Leyton Orient made a statement at home to Bromley on Tuesday evening, running out 5-0 winners in League One's fourth round of matches. The visitors were never in it, and the result leaves them six points clear of the bottom half while Bromley sit 18th with just four points from four games. By then, the gulf in class had become impossible to ignore.
J. Kabia opened the scoring at minute 36, and Orient never looked back after the break. Y. Akhamrich struck twice in rapid succession at minute 46 and minute 51, before Kabia added his second at minute 66 to put the game beyond doubt. A. Dobra completed the scoring with a late addition at minute 90+1, leaving Bromley's defence to answer for the damage.
Bromley had a yellow card at minute 5 for F. Stevens, while J. Mendy, P. Chinedu, M. Pinnock and W. Hondermarck also went into the referee's book. Orient collected two yellows of their own. The substitutions came thick and fast in the second half, with eight changes between minutes 52 and 90+1 as both managers looked to shift the tone.
The statistics told the story, though not always in the expected way. Orient controlled possession at 65 per cent and created four big chances from just 80 attacks, while Bromley managed only one big chance from 112 attacks. Shots on target were 11 to 2, but Orient were clinical with a 58 per cent accuracy rate compared to Bromley's 25 per cent. And here's the thing — you don't need many chances when you're taking them.
What it means is straightforward. Orient move into sixth place, a position that suggests they can push for something more, while Bromley find themselves in the relegation mix after a heavy defeat following their 2-7 loss to Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month. The visitors came to London not to make up the numbers, and they left with nothing but a reminder of how quickly form can change.
