A delightfully sunny afternoon at the Memorial Stadium saw Bristol Rovers entertain Leyton Orient, witnessed by 6,425 people – including former Rovers legend Jamie Cureton.
It was Rovers who made the brighter start, with Aaron Lescott embarking on a rampaging foray down the left that brought about the first corner of the afternoon. It was to prove the benchmark for a wonderfully energetic display from Lescott, who was later to be awarded the sponsor’s Man of the Match award.
From the resulting corner, Rickie Lambert ghosted in at the back post to nod Stuart Campbell’s corner just wide of the far post.
It was to prove a rare opportunity in the first half, with both sides clearly more focussed on not conceding rather than scoring.
Orient took the lead just after half time, after Disley losing possession on half way allowed former Arsenal trainee Jason Demetriou a run at David Pipe, and then to unleash a wicked inswinging low cross that Danny Coles could only turn past Steve Phillips in the Rovers goal.
The O’s looked like doubling their lead 8 minutes later, after an Adam Boyd through ball allowed Ryan Jarvis an opportunity to shoot, however the omni-present Aaron Lescott did well to block.
Rovers fought back soon after, with Rickie Lambert trying an audacious shot from distance that trickled wide of Glenn Morris’ right hand post.
The introduction of Jo Kuffour gave the crowd and the game a much needed lift, replacing the ineffective Jeff Hughes after 59 minutes.
Kuffour’s influence was instant, with a rapid burst forward bringing about another Rovers corner. Campbell took the corner, and found Danny Coles on the penalty spot, who atoned for his earlier own goal by guiding a powerful header past Morris and into the net for 1-1.
It marked the beginning of a decent spell for Rovers, the players visibly lifted after the equiliser, and the second goal when it arrived, had an air of innevitibility about it.
It was Campbell again, impressive throughout, that supplied the goal, this time from a free kick in the right channel, which was met by Lambert to nod down and provide Craig Hinton with acres of space in the middle of the area. The defender showed composure that a striker would be proud of as he calmly passed the ball beyond Morris and into the net to put Rovers ahead for the first time in the match.
Orient could have responded immediately, had Ryan Jarvis’ 20 yard free kick not cannoned off the crossbar with Phillips beaten.
Campbell very nearly had a hat-trick of assists on 84 minutes, with another corner finding the target and Rickie Lambert forcing Morris into a good save high to his right from a bullet header.
Paul Trollope was dismissed from the dugout late on, after the officials failed to award a seemingly obvious pull on Ben Hunt, and when the Bristol Rovers head coach raced out of his technical area to confront the Linesman, there was only going to be one outcome. Trollope was forced to watch the remainder of the game from the Uplands Terrace, as referee Mr Woolmer added on a mind boggling 8 minutes of stoppage time.
Serious questions would have been asked had Orient found a leveller, and they very nearly obliged. But for a fantastic point blank save by Steve Phillips, Orient would have taken a share of the spoils.
Rovers eventually managed to weather the storm and survive the Orient onslaught to claim all three points, with a tangible sense of relief at the final whistle from both players and supporters.
A solid win for Rovers, who have finally turned the corner and head to Huddersfield next week looking for a third win in succession.
Report By Mark Mcburney
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good report Mark.