Leyton Orient kept up their pre-season preparations with an entertaining 0-0 stalemate at AFC Hornchurch tonight.

A large crowd piled into the Hornchurch Stadium, with many still waiting to get through the turnstiles come kick-off, and more retreating to an overwhelmed sports bar instead.

What they may have missed was a masterclass in goalkeeping from home stopper Sam Mott, who kept out a raft of first-half chances from the profligate visitors.

But it was Hornchurch who were left feeling short-changed after George Purcell’s 58th-minute goal looked to have put the Urchins in front, only for the linesman’s flag to deny them when perhaps it should have stayed down.

The pace of the early exchanges was more akin to a league game, with Charlie Lee firing over inside 60 seconds and Brad Warner heading wide for the hosts moments later.

Much of Orient’s early play came through Lee and David Mooney, the latter often dropping deep to pick up the ball, while also leading the line at times in a fluid attacking unit.

After some half-chances at either end, Orient should have been in front after 12 minutes when McAnuff’s corner was headed goalwards by George Elokobi.

The starting trialist should have turned his wayward effort goalwards from four yards, but crashed a shot against the underside of the bar, before Tristan Abrahams’ follow-up was kept out by Mott, who could not believe his fortune at preserving his clean sheet.

Mott found himself called upon more to chose down through-balls aimed towards Abrahams than anything else in the opening 20 minutes, but did have to be alert to keep out a Macauley Bonne header from another corner, although he did not need to be at full stretch to hold the effort.

Head coach Steve Davis will have been delighted with the quality of Orient’s deliveries from set-pieces - but less-so their finishing - after Elokobi missed the chance of the game, if not the season, blazing over from six yards when the winger’s cross fell beautifully for him to side-foot home.

Mott was breathing a sigh of relief after that one, but had himself to thank for keeping Joe Widdowson at bay minutes later, diving well at the defender’s feet after he had been played by Abrahams’ classy reverse-ball.

Crystal Palace were linked with the young Orient forward earlier this week, but any scouts present would have been more enlightened by the performance of Mott before half-time.

And he again came out on top in the duo’s ongoing battle when claiming Abrahams’ 20-yard curler, which the 20-year-old would have liked to put out of reach.

It was the last action he would see as he was replaced by a second trialist at the break, but it was of little significance early on as Hornchurch forged the first chance of the half.

Charlie Grainger was penalised for needlessly picking the ball up outside his area, and from a tight angle Warner fired a wicked free-kick which the keeper had to claw out and behind from his near post.

The only thing missing from a tasty pre-season encounter was a goal, and some controversy - and like buses both arrived after the break, whenPurcell looked to have embarrassed Orient and put Hornchurch ahead.

The assistant referee had already flagged for an offside against substitute Theo Fairweather-Johnson, but the striker was a mere passenger as Purcell’s effort looped over Grainger.

After a brief discussion with the referee, and some added intervention from Lee, Orient were granted a reprieve when the goal was ruled out.

Orient finally got their act together 20 minutes into the second period, with Boco linked up well wth Widdowson down the left, and the latter’s cross was volleyed wide with a bundle of limbs by Bonne.

Within a minute the O’s striker did a little better, seeing a shot deflected behind, and Clark was inches away from connecting with the resulting corner.

The game kept up its tempo despite a raft of changes with 18 minutes to go, and Hornchurch substitute Martin Tuohy would have given Sam Sergeant some work to do straight off had he not completely missed a well-delivered free-kick from out wide.

While the entertainment continued, the stalemate did likewise, and neither Sergeant nor Mott, the latter a fine shout for man of the match, were unduly troubled in the final minutes.

Leyton Orient: Grainger (Sargeant 72); Caprice (Judd 72), Trialist (Clark 46), Elokobi (Happe 72), Widdowson (Scales 72); McAnuff (Boco 62), Lawless (Ochieng 62), Lee (McLean 72), Abrahams (Trialist 46); Mooney (Koroma 72), Bonne (Clay 72).