Leyton Orient vs Stevenage. Sky Bet League One.
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Leyton Orient 1-0 Stevenage: Charlie Kelman strikes to boost League One play-off push
Leyton Orient closed to within two points of the League One play-off places thanks to Charlie Kelman's header which earned them a 1-0 win over Stevenage on Thursday night; Richie Wellens' side now up to eighth, with Stevenage 13th
Friday 28 March 2025 07:56, UK
Charlie Kelman's 12th-minute goal helped Leyton Orient earn a 1-0 home victory over Stevenage to reignite the club's Sky Bet League One play-off push.
The Os' top-six ambitions had stalled after a superb run of winter form, but Kelman's early header proved enough for Richie Wellens' team to register back-to-back wins to move within two points of sixth-placed Huddersfield.
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Stevenage pushed for a second-half leveller, but a late double save by Orient goalkeeper Josh Keeley earned him a 14th clean sheet of the campaign.
Orient had snapped a five-match losing streak with a 2-1 win at Blackpool on March 15 and needed only 12 minutes to take the lead when Kelman headed home Sean Clare's cross.
It was just reward for a strong start by the hosts, but Stevenage improved and Dan Kemp had a first-half shot blocked against his old club before his dangerous ball failed to pick out Jamie Reid.
Keeley had largely been untroubled until he produced two fine saves in quick succession to deny substitute Harvey White and Kemp in the 90th minute to help Orient move up to eighth.
Wellens said: "We've not been great. Football is mad. The last two games have been the two worst performances we've had all season and we've got six points.
"I thought first 25 minutes we were by far the better team and passed the ball, some good moves and then we just stopped playing.
"I think you can see little signs with this group that maybe we're not quite ready to get into the play-offs yet because we get a little bit worried and we get a little bit scared when we go ahead and stop playing.
"Oh yeah, we'll be fighting but we're a developing club. No one expected us to be in and around this position and we're massively overachieving.
"You only have to look at our subs. We're bring on four subs with an average age of 20 years old. I also think injuries have impacted our performance.
"As a coach, you have 46 league games and want a lot of them to look really pretty but it will come down to four or five of those games where you're not bothered by performance and want the result. Today was one of them."
