Jamie Donley vows to rattle Manchester City as Leyton Orient dream of cup shock | OneFootball

Jamie Donley managed only two touches when he faced Manchester City last season but is ready to help Leyton Orient try to produce an almighty FA Cup upset on Saturday.

City’s trip to the high-flying Sky Bet League One club is one of the most eye-catching fourth-round fixtures, with Pep Guardiola’s faltering side forced to return to London six days after being thrashed 5-1 by Arsenal.

Tottenham loanee Donley made his professional debut as a late substitute in Spurs’ 3-3 draw at the Etihad Stadium during the 2023-24 campaign and the 20-year-old cannot wait to pit his wits against Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland again.

“Yeah, it was one of the best moments of my life, obviously being a Tottenham fan that will always be a special moment and how proud my family were with me,” Donley told the PA news agency.

“Hopefully I get more touches in the game! You never know, I might not touch the ball but it will be a great experience for us and hopefully we give them a good challenge.

“It will be exciting but I won’t be looking up to them in the game. I will run after them, try to kick them, try to get the ball off them and win the game ultimately because that is what we are there to do.

“Obviously it will be a good moment for the club, but in my mind I am definitely thinking about trying to win and getting through to the next round.”

Donley has frequently been tipped as one to watch and after a successful last season, where he played four times for the first team and helped the club’s under-21s to Premier League 2 success, he moved to Orient in August.

After a strong pre-season under Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou, Donley was immediately thrown in at the deep end by Os boss Richie Wellens with starts against Charlton, Birmingham and Shrewsbury.

To win on penalties was amazing and it was a great night for everyone. You cherish them for the rest of your life. Obviously knowing we had City in the next round made it special

Jamie Donley on beating Derby

However, Donley found himself out of the team by the middle of October and only played one minute of league football in November. That raised the prospect of an early recall in January but the FA Cup proved the catalyst for change.

A cameo during a dramatic second-round tie with Oldham was followed by 90 minutes against Bristol Rovers on December 3. Fast forward two months and Donley has started the last 13 fixtures and produced five goals alongside a string of eye-catching assists.

Donley reflected: “It was probably one of the toughest moments of my career so far. Coming straight in and playing, then being left out of the squad and on the bench but not getting a sniff.

“I had people close to me I would speak to. They said to keep training hard and I spoke to the gaffer. Asked him some questions about what does he want from me and he said to keep training hard.

“There were obviously little bits and bobs in game and I got a chance when I started the Bristol game. I’ve started every game since pretty much and he’s been really happy with me.

“All the staff have helped me and they have probably made me a better player with the way I have been in recent form, but I’ve just got to keep doing that.”

Fellow Tottenham loanee Josh Keeley was a key source of support during Donley’s spell out of the team, with a strong bond developed between the duo in east London.

It was goalkeeper Keeley’s extraordinary stoppage-time leveller against Oldham which proved the catalyst for Orient to win 10 matches since the start of December and set up the plum draw against City.

A frozen pitch saw Orient’s third-round clash with Derby postponed, which meant both sides discovered Guardiola’s champions lay in wait, and more Keeley heroics via a shoot-out save downed the Rams.

“To win on penalties was amazing and it was a great night for everyone. You cherish them for the rest of your life. Obviously knowing we had City in the next round made it special,” Donley admitted.

“I don’t think there has been one day where Josh hasn’t spoken about his goal, but if it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t be here. Hopefully he can have another special moment against City.”