Strong squad come from behind to beat Orient
Paul Benson came through his first 90 minutes since breaking his leg in November as the Town development squad came back from a goal down to beat Leyton Orient 3-2 on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old striker has been missing since sustaining the injury in the home win over Mansfield in November.
And the former Dagenham man was a number of players who were able to complete the full 90 against the League 1 O’s, with Alex Lawless and Luke Rooney also playing the whole game.
The strong Town side, which also included Luke Wilkinson at centre-half, fell behind in the fifth minute when Sandro Semedo struck.
But the Town’s response was swift and Alex Wall levelled moments later, cutting inside from the right flank before unleashing a powerful shot past the Orient goalkeeper.
Wall was then replaced midway through the first half, and it was the striker’s replacement that put the Town in front on the stroke of half-time when Ross Lafayette tucked away the loose ball in the penalty area.
In the second half Luke Rooney was denied by the O’s keeper, while Town youth team stopper Liam Gooch – who was on the bench for the first team at the weekend – saved well from Damien Batt.
But with 10 minutes to go the Hatters won the game when they were awarded a penalty and Jake Howells smashed home the spot-kick to give the dev squad their first win in three matches.
Town dev: Gooch; Connolly, Parry, Wilkinson (sub Onyemah 60), Howells; Robinson, Rooney, Lawless, Whalley; Benson, Wall (sub Lafayette 28). Subs not used: Galliford, Allman.