Sky Bet League One

LEYTON ORIENT 4 NORTHAMPTON TOWN 3

JOHN CHUBB at the Gaughan Group Stadium

@JohnCphoenixfm

After the disappointment of suffering a late defeat at Barnsley on Saturday, Leyton Orient got back on track in their league campaign with a win which took them up to eighth place in League One – although they were ultimately forced to work hard for all three points by Northampton Town in a seven-goal thriller at Brisbane Road.

Both sides cancelled each other out in the early stages of the match, with the first goalscoring opportunity falling to Orient’s Ethan Galbraith in the 9^th minute, but after advancing towards the penalty area his effort was well over the crossbar.

Five minutes later, from the third of a trio of O’s corners taken by Galbraith their captain Omar Beckles glanced the ball wide with his head, as the home side started to apply pressure.

Then with 18 minutes gone, a nice Orient move ended with a shot from George Moncur via Jordan Brown’s assist, but his attempt was saved by Northampton goalkeeper Louie Moulden.

But it wasn’t until the 35^th minute that the deadlock was broken, and it was the hosts – who had created the majority of chances until that point – who took the lead.

And it was midfielder Ollie O’Neill, signed during last month’s transfer window who scored his first goal for the O’s to put them in front.

What initially appeared to be a cross from the former Fulham man sailed into the net, thanks to an intelligent dummy by Brown and the home side’s pressure had paid off.

But their joy didn’t last much longer than 10 minutes, when in first-half injury time Northampton midfielder Marc Leonard – currently on loan at Sixfields from Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion – unleashed a strike from outside the box with virtually the last kick of the first half to level the scores going into the break.

It was harsh on Richie Wellens’ men, who had been much the better side during the first 45 minutes, but with almost a third of the second half gone the hosts were back in front.

An O’Neill strike just before the hour mark was parried away by Moulden, but only as far as Orient’s Shaq Forde who placed the ball home to make it 2-1 to the home side.

And just moments later, Idris El Mizouni wasn’t far away from a third when the Ipswich Town loanee went close after receiving the ball from Khayon Edwards.

The Cobblers nearly levelled on 65 minutes though, and it was only an excellent defensive intervention from Galbraith that prevented Jon Brady’s side from equalising.

But the visitors were back in the game with 13 minutes to go, when a powerful Kieron Bowie strike sailed past Orient goalkeeper Sol Brynn into the bottom corner to make it 2-2.

O’s head coach Richie Wellens then made what proved to be a genius substitution, replacing midfield man Moncur with forward Ruel Sotiriou.

And he made an impact almost immediately, nodding the ball home after only a couple of minutes on the field to put his side back in front.

But Northampton went on the attack once again in the 83^rd minute, and once again levelled the scores when one of their own second half substitutes Tyreece Simpson made it 3-3.

An increasingly scintillating contest saw Orient come very close to once again taking the lead a couple of minutes later, when El Mizouni’s effort from the edge of the box struck the crossbar.

But the O’s clinched all 3 points in the seventh and final minute of time added on when Sotiriou struck his second to make it 4-3, and despite a late Northampton effort the O’s held on to grab all three points – and they deserved to, as despite some dubious defending on occasions, the hosts largely showed superiority in terms of the quality of their football and the number of chances they created.

LEYTON ORIENT (Head Coach: Richie Wellens) – Sol Brynn, Tom James (Rob Hunt 45), Jordan Brown (Darren Pratley 60), Brandon Cooper, George Moncur (Ruel Sotiriou 77), Idris El Mizouni, Shaq Forde (Jayden Sweeney 90), Omar Beckles ©, Ollie O’Neill, Ethan Galbraith, Khayon Edwards (Dan Adu-Adjei 78).

NORTHAMPTON TOWN (Manager: Jon Brady) – Louie Moulden, Jon Guthrie ©, Louis Appere (Tyreece Simpson 71), Mitch Pinnock, Jordan Willis, Kieron Bowie, Harvey Lintott, Marc Leonard, Will Hondermarck (Tony Springett 71), Dom Gape (Ben Fox 53), Patrick Brough.

Referee: Ben Atkinson

Attendance: 7228 (including 573 Northampton fans)

After the final whistle Dave Victor spoke with Richie Wellens, whose post-match reaction can be heard on the link below:

Richie Wellens interview Northampton post-match
Phoenix Sport
John Chubb