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Collins John |
Leyton Orient produced the biggest upset of the FA Cup third round so far with goals from Craig Easton and Joe Keith inflicting a humiliating defeat on Fulham.
The League Two outfit made Fulham pay for a dismal display with their greater commitment and creativity clinching a deserved place in Monday's draw for the next round.
Easton opened the scoring and was magnificent in midfield, which Orient bossed for long periods, and Keith added the second two minutes before the interval.
Both goals were well taken but arrived after defensive errors from Fulham debutant Simon Elliott, the New Zealand international who completed his move from Columbus Crew on Friday.
Collins John pounced in the second half for Fulham but it was no vintage display from the Dutch striker with a missed second-half penalty capping a miserable afternoon.
Cottagers boss Chris Coleman had earmarked the match as being ripe for an upset and so it proved, but even allowing for his crippling injury list, he will be furious with the performance.
Orient, meanwhile, were left celebrating their biggest victory since beating Portsmouth in the FA Cup four years ago, which was also the last time they reached the fourth round.
They made a bright start but it was Fulham who created the first real chance with Gabriel Zakuani making a mess of Tomasz Radzinski's cross, only for John's first touch to let him down.
The visitors were seeing plenty of the ball but were being dispossessed at key moments and they looked vulnerable on the counter.
And it proved in the 10th minute when Luis Boa Morte played in Radzinski with a beautifully timed pass with the Canadian forward slipping the ball past Glyn Garner before the flag was raised for offside.
Orient succeeded where Fulham had failed by taking a 17th-minute lead with Elliott failing to clear Keith's cross, allowing midfielder Easton to find the top right corner with a deflected shot.
Fulham almost equalised in the 26th minute when Sylvain Legwinski's cross from the right curled inwards and rebounded off the crossbar with Garner beaten.
Fulham were unable to get any momentum going with Orient breaking up attacks to good effect and the League Two outfit looked very capable of adding to their lead.
The home side's cause was not helped by John who was having a nightmare in attack, either giving the ball away with loose passes or being tackled out of possession.
And Orient were being spurred on by their fans, with most of the noise coming from the sold-out away end while there were rafts of empty seats elsewhere in the ground.
John was flagged offside when he had a one-on-one with Garner but Orient still posed the greatest threat in attack with Fulham's defending lacking urgency.
It came as little surprise then when the visitors doubled their lead in the 44th minute with a lapse in concentration from Elliott once again proving costly.
Looking to clear, Boa Morte passed back to Elliott only for the Kiwi to give the ball away to Gary Alexander whose intelligent pass found Jose Keith and the midfielder made no mistake with his shot.
Whatever Coleman said to his players at half-time worked to an extent because it took Fulham just four minutes into the second half to slash the deficit.
Rosenior was given space in midfield and he took advantage by finding John whose crafty run took him past Zakuani and the Dutch international easily beat Garner with his shot.
Orient were still creating chances with Shane Tudor, who had overcome a groin injury to take his place in an unchanged line-up, and Easton going close.
Match Stats |
Fulham |
Leyton O |
Goals |
1 |
2 |
possession |
1 |
2 |
Goal attempts |
4 |
4 |
On Target |
1 |
3 |
Corners |
4 |
8 |
Off-sides |
4 |
2 |
Fouls |
8 |
12 |
Yellows |
2 |
1 |
Reds |
0 |
0 |
source: Soccernet |
The disappointing Ahmad Elrich had been hauled off by Coleman, with Michael Timlin coming on.
Fulham's bright opening to the second half began to fade.
After piling on the pressure they were now under the cosh themselves with Orient easily slipping through their opponents' back four.
Orient were caught on the counter in the 69th minute, however, with Boa Morte going down following a shove from Zakuani and referee Peter Walton pointed to the spot.
John, who had provided the initial through-ball to Boa Morte, stepped up to take the penalty but his effort was well saved by Garner to the delight of visiting fans.
Stout defending kept Fulham at bay as they upped the tempo in the last 10 minutes while Garner's fine save kept out a dipping shot from Legwinski.
Boa Morte went down from a double challenge in injury time but Walton ignored cries for a penalty and Orient held out for a memorable victory.
Fulham: Warner, Rosenior, Knight, Pearce (Goma, 86 ), Niclas Jensen, Radzinski, Elliott, Legwinski, Boa Morte, Elrich (Timlin, 62 ), John
Subs not used: Drobny,Rehman,Milsom.
Goals:
Collins John 50, right-footed into bottom-right of goal from the right 12 yards out.
Bookings: Liam Rosenior (18,d),
Ian Pearce (71,f).
Leyton Orient: Garner, Lockwood, Mackie, Miller, Zakuani, Keith (Carlisle, 85 ), Tudor (McMahon, 72 ), Easton, Simpson, Alexander, Ibehre
Subs not used Morris,Saah,
Goals: Easton 17, Keith 44
Bookings: Tudor
Attendance: 13394
Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire)