We take a look at some of the players who have represented both Stevenage and Leyton Orient over the years ahead of Saturday’s crucial fixture in Sky Bet League Two…
Veteran centre half Scott Cuthbert spent four years at Leyton Orient from 2011 to 2015, making over 130 appearances and scoring seven times. In his first season at the club, he was named Orient’s player of the year for his efforts in defence. The 2013/14 campaign saw Cuthbert play predominantly at right-back as his team made the League One Play-off final, narrowly missing out on a place in the Championship due to a penalty shootout. Then, in 2018 Boro picked up the experienced defender in the summer transfer window and he has since worn the captain’s armband with pride and been an integral part of the Boro defence. Cuthbert has made 139 starts, scoring eight goals so far.
Jamaican international, Jobi McAnuff first signed for Orient in the summer of 2014 and would go on to make over fifty appearances in his first spell at the club. Then, two years later McAnuff joined Stevenage on a free transfer, where he would appear over thirty times and score four goals in the 2016/17 campaign. At the end of his spell at Boro, McAnuff returned to Orient where his second spell would be much more notable than his first. This spell lasted nearly four years, and, in that time, he captained his side to promotion to the Football League and was even named interim manager for three months in early 2021.
Charlie Lee was also a big part of the Orient squad who won promotion back to The Football League as he made over forty appearances in midfield for the club from 2017-2019. Before that, Lee appeared regularly for Stevenage after signing in the summer of 2014. He started 105 times throughout his three-year spell, scoring fourteen goals.
Midfielder Dale Gorman came through the academy ranks, first joining Boro as a seventeen-year-old in 2013. He made his senior debut in 2015, which would serve as his first of over sixty appearances in a Boro shirt. The Irish midfielder departed for Orient in 2018 where he would go on to play thirty-five times sporadically over the next two campaigns.
Finally, Jimmy Smith initially joined Orient on loan from Chelsea in 2009 before signing permanently later that year. Smith would spend four full seasons at the club and played a major role in their 2010/11 FA Cup run in which they took Arsenal to a replay at The Emirates Stadium. After making 189 appearances and scoring twenty-two times, Smith departed for Stevenage ahead of the 2013/14 campaign. Throughout this season he made forty seven appearances in midfield, scoring three times.
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Match tickets for Stevenage vs Newport County are available from www.borotickets.co.uk.
