Leyton Orient avoid 'travesty' as Bristol Rovers go viral for 'interesting' reason

It was a frenzy of League One midweek action as the third division saw some feisty classics played out under the floodlights across the country.

Leyton Orient featured in the fixture of the week against Northampton Town with goals galore in a 4-3 victory that was decided in stoppage time.

Bristol Rovers were also involved in a goal fest and feature in Tuesday's League One round-up.

Leyton Orient boss reacts to 7-goal thriller

Leyton Orient and Northampton Town played out a seven-goal thriller at the Gaughan Group Stadium on Tuesday night, with the in-form Os emerging victorious thanks to a 97th-minute Ruel Sotiriou winner. The visitors had levelled the scores three times but it was Richie Wellens' men that found the killer touch just before the final whistle.

Speaking after the game, Wellens praised a 'brilliant' performance and added: “If we hadn’t won the game it would have been a travesty because we dominated the game. They were a threat in the final third but we had 19 shots and dominated possession. They had three shots on target and all three went in. I’m disappointed with the goals we gave away but the crowd stayed with us and the front three ran them ragged. Our rotations were fantastic.

"We started the game really well, they then changed a little bit so we changed and then we dominated again. They changed to a diamond and that can be a real threat but we kept switching the ball and it was a really exciting game."

Leyton Orient now sit eighth in League One, seven points off the play-offs. The side has only lost one fixture in 2024, which came against Barnsley last weekend.

Wellens continued: "We’ve played Northampton a lot recently and not one of those games has been easy but I thought we were dominant tonight. I think their team is a reflection of their manager – they have energy, they are at you and they never give up. But that’s one of the best nights we’ve had. They’ll be gutted, like we were on Saturday, but I do think you will see a lot of late goals in the next few weeks because players are knackered and players switch off when they’re tired.”

Bristol Rovers go viral for manager interaction

Bristol Rovers also tasted midweek success in a League One thriller away at Stevenage. The visitors picked up a 3-2 win in a feisty meeting to bounce back from two recent home defeats to Fleetwood Town and Burton Albion.

The fixture caught the attention of football fans online after a clip of manager Matt Taylor speaking to the travelling supporters at the Lamex Stadium was shared online, and viewed by over 100,000 people. Despite the win, Taylor shouted to the stand: "We need you for longer, yeah? We need you for longer. They need you for longer. I've told them to throw their shirts because it's weighing heavy on them. The shirt is weighing heavy on those boys - they need you for longer."

The clip was branded 'interesting' and 'embarrassing' by some users on social media platform X but others praised Taylor for his passion, labelling the interaction as 'proper class' and 'quality'.