; Marmoush.
Substitutes: Carson, Stones, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Akanji, Nunes, Khusanov, Foden, Mubama.
Referee Darren Bond.
Leyton Orient are a team on the up, sixth in League One and with a chance of reaching the second tier for the first time since 1981-82.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Leyton Orient v Manchester City in the FA Cup. A few months ago the idea of Orient landing a stone on City’s forehead would have been unthinkable. Now, while still highly unlikely, it doesn’t feel entirely beyond the realms.
City’s recent results would suggest that anything is possible: 4-1, 8-0, 2-2, 6-0, 2-4, 3-1, 3-1, 1-5. It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if they took out their frustration on Orient. This is City’s first game since the alarming collapse against Arsenal last Sunday. They are still fighting on three fronts – Champions League, FA Cup, top four in the Premier League – and today is the start of a crucial run of fixtures in the rest of February. After this they play Real Madrid, Newcastle, Real Madrid again, Liverpool and Spurs.
Kick off 12.15pm.
