Brunt shunts out Brentford as Orient steal victory

Orient substitute Ryan Brunt came off the bench to fire home the only goal of the game and earn Russell Slade’s side their first home points of the season.

The striker, on loan from Stoke City, controlled a looping ball from Martin Rowlands before he swivelled and fired home from 12 yards on 76 minutes to score his first goal for the club.

But it was a smash and grab win by the O’s, who were second best for long spells in the first half.

However, they soaked up the pressure, improved after the break and then snatched an unlikely winner to leave the Bees desperately disappointed.

Brunt’s strike meant it was back-to-back wins for Slade’s side and the O’s boss not surprisingly, named an unchanged starting X1 following Saturday’s surprise 1-0 win at Swindon Town.

While Brentford named former O’s loanee Tony Craig in their line-up, but it was the visitors who dominated the opening 45 minutes and there were long periods when O’s were penned back into their own half.

It was the O’s who created the first real chance when Kevin Lisbie skipped down the right and pulled the ball back into the path of Lee Cook, but his shot from the edge of the area was blocked.

After that it was Brentford who took a stranglehold of the game and it was keeper Ryan Allsop who kept the home side in it.

He saved a free-kick from the dangerous Harry Forrester and then denied Clayton Donaldson.

There was a brief respite for the home side when defender Ben Chorley headed a Dean Cox free-kick goalwards, but Brentford smuggled the ball away.

The Bees were quickly back on the attack and Craig headed over, but for all their possession the visitors failed to create too many genuine openings and Orient were relieved to reach the interval on terms.

Slade’s half-time words seemed to lift Orient as they started the second half well and started to string a few passes together.

But the visitors should have taken the lead when they broke away and Paul Hayes failed to convert Forrester’s left-wing cross from close range.

O’s did look marginally better in the second half and Anthony Griffith, who worked hard throughout, went close with a shot from 25 yards.

O’s made the first change of the game on 62 minutes when Ryan Brunt replaced Michael Symes, who had struggled to make an impression.

And Brunt was soon in the action when he fed Cox and his cross was almost swept home by Lisbie.

But play switched to the other end and Allsop did well to keep out Jake Bidwell’s free-kick on 68 minutes.

However, it was O’s who struck against the run of play when Brunt struck and Orient’s fourth successive league game was settled by a single goal on a night when Allsop and Griffith were the home side’s heroes.

Leyton Orient: Allsop 8; McSweeney 6, Chorley 6, Clarke 7, Sawyer 7; Cox 7, *Griffith 8, Rowlands 6 (Smith 85 mins), Cooke 5 (Odubajo 75 mins); Symes 5 (Brunt 62 mins), Lisbie 6. Subs: Grainger, Baudry, Laird, Mooney.

Orient bookings: Rowlands (57 mins foul), Cook (72 mins foul)

Brentford: Moore, Forshaw (Adeyemi 73 mins), Craig, Dean, Douglas, Donaldson. Logan, Forrester (El Alagui 80 mins), Diagourara, Hayes (Saunders 80 mins), Bidwell. Subs: Gounet, O’Connor, Barron, Legge.

Brentford bookings: Craig (40 mins foul), Bidwell (77 mins foul)

Referee: Phil Dowd

Attendance: 3,333 (inc 508 Brentford fans)