Leyton Orient will have no choice but to wear their away kit in their home fixture against Barnsley due to an unfortunate bus fire.
Orient – who sit 10th in League One – will sport their white away kit at Brisbane Road on Saturday (October 21) while their opponents will instead wear their red home kit. The confusing kit situation is down to The Tykes away strip being currently unavailable, after their team bus caught on fire two weeks ago.Following their 1-0 away win at Exeter earlier this month, clips of their coach in flames was posted on social media by defender Barry Cotter. The bus was on the side of the M5 just south of Cheltenham as luckily, nobody was hurt in the process.
Third-placed Barnsley posted a statement on social media following the fire which read: “We can confirm that on the way back from our fixture against Exeter City this evening, our club coach suffered complications and subsequently caught fire. All players and staff on board were evacuated safely.
“Everyone is in good health. We would like to thank the emergency services for their swift response. The club will make no further comment at this time and is focused on ensuring the safe return of staff and players.” Despite Barnsley not having played since the October 7 clash at St James Park, their white away kit is still unavailable.
Orient – who were promoted as League Two champions last season – posted news of the kit update on X as fans had their say on the swap with one person jokingly writing: “Surely its school rules, skins or bibs!” while another commented: “Surely they stock the away kit in their shop?” as a Barnsley fan had some choice words for his club as they wrote: “Not available. We really are tin pot!”
Regardless of the kits, both teams are coming into the fixture in good form with consecutive wins achieved with five points separating Saturday’s opponents. It’s been quite a turnaround for Orient who began the season with three defeats on the trot. They’ve since lost just one of their last six league fixtures as they continue climbing the table.
