Sky Bet League One
LEYTON ORIENT 3 BRISTOL ROVERS 0
JOHN CHUBB at the Gaughan Group Stadium
@JohnCphoenixfm
After a dramatic FA Cup victory over Oldham Athletic on Saturday, Leyton Orient returned to league action last night and moved out of the relegation places, as a fine performance saw them brush aside Bristol Rovers at Brisbane Road.
Former Orient striker Ruel Sotiriou, who left E10 for Bristol in the summer was in the Rovers starting line-up, along with Shaq Forde who spent last season on loan at the Gaughan Group Stadium from Watford, before making a permanent move to the Pirates during the close season.
After a few minutes there was a delay, as Darren Pratley came off worse in a collision with Rovers’ Jamie Lindsay.
The Os captain was clearly in no fit state to continue, and head coach Richie Wellens took the decision to replace him with Jordan Brown.
Orient grabbed the lead in the 17th minute when Dan Happe met a fine Tom James free kick with his head, and the ball bounced off the post into the net to put the hosts in the driving seat.
Then just before the half hour mark, the East Londoners were 2-0 up.
Ollie O’Neill gained possession, got round his opponent and fired a superb curling shot into the top right-hand corner of the net to make it 2-0.
In the 43rd minute, a strong Dan Agyei shot headed towards goal but was well kept out by visiting goalkeeper Josh Griffiths.
Orient continued to dominate, and just after the first half had entered time added on Agyei made it 3-0, regaining possession close to the goal line and firing past Griffiths from a very tight angle.
The hosts continued to push forward after the restart, Brown having a close-range header on target, but it wasn’t quite powerful enough to trouble Griffiths who gathered the ball safely.
Omar Beckles, Sonny Perkins and the impressive Agyei (on three occasions) all went close themselves once the match had entered the final half hour, as Orient continued to try and add to their lead.
Rovers struggled to create any meaningful opportunities, and it was a disappointing return to E10 for former Brisbane Road favourite Sotiriou, who made little impact and was substituted in the 66th minute.
The Os could have added to their tally, but the three first half goals proved sufficient for them to claim their fifth league win of the season, take all three points and move out of the relegation zone.
If they can turn in more performances of the quality they showed on this occasion, they should continue to rise up the table.
LEYTON ORIENT (Head Coach: Richie Wellens) – Josh Keeley, Tom James, Dan Happe (Jack Simpson 57), Dan Agyei (Charlie Kelman 85), Jack Currie (Jayden Sweeney 86), Dom Ball Jamie Dowley, Darren Pratley © (Jordan Brown 8), Omar Beckles, Sonny Perkins, Ollie O’Neill (Diallang Jaivesimi 86).
BRISTOL ROVERS (Manager: Matt Taylor) – Josh Griffiths, Taylor Moore (Joel Senior 57), James Wilson ©, Clinton Mola (Michael Forbes 56), Scott Sinclair, Grant Ward (Luke McCormick 67). Ruel Sotiriou (Gatlin O’Donkor 66), Connor Taylor, Chris Martin, Shaq Forde, Jamie Lindsay (Jake Garnett 80).
Referee: James Linnington
Attendance: 7422 (including 498 from Bristol Rovers)
