Football: Crawley Town 1 - 3 Leyton Orient

Leyton Orient keep play-off hopes alive with win at Crawley

Charlie Kelman struck twice in two minutes to fire Leyton Orient to a vital 3–1 win over relegation-threatened Crawley Town, keeping the O’s firmly in the hunt for a League Two play-off spot.

Author - James P

Crawley took the lead shortly after the break through Armando Junior Quitirna's composed penalty, but Orient responded with a ruthless second-half display. Kelman hit back with a quick-fire brace, before Jamie Donley added a late third to seal an impressive comeback.

The result lifts Richie Wellens’ side to within three points of the top seven, while Crawley are now six adrift of safety with just four games remaining after suffering a third straight defeat.

Ahead of the match, Crawley manager Scott Lindsey had called for unity in the face of mounting pressure. It had been a difficult time for their club.

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The hosts handed a league debut to goalkeeper Luke Hutchinson, brought in on an emergency loan from Bolton Wanderers. He was called into action early on, saving well with his legs to deny Kelman after 17 minutes.

Crawley carved out a decent opportunity when Jeremy Kelly's long ball released Kamari Doyle, who fired just wide with an angled effort. Kelman then sent a header over the bar at the other end as both sides struggled to make the breakthrough before the interval.

Four minutes after the restart, Crawley edged ahead. Sean Clare was adjudged to have fouled Toby Mullarkey in the box, and Quitirna made no mistake from the spot.

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But the lead was short-lived. Kelman, Leyton Orient’s top scorer, brought the visitors level with a crisp finish beyond Hutchinson, then completed the turnaround from the penalty spot after a handball by Mullarkey. That double took the QPR loanee’s league tally to 19 for the season.

Orient continued to push forward, and skipper Omar Beckles came close to adding a fourth when he narrowly missed connecting with Dan Agyei’s inviting cross.

The result was put beyond doubt in stoppage time when Donley pounced on a goalkeeping error to tuck home a third, capping off a dominant second-half display. Leyton Orient have now won five of their past seven games and remain firmly in the play-off picture.