Against the trend I actually think Orcs are easier since their style is play is more orthadox (normal resource gathering and no blight mechanic, among other things) and they have easily some of if not the best items at T1 (non-combat healing items and scrolls of speed). Plus their melee units are some of the toughest in the game - your very first Grunts start out with 700 hp and can be upgraded so that they have 800 at T2.

Though if you want to get into things like Blademaster harassing then it takes a lot more practice. I, personally, am still not good at BM harassing but then I mostly play Night Elves and only Orc when I feel like mixing things up or balance demands it. Which also probably means this should be taken with a grain of salt.