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Gillingham goalkeeper Glenn Morris on the challenge of facing former club and League 2 leaders Leyton Orient

Goalkeeper Glenn Morris will be back on familiar territory when Gillingham go to Leyton Orient.

Morris spent a decade with the O’s, making 124 appearances, before joining Southend in 2010.

Gillingham goalkeeper Glenn Morris. Picture: KPI
Gillingham goalkeeper Glenn Morris. Picture: KPI

Now in his second stint with the Gills, the 38-year-old will line up against Orient at Brisbane Road tonight.

His old club are flying, going top of League 2 after Saturday’s 3-2 victory at Carlisle.

It’ll be a challenge for the Gills but one Morris, who saved a penalty in a 1-1 draw against Barrow at the weekend, is looking forward to.

“It’ll be a tough one, it always is going there,” said Morris.

“They’re flying at the minute but it’s a game that you want to be involved in, you want to go there and put in a performance and hopefully cause an upset.

“It’s an old team of mine, I enjoy playing against them. I’m sure I’ll get a little bit of stick but that’s part and parcel of being a goalkeeper.

“I was there for 10 years from YTS up to 26. I enjoyed it.

"I probably stayed a little bit too long in the end.

“It’s one of them where you’re on the bench as a goalie and you should probably move on for my career but I stayed a little bit too long.

“But I enjoyed it, it was a good club, with lots of good people there

“It was a bit like, not a sleeping giant, because it’s not a giant, but it seemed like it had the potential to go a little bit further.

“Obviously they’re doing really well this year so that might be their time.”

Orient dropped out of the Football League five years ago and it took the appointment of ex-Gillingham manager Justin Edinburgh to get them moving again.

He won the the National League title in his only full season in charge before his sudden death from a cardiac arrest, aged 49, 2019.

Now in their fourth year back in League 2, they’re leading the way under Richie Wellens.

“The National League’s such a hard league to get out of, and they managed to do it,” said Morris, who played under Edinburgh in his first spell at Gills.

“It’s a difficult league and you wouldn’t want to get stuck down there for too long.”

Morris’ 55th-minute penalty save from Josh Kay turned the game as Gills fought back to draw with Barrow.

It was a key moment, with the veteran keeper using all his experience.

“Sometimes you want to go with a feeling and I could sort of tell where he was going to go, I’m not going to lie,” said Morris.

“He was looking the other way, to be honest with you, sometimes they try and kid you a little bit.

“It did kick us on, it lifted the crowd a little bit and as a goalkeeper that’s what you’re there for, you have to try and come up with those moments and I managed to do that.”

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