Colchester United 1 - 2 Leyton Orient
Carling Cup Round One

ORIENT secured their place in the second round of the Carling Cup with a 2-1 victory at local rivals Colchester United on Tuesday night.

Adrian Patulea scored with his very first touch as an O's player to put the visitors in command with just two minutes on the clock.

JJ Melligan's second goal of the season doubled Orient's advantage just after the hour, despite Colchester's strong start to the second period.

Simon Hackney pulled one back at the death for the home side after Clive Platt had been sent off, but it was another solid awayday performance from Geraint Williams' side and they could reflect on a job well done for the second time in four days.

It was a dream start for the O's as Melligan got to the by-line and hung up a cross for Patulea to crash a header home with just 79 seconds on the clock.

Jimmy Smith, scorer of Saturday's spectacular winner, almost doubled the visitors' advantage moments later but keeper Mark Cousins got down to his left to turn the O's midfielder's 20-yard effort around the post.

Andros Townsend, another debutant, then carried the ball 70 yards before drawing a stop from Cousins as Orient began the game with a real purpose.

Colchester started to come into the contest around the quarter hour mark and David Perkins had their first shot of note, blazing high and wide following an inventive free kick move on the edge of the O's box.

Smith tried his luck from range again on 28, testing Cousins' handling once more after Jason Demetriou and Townsend worked a short free kick to him just outside the area.

The home side were on the front foot now though and Perkins chipped a speculative effort wide of the mark after running forcefully at the visitors' backline three minutes later.

Six minutes before the break Lisbie glanced a header wide from Hackney's wickedly-inswinging corner, but it was the O's who could have added a second right on half time when Townsend got in round the back and crossed to the far post, where Melligan's header was cleared away from under his own crossbar by Magnus Okuonghae

Glenn Morris was called into serious action for the first time three minutes after the restart when he had to scramble across his goal to claw Lisbie's looping shot away.

Three minutes further on, Lisbie really should have equalised for the home side but could only roll the ball wide of the far post after Ashley Vincent got around Charlie Daniels and fed his striker in.

Colchester had carried the momentum over from before the half time break, but Orient weathered the storm and took a giant stride towards the second round when Melligan drilled home a second with 63 minutes on the clock.

The goal owed much to Demetriou's work in midfield after the Cyprus international picked a bouncing ball up just inside the Colchester half and ran goalwards before slipping the ball to Melligan in the right channel for the wideman to place his effort into the far corner.

Substitute Dean Hammond flashed an effort over the top of the O's crossbar as Colchester searched for a route back into the contest, but the O's had drawn their hosts' sting with their second goal and although United's Platt was sent off and Hackney curled home a free kick with the last kick of the game, Orient secured their place in the second round with something to spare.

Colchester: Cousins; Maybury, Okuonghae, Baldwin, Beevers (Hammond 73); Vincent, Izzet, Perkins (Vernon 73), Hackney; Platt, Lisbie
Subs: Williams (GK), Fox, Holt, Thomas, Tierney

Goal: Hackney 90+4

Sent off: Platt

Leyton Orient: Morris; Purches, Mkandawire, Chorley, Daniels; Melligan, Demetriou, Smith, Townsend (Thornton 60); Scowcroft (McGleish 76), Patulea (Jarvis 83)
Subs: Ashworth, Jones (GK), Cave-Brown, Pires

Goals: Patulea 2, Melligan 63

Booked: Mkandawire, Morris, Smith

Referee: Darren Deadman

Attendance: 3,308