Leyton Orient 0 - 0 Yeovil Town
Coca-Cola League One

ORIENT and Yeovil battled out a 0-0 draw which failed to set the pulses racing at Brisbane Road on Saturday.

Any supporters hoping for a Christmas cracker were to be disappointed as neither side could find the quality to break their opponents down.

Orient's Adam Boyd hit the post in the opening period, but there was little else to report in terms of goalscoring opportunities and this is a game that won't live long in the memory.

The first chance fell to former Yeovil man Paul Terry, who headed Charlie Daniels' corner wide when under pressure at the near post.

Another Demetriou corner three minutes later picked out Tamika Mkandawire, who headed down and towards the far post, but keeper Steve Mildenhall got down well to save.

It was a quiet opening, but Jason Demetriou was booked on 24 after mistiming a tackle on Gary Dempsey. Demetriou's caution was his fifth of the season and he will now miss next week's trip to Hartlepool.

Orient continued to look the more dangerous in a scrappy first half hour, and Adam Boyd prodded wide from eight yards after Charlie Daniels' driven cross fell into his path.

With 34 minutes on the clock, Boyd was the width of the goalpost away from giving Orient the lead when he met Daniels' left-wing free-kick with a deft flick that thudded against the upright.

Yeovil, who operated with a 4-5-1 formation before the break, introduced Lloyd Owusu to play alongside James Walker in the second half as they began to show more attacking intent.

But Orient were the first to threaten again, with Adam Chambers breaking a tackle in midfield to surge forward. He laid off to Jabo Ibehre, and although the striker slipped, the ball still found its way to JJ Melligan on the right.

He stood up a cross to the far post, but Mildenhall stretched to palm the ball away.

Yeovil's first serious shot didn't arrive until the 58th minute when the hosts couldn't get a Zoltan Stieber corner clear and Walker hooked a volley wide.

The game looked to have 0-0 written all over it, but Ling freshened his side up with 20 minutes left by bringing Efe Echanomi and Sean Thornton on from the bench.

Yeovil's Paul Warne had a shot which dribbled into Stuart Nelson's arms, whilst at the other end Mildenhall nicked the ball off Echanomi's toes after Stephen Purches' deflected cross dropped inside the area.

In truth, though, neither side deserved to win the game and a blank scoresheet was the fairest outcome.

Leyton Orient: Nelson; Purches, Thelwell, Mkandawire, Daniels; Melligan (Thornton 71), Chambers, Terry, Demetriou (Corden 80); Ibehre (Echanomi 71), Boyd
Subs: Saah, Palmer

Booked: Demetriou, Purches

Yeovil: Mildenhall; Forbes, Skiverton, Guyett, N Jones; Warne, Dempsey (Owusu 46), Peltier, Way, Stieber (Barry 75); Walker
Subs: Rose, R Jones, Alcock

Booked: Warne, Peltier

Referee: Richard Beeby (Northamptonshire)

Attendance: 4,657 (426 away)