Euphoria swept through E10 on Tuesday night as Leyton a Orient brushed aside Peterborough United to progress to the Play-Off final on May 25.
Dean Cox put the O’s ahead with a well taken strike just after the hour. Chris Dagnall added a second in the 88th minute before Peterborough pulled one back through Conor Washington two minutes into added time to set up a tense final few minutes.
Following the 1-1 draw in the first leg at London Road, both sides made one change to their starting eleven, with Orient manager Russell Slade opting for Lloyd James in centre midfield instead of John Lundstram.
In front of a sell-out crowd, both teams came out to an electric atmosphere and Leyton Orient came close to grabbing an early goal in the second minute following a goalmouth scramble in the Peterborough penalty area, which Posh goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik eventually gathered.
The visitors had their first chance of the night five minutes later when Jack Payne’s drive from outside the box took a deflection and went out for a corner.
The match was being played at a frantic pace and both sides exchanged a number of chances.
First, David Mooney tried his luck from outside the area in the 11th minute with a curling effort that dropped only inches over the bar.
Peterborough responded through captain Tommy Rowe eight minutes later when he burst forward and fired a shot towards the Orient goal which took another deflection but was comfortably gathered by Jamie Jones.
Dean Cox looked up for the battle from the first whistle and sent in a teasing cross from the left which Kevin Lisbie failed to keep down as he headed over the bar.
With ten minutes of the first half remaining, Peterborough’s Britt Assombalonga had his first sight of goal but was unable to trouble Jones as he blazed the effort over the bar.
David Mooney was then presented with a glorious chance moments later when Olejnik failed to claim an Orient cross. The ball fell to the feet of Mooney who snatched at the chance the forwards shot flashed across goal.
That was to be the last chance of the opening half and the sides went into the break on level terms.
It was Peterborough’s turn to waste an excellent chance two minutes after the restart when Danny Swanson was put through by Nicky Ajose and, instead of squaring the ball, opted to take a shot which ballooned over.
The visitors went close again moments later as Mark Little burst down the right and fired a shot across Jones which clipped the post on it’s way out.
The chance was a real let of for the O’s who upped their performance afterwards.
Moses Odubajo linked up well with Kevin Lisbie on the edge of the area on the 57th minute but the 20 year-old could only position his shot straight at Olejnik.
Three minutes later however, Orient opened the scoring.
Kevin Lisbie was felled by Nathaniel Knight-Percival on the edge of the Peterborough box and referee Mick Russell awarded a free kick. Knight-Percival was perhaps lucky to avoid a card having already been booked moments before.
Dean Cox stood over the ball and fired a powerful drilled effort which thumped straight into the chest of Posh defender Jack Baldwin. The ball fell back to Orient’s number 7 who unleashed a first time strike into the bottom corner which left Peterborough keeper Olejnik rooted to the spot and spark fantastic scenes around the ground.
Russell Slade then introduced Shaun Batt with just over 20 minutes remaining as the pacey forward replaced Kevin Lisbie.
The substitute was involved straight away and probably should have done better when slipped through by Mooney. Batt raced on to the ball but fired a tame effort straight at Olejnik rather than trying to place it into a corner.
Chris Dagnall came on for Dean Cox, who appeared to pick up a knock when celebrating his goal, with 17 minutes remaining. The move saw Odubajo move to the left and Batt drop into the right of midfield.
As the match reached it’s final moments, the substitutes combined for Orient’s second goal.
David Mooney picked out the run of Shaun Batt down the right who shrugged off the challenge of Craig Alcock, ran to the byline and cut the ball back for Chris Dagnall who took a touch before calmly tucking away his 100th career goal. Huge credit has to go to Batt for his part in the goal.
Peterborough pulled one back through Conor Washington in the 92nd minute to set up a gruelling final three minutes of added time.
The visitors flooded forward but Orient held on to book their spot at Wembley as O’s fans flooded into the pitch at the final whistle to celebrate a memorable night.
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