Mellish own goal earns Orient victory over Carlisle

Leyton Orient continued their relentless march towards the League Two title as they saw off fellow promotion hopefuls Carlisle 1-0 at Brisbane Road.

However, Orient, who finished the game with 10 men, were indebted to a 73rd-minute own goal by Jon Mellish for their win.

Substitute Ruel Sotiriou had been on the pitch four just four minutes when he saw his shot from 15 yards hit Mellish, sending goalkeeper Tomas Holy the wrong way, with the ball nestling in the corner.

Four minutes later Charlie Kelman was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card, but the water-tight home defence held out.

After a poor first half without a single shot from either side on target, the second period came to life as both sides found cohesion.

Paul Smyth twice went close for the hosts, but the unfortunate Mellish squandered the Cumbrians’ best chance four minutes from time.

He rounded keeper Lawrence Vigouroux but attempted to place his shot into an empty net, which allowed Omar Beckles to race back and clear the danger.

The win left Orient seven points clear of the chasing pack, while Carlisle sit two points outside the automatic promotion places.