Leyton Orient 3-1 Bromley: O’s come from behind as Bromley slip to defeat at Brisbane Road
Bromley suffered National League defeat against Leyton Orient for the first time as the O’s came from behind to triumph at Brisbane Road.
Orient end the day on top of the National League table but it could have been different with Bromley holding a half-time lead thanks to John Goddard’s free-kick.
The rampant O’s had turned the game on its head within fifteen minutes of the restart thanks to goals from Josh Koroma and former Crystal Palace man Jobi McAnuff. Macauley Bonne finished the game off as a contest with thirteen minutes left to play.
The Hayes Lane outfit secured a historic double over the former Football League outfit last season but were up against it before they even got underway this afternoon with seven players missing due to injury, suspension or international duty.
The Ravens, going in search of their third win on the road this season, started brightly against their well-fancied hosts. Dean Brill had to be quick off his line to smother Bromley’s Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe, before Joe Quigley then saw an effort on the turn blocked inside the area as Neil Smiths side looked to silence the majority of the sell-out crowd at Brisbane Road.
Orient, who had only lost once at Brisbane Road all season, started to gain a footing in proceedings but found themselves up against an organised Bromley back-line. Set-pieces and long-ranged efforts were all Justin Edinburgh’s side had to show for the opening stages, with James Dayton firing against the wall from one of those free-kicks.
That opportunity came after Sam Wood have fouled Dayton outside the area following one of the very few lapses of concentration the Lilywhites were guilty of in a solid first-period display.
Craig Clay dragged wide from range as the O’s continued to mark hard-work of breaking their visitors down, although Josh Koroma was guilty of a poor finish when he was afforded a yard of space by the Bromley defence on the corner of the area.
Koroma soon tested stopper David Gregory after cutting in and firing at goal, but it would be Bromley who edged ahead as we approached the interval.
Ogedi-Uzokwe was felled on the very left-hand edge of the Orient area, in-front of the 550 or so travelling Bromley fans. Goddard fired his free-kick low and hard into the area, with it perhaps taking a touch on its way to nestling in at the far-stick – but the goal was awarded to the former Swindon Town man and the Ravens had an unlikely lead.
That lead should have been doubled early in the second-period. Goddard was the beneficiary of an awful mistake in the Orient back-line, but dawdled on the ball too long as he was through one on one, with substitute Dan Happe recovering well to put a block in.
Jack Holland’s superb last-ditch block prevented Koroma from levelling up after a remarkable goal-mouth scramble, but the home side were on terms moments later.
McAnuff placed a glorious free-kick into the right-hand top-corner of Gregory’s goal, and things went from bad to worse for the Ravens just three minutes later.
Orient broke with speed and found Koroma, who wriggled his way into the area before turning the Bromley defence inside out and rifling into the roof of the net and edging the home side into the lead for the first time.
Koroma nearly added another as he side-footed wide from close-range but the O’s, facing just their second season outside of the Football League in 114 years, did have that daylight with just over ten minutes remaining.
Gregory found McAnuff’s drive too hot to handle, with Bonne alive to the rebound to slid home into the open goal.
George Porter nearly pulled one back against his former club but couldn’t poke past Brill after waltzing into the area.
But Bromley were unable to find a way back into the game and they fell to a third defeat in four league games.