Match report: Swindon Town 1 - 2 Leyton Orient

Swindon Link football columnist Alfie Howlett reports on the weekend's STFC game against Leyton Orient.

Richie Wellens made a victories return to the County Ground as his Leyton Orient side sunk Swindon's faint Play off hopes.

Despite playing against ten men for over an hour, Swindon just couldn't find the key to unlock a stubborn Orient defence. It was a tough result to digest, with the only explanation being Town just simply weren't good enough.

Swindon came into the contest with renewed hope of a play off position following a fine 4-1 victory at Harrogate on Good Friday. Ben Garner made 2 changes as he reintroduced Jake O'Brien back into the starting eleven at the expense of Mathieu Baudry.

Akin Odimayo filled the void at right back with Rob Hunt injured. The visitors Leyton Orient also arrived at the County Ground off the back of a victory. However, unlike their counterparts the visitors had little to play for as they sat comfortably in mid-table.

The Robins made a bright start to proceedings with Joe Tomlinson testing former Town keeper Lawrence Vigouroux with a low effort from 20 yards.

On 11 minutes an excellent Louie Barry pass picked out Jack Payne who failed to get the ball under control as his effort was deflected out for a corner. However, the early enthusiasm quickly fizzled out with Leyton Orient beggining to frustrate the hosts. And on 20 minutes The O's gave Swindon more reasons to be frustrated as they took the lead through a set piece.

Theo Archibald's free kick found Omar Beckles, who timed his run perfectly to head past the onrushing Jojo Wollacott.

In my opinion despite the excellent delivery from Archibald it was a poor goal to give away from Town's perspective with Beckles enjoying a free header. Three minutes after the goal the game took another turn as Hector Kyprianou was shown a second yellow for a cynical found on Louie Barry. It was a moment that should've handed Town the ascendancy. But instead with Orient putting all ten men behind the ball it proved to make things that little bit harder.

Just past the half hour mark Louie Barry forced a comfortable save from Lawrence Vigouroux after a long range curler. However despite an awful lot of possession for the men in red Swindon failed to threaten the Orient goal as they went in trailing at half time.

The second half began with the first roll of the dice from Ben Garner as he brought on Jonny Williams for Joe Tomlinson. In a half which Swindon needed to start quickly it would be the ten men of Leyton Orient who extended their lead.

Nine minutes into the half a long throw resulted in Omar Beckles grabbing he and Leyton Orient's second of the match after tapping home from close range. It made an already hard task an impossible task for Swindon as their season slipped away.

Just shy of the hour mark Jack Payne registered a shot on target as Vigouroux tipped away his low effort for a corner. It would be the closest Town got to the Orient goal for some time as frustration grew with Swindon lacking ideas. With all hope fading a precise Jack Payne through ball found Josh Davison who slotted past Vigouroux to set up a grandstand finish.

Unfortunately for Swindon, the closest they came to finding a second was just four minutes later when a deep Louis Reed cross found Louie Barry who's volley was well saved at a tight angle. Despite Swindon's best efforts the Leyton Orient defence would hold firm as the ten men put the final nail into Town's coffin.

A win would've put Swindon 1 point off 7th with a game in hand. Instead they're now a very unlikely 4 points adrift. They just simply weren't good enough to make the extra man count. But credit where credit is due, Leyton Orient did brilliantly to hold on for so long and they'll certainly be a force to be reckoned with next season - a season in which Town will spend another year in league 2.