Leyton Orient reached the fifty point milestone, easing past play-off chasing Bournemouth on a cold afternoon in East London.
Striker Charlie MacDonald had only managed one goal in his last ten games for the O’s but he scored twice to put his team 2-0 up.
Brett Pitman halved the deficit with a measured finish to give Bournemouth a lifeline before Kevin Lisbie, returning from seven weeks out with a hamstring injury, ended the game as a contest when he rifled the ball into the bottom corner from 10 yards.
The three points mean Leyton Orient keep their slim play off hopes alive.
After their rock-solid showing in midweek, the partnership of Scott Cuthbert and the classy Mathieu Baudry at centre half were again in inspired form and they dealt comfortably with anything Bournemouth tried to throw at the them.
The real star of the show, however, was 19 year old right winger Moses Odubajo. He brushed off some rough early treatment from Bournemouth’s left back Matt Ritchie to put in a man-of-the match performance that will have alerted clubs higher up in the football pyramid.
The game had been fraught throughout but it was Odubajo’s tireless running that finally put Leyton Orient out of sight. His mazy 79th minute run set up Kevin Lisbie to make it 3-1.
Lisbie said: “Mo did well, he looked at me about five times and I didn’t think he was going to pass it! But when he did it was just a matter of hitting the target.”
Neither side came into the context in particularly great form, Bournemouth had lost their last three league games without scoring a goal while Orient had managed only one point in three games.
The lack of belief within the sides was obvious in a scrappy opening but sharp thinking from Baudry on 26 minutes brought the game to life. He sent Mooney clear of the Bournemouth defence with a quickly taken free-kick and Mooney’s cross was tapped home by the onrushing McDonald.
The hand-brakes were off and both teams began to attack with more purpose and precision. Bournemouth came close to drawing level before half time, a combination of Baudry’s brilliant header off the line and the crossbar denying Seaborne.
Just three minutes into the second half MacDonald got his second after the Bournemouth back line made a complete mess of defending a long ball. Despite the two goal cushion, however, the game was far from over as Bournemouth had shown more than enough quality to suggest they could nick a goal.
Roared on by their more than 1400 fans, they pushed forward and were denied by one of the saves of the season from goalkeeper Jamie Jones, diving to his right to tip over a firm header from substitute Pitman.
On 66 minutes Bournemouth eventually got the goal their enterprise deserved when a deft chip forward from O’Kane found the lively Pitman at the back-post. Resisting the temptation to smash the ball with his laces, Pitman opened his foot superbly and placed the ball into the bottom corner, with goalkeeper Jones rooted to the spot.
The goal should have signaled another period of relentless pressure from Bournemouth but in truth it was the O’s who finished the stronger, exploiting the space behind their opponents high back line brilliantly.
Lisbie scored to make it 3-1 after great work from Odubajo and the O’s could have extended their lead further, the referee opting to give a free kick for a push on Lisbie that looked to be inside the box.
Leyton Orient Manager Russel Slade told The Hackney Post: “We had a real focus in our performance from the first minute to the last. They never stopped coming at us and trying to create chances but we dealt with them very well. We stuck to the game plan, we kept working and we were relentless.
“Some of the pockets of football, particularly in the first half were really pleasing. In the second half they kept a high line which meant that we played between them and behind them a little bit more and that got us a goal.
“It’s onwards and upwards from here. We want to get as many points as we can in the next few weeks.”
Leyton Orient: Jones, Cuthbert, McSweeney, Baudry, Clarke (c), Vincelot, Cox, Odubajo, James (Smith – 77’), Mooney (Lisbie – 70’), MacDonald (Obafemi – 90’). Subs not used: Griffith, Rowlands, Omosuzi, Grainger.
AFC Bournemouth: Jalal, Francis, Cook (c), Seaborne, Ritchie, Pugh (Fraser – 85’) , O’Kane, Hughes, McQuoid, Fogdem, Grabban (Tubbs – 74’). Subs not used: Allsop, Partington, MacDonald, Fletcher, Fraser, Pitman
Attendance: 5,136
