Bristol Rovers 3 - 3 Leyton Orient
AET, Bristol Rovers won 6-5 on penalties
FA Cup sponsored by E.ON Round One Replay
ORIENT suffered the heartbreak of a penalty shootout defeat to Bristol Rovers in an incredible FA Cup replay at the Memorial Stadium.
Martin Ling's men held on to force penalties despite having both Wayne Corden and Jabo Ibehre sent off in an action-packed second half.
They were twice within striking distance of victory: first when they held a 2-1 lead in stoppage time only to give away a penalty; and then when Paul Terry had the chance to win it in the shootout.
But it wasn't to be and they will now have to pick themselves up for next week's League One meeting with Millwall.
Orient knew all about the home side's prowess from set pieces following the first game, but they were unable to prevent Craig Hinton from giving them an early lead from the first corner of the evening.
Stuart Campbell delivered from the right and centre back Hinton arrived unmarked to steer home from 10 yards.
Rovers continued to pressure the Orient goal in the early stages, but Orient started to find their feet and Terry forced a scrambling save from Steve Phillips in the 14th minute after latching onto Stephen Purches' cross.
Two minutes later Wayne Gray just overran the ball after outpacing Joe Jacobson to receive Adam Chambers' ball forward. Goalkeeper Phillips was able to shepherd Gray away from danger and he couldn't find Adam Boyd with a square pass.
Phillips then touched Boyd's well-directed long ranger behind for a corner as Orient upped the tempo and the equaliser deservedly came on 28.
Rovers would have been disappointed with the way they defended Glenn Morris' long free-kick. Gray challenged for the ball on the edge of the box, allowing Boyd to sneak in behind unnoticed and flick past an exposed Phillips.
But Orient were looking vulnerable from every dead ball and the home side thought they had regained the lead on 35 when Hinton rose to nod another Campbell corner home. Referee Gavin Ward spotted a push and ruled the goal out.
The home crowd were incensed, but they were more happy with Ward's decision to dismiss Corden six minutes after the interval. The O's backline were caught out by a ball over the top, and with Corden struggling to keep up with speedy winger Lewis Haldane, the O's winger pulled him back. With that decision made, Corden's red card was inevitable and Orient were down to 10 men.
However, four minutes later, they were in front for the first time in the evening. Terry played a major role in the goal, driving forward from midfield before threading a pass through for Gray to thump home his second of the tie from an angle.
Away boss Martin Ling stuck with his usual 4-3-2 formation following the red card, but it was Rovers' Andy Williams who had the next two chances, slicing a left-footer wide of the mark before shooting straight at Morris shortly afterwards.
And with 69 minutes on the clock, Orient were thankful for a flying save from Morris to preserve their advantage. Charlie Daniels was caught in possession in an advanced area, and after Igoe crossed from the right, Rickie Lambert nodded back for Craig Disley to head goalwards. The crowd rose in anticipation, but Morris frustrated them by diving to his left to keep the ball out.
Rovers' pressure was growing and another corner from Campbell on 73 ended with Morris saving on the line.
With Orient's ball retention suffering, the play was now almost exclusively in Orient's half and they survived a string of four corners in succession between the 82nd and 83rd minutes.
Williams nodded David Pipe's deflected cross straight into Morris' arms on 87 and the hosts' chance to equalise came in the third minute of stoppage time when Ibehre handled Campbell's viciously inswinging free kick in the area.
The O's substitute was sent off and Lambert drilled the spot kick into the bottom corner to force extra time.
The additional 30 minutes could not have started any better for the nine-man O's, with a break involving Chambers and Jason Demetriou ending with the latter being bundled over in the box by Disley.
Boyd blasted the penalty into the top corner to give Orient an incredible lead.
They so nearly made it four on 95 when, following a half-cleared free-kick, Mkandawire picked a way through the home backline before dinking over Phillips, but agonizingly against the post.
Rovers were always going to create chances with their two extra men, though, and Pipe charged towards goal from halfway on 102, but Brian Saah tracked back all the way to put the wideman under pressure and force him to shoot wide.
But Orient's luck couldn't hold and Rovers equalised nine minutes from the end, inevitably, from a Campbell corner. This time Disley got in front of his man at the near post to score with a flying header.
The visitors somehow held out for penalties, and given the situation at the start of extra-time, they'd certainly have taken that scenario.
And when Sammy Igoe became the first to miss following seven successful conversions, victory was in sight for the visitors.
Paul Terry's penalty, however, was saved down low, and following Adam Chambers' effort, which hit the bar, Disley had the chance to win it.
He obliged, and it is Rovers, not Orient who progress to the second round.
Bristol Rovers: Phillips; Lescott, Hinton, Jacobson, Carruthers (Igoe 66); Pipe, Campbell, Disley, Haldane (Lines 100); Williams, Lambert
Subs: Green (GK), Parrinello, Reece
Goals: Hinton (2), Lambert (pen 90+3), Disley (111)
Booked: Disley, Haldane
Leyton Orient: Morris; Purches, Mkandawire, Saah, Daniels; Corden, Chambers, Terry, Demetriou; Gray (Ibehre 78), Boyd (Melligan 113)
Subs: Nelson (GK), Oji, Palmer
Goals: Boyd (28, pen 92), Gray (55)
Booked: Gray, Boyd, Demetriou, Ibehre, Terry
Sent off: Corden, Ibehre
Penalties: Daniels scored 0-1, Lines scored 1-1, Demetriou scored 1-2, Jacobson scored 2-2, Purches scored 2-3, Lambert scored 3-3, Melligan scored 3-4, Igoe missed 3-4, Terry missed 3-4, Hinton scored 4-4, Mkandawire scored 4-5, Pipe scored 5-5, Chambers missed 5-5, Disley scored 6-5
Referee: Gavin Ward (Surrey)
Attendance: 3,742 (135 away)
