Cheltenham Town 2 - 1 Leyton Orient
Coca-Cola League One

ORIENT'S seven-match unbeaten run came to a shuddering halt at Cheltenham Town on Saturday when the Robins gave their bid to avoid relegation a huge shot in the arm with a 2-1 victory,

The foundations for success were laid in the first half, with John Ward's men deserving more than John Finnigan's long range goal to show for their efforts.

Orient improved after the break, but fell further behind when JJ Meligan unleashed a stunning drive from the right hand side of the area to beat Glyn Garner.

Gary Alexander quickly pulled one back, but Orient failed to create enough clear chances and the home side deserved their win.

Jerry Gill unleashed a shot from range that flew high and wide in the sixth minute to provide the first goalmouth action, and seven minutes the home side went in front in controversial circumstances.

Gary Hooper went down under a heavy challenge in the left channel, but with a referee's whistle for a foul not forthcoming, the game went on.  Michael Townsend wasted a glorious chance to score when he mishit a shot in front of goal.

Cheltenham kept the move alive, and Finnigan strode forward in midfield to lash a super shot into the far corner from 25 yards.

The Robins looked to cause problems with their aerial prowess, and with 18 minutes on the clock Damian Spencer came close to adding a second when he got up above Adam Tann to meet Melligan's cross with a header that ended up just wide of the post.

Five minutes later, Orient created their first real chance to net when Ryan Jarvis' neat reverse pass played strike partner Hooper in.  Townsend got across, though, to block the away striker's shot.

The O's just couldn't get to grips with their hosts and Kayode Odejayi should have made it two when he found himself free when running onto a long ball from the back.

Glyn Garner was committed to meeting the Robins frontman, and although he lofted the ball over the advancing keeper, his shot bounced wide of the target.

Orient needed a vast improvement after the break, and a couple of Luke Guttridge corners after 51 minutes almost gave them a lift.

Firstly, Shane Higgs' weak punch led to a goalmouth scramble in which Craig Easton and Hooper had shots blocked.  Then, from the next flag kick, Tann headed just over the bar.

Guttridge shot wide from a long way out shortly afterwards as Orient looked to find a route back into the match, and with 57 minutes on the clock, Martin Ling decided to change his striking options by sending Alexander on for Hooper.

But just as the O's looked to be getting the upper hand, they were hit by a hammer blow on the break, with Finnigan releasing Melligan in between Brian Saan and Aiden Palmer to arrow an angled drive into the top corner.

The visitors response was immediate, Corden cutting in from the left to send over a cross that Alexander met with a glancing header into the far corner.

Orient, with the wind now behind them, were buoyed, and Jarvis was next to go close, meeting Corden's right wing free kick with a header that needed to be stopped on the line by Higgs.

However, Cheltenham steadied the ship and restricted the O's to hopeful crosses in the closing stages, although Higgs stood up brilliantly to deny Jarvis with the last kick of the game and allow his side to keep hold of a lead which gives them a real relegation lifeline.

	CHELTENHAM TOWN	COCA-COLA LEAGUE 1		LEYTON ORIENT
1	Shane HIGGS	Whaddon Road - 31/3/07		Glyn GARNER	1
2	Jerry GILL	Ref: Kevin Friend (Leics)		Shane TUDOR YC	7
4	Shane DUFF	Att: 4,300 (668 away)		Craig EASTON (C)	8
8	John FINNIGAN (C)	Goals (time):		Ryan JARVIS	10
10	Damian SPENCER YC	Finnigan (13)		Adam TANN YC	14
15	Michael TOWNSEND	Melligan (61)		Luke GUTTRIDGE	16
17	Kayode ODEJAYI	Alexander (63)		Gary HOOPER	17
19	Craig ARMSTRONG			Brian SAAH	21
22	JJ MELLIGAN			Aiden PALMER	23
25	Steven GILLESPIE			Wayne CORDEN	25
26	Michael WYLDE			Alton THELWELL	27
	SUBSTITUTES	Replaced (time)		SUBSTITUTES
5	Gavin CAINES		17 (57)	Gary ALEXANDER	9
12	Scot BROWN (GK)			Glenn MORRIS (GK)	12
14	David BIRD	10 (85)	25 (80)	Jabo IBEHRE	19
32	Paul CONNOR	25 (78)		Jason DEMETRIOU	24
35	Dénes RÓSA		16 (80)	Adam CHAMBERS	26