Yeovil Town slumped to their third successive League One defeat when a night of poor defending cost them a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Leyton Orient.

The Glovers had started badly conceding to a Ben Chorley goal after just two minutes and further goals from Ryan Brunt, Jimmy Smith and Kevin Lisbie were too much for the visiting Somerset side that had just a Sam Foley goal when the score was 2-1 to console themselves with.

The loss leaves Gary Johnson’s men in eleventh place after being in sixth place at kick off time with other results not going their way. However a win over Sheffield United on Saturday would lift Yeovil back up the division with just four points separating fourth from mid table.

Johnson had rung the changes before kickoff, making four alterations to his starting eleven including two in defence. Luke Ayling and Richard Hinds dropped to the bench with Rohan Ince coming in and Dominic Blizzard moving to right back. Attackers Gozie Ugwu and Lewis Young also started on the bench with Norwich City loanee Korey Smith making his full debut and both Reuben Reid and Keanu Marsh-Brown taking their place from the start.

The changes in the defence had an effect, but not the right one. The back four watched a long throw hurled into the area and Ben Chorley was quickest to react, flicking a header past the helpless Marek Stech with just two minutes, 23 seconds on the clock. On nine minutes, it almost got worse when striker Kevin Lisbie had the ball in the Yeovil net but it was ruled out by an assistant referee’s offside flag.

Stech, playing against the club that took him on loan last season, saved well from a current O’s loanee, Stoke’s Ryan Brunt on eleven minutes although Brunt’s connection wasn’t great. Yeovil’s best moment of the first half came shortly after when good combination work by Reid and James Hayter saw the latter denied by a brave save from home keeper Ryan Allsop.

The Glovers actually improved for a spell, forcing corners and enjoying possession, but the second goal capped the O’s overall domination. A long cross was met at the far post by Brunt who had a free sight of goal and made no mistake. Mercifully, Orient had plenty of possession but only more real opportunity when Anthony Griffith shot just wide of Stech’s left hand post.

Sam Foley gave Yeovil’s 191 travelling supporters a glimpse of light ten minutes into the second period when he met a Reid cross at the far post to make the score 2-1 and Smith also went close forcing Allsop to save but just as the Glovers found hope, it was extinguished with twenty minutes remaining. Yet another high ball floated into the box found an unmarked Jimmy Smith who finished from close range to regain his side a two goal advantage.

Eight minutes on and it was 4-1 and game over. A long ball forward from Allsop was flicked on for Lisbie to race on and coolly finish past the exposed Stech to open his goals account for the season at the seventh time of asking. In the closing stages, Russell Slade had the luxury of giving a couple of subs a run out and one of them, David Mooney, twice tested Stech with flicked headers before the defiant keeper then denied Afolabi Obafemi and Mooney with a fantastic double save in the closing moments.