CITY 5 LEYTON ORIENT 0
League Division 2
11th December 1965
Attendance 16,202
Scorers Young(3, ? & ?), Crossan(5), Summerbee(43)
Ref K Styles
City Dowd, Kennedy, Sear, Doyle, Heslop, Oakes, Summerbee, Crossan, Pardoe, Young, Connor – Sub Horne
Orient Rouse, Webb, Worrall, Sorrell, Ferry, Went, Musgrove, Scott, Flatt, Allen, Metchick
When Leyton Orient crashed 5-0 at Maine Road they were already deep in trouble at the bottom of the Second Division, in a pit where they were to remain until the end of the season.
The Blues, on the other hand, were doing nicely in third place and ready to launch their assault on the top spot which was currently held by Huddersfield Town.
Despite the lethal Neil Young scoring a hat-trick, the honours on the day went to George Heslop, the centre half signed by Joe Mercer from Everton earlier in the season.
It was George’s tactical awareness and skill that went a long way towards keeping Orient down to just one scoring chance in the whole 90 minutes. That was in the first half when Harry Dowd deflected a shot by former Hammer Malcolm Musgrove.
Young opened City’s scoring account when he intercepted an off-target drive from Alan Oakes and steered it past Orient’s ‘keeper, Vic Rouse, who, seven seasons earlier, had become the first Fourth Division player to be capped.
Mike Summerbee set up the second with an accurately taken free kick from the right wing, skipper Johnny Crossan being the marksman.
Crossan unusually missed a penalty four minutes before the break, Rouse parrying his weak shot, but made up for this by laying on the Blues’ third. His shrewd pass to Mike Doyle put Summerbee on the scoresheet.
Time for two more goals, and the fourth of the afternoon was an unusual one for Young – heading a shot from Dave Connor past Rouse – and Neil’s hat-trick arrived with a 30-yard drive which flew into the net courtesy of a post.
ADAPTED FROM AN ARTICLE BY JOHN MADDOCKS IN THE CITY PROGRAMME 18TH DECEMBER 1995