Dom Ballard double earns Leyton Orient victory at Stevenage

A double from Dom Ballard saw Leyton Orient come from behind to win 2-1 at Stevenage and boost their League One survival hopes.

Stevenage had dominated the first half without creating too many clear-cut chances.

They had taken the lead after 22 minutes when skipper Carl Piergianni was hauled down at a corner, Will Forrester paying no attention to the ball, only the man.

Jamie Reid fired past Will Dennis and at that point, they were in complete control.

But moments after Ballard should have scored, scooping a chance over the top from four yards, he fired emphatically beyond Filip Marschall in the 44th minute to drag Orient level.

An injury to Saxon Earley left Boro reshuffling their defence and they were still sorting themselves out when Ballard glanced in a James Morris cross 10 minutes into the second half.

And despite a triple change for the hosts, it was Ballard alone who looked like he would score next.

First, he opted to pass after gliding into the area, the delivery nowhere near Theo Archibald.

The second effort was drilled towards the top corner but Marschall made a fine stop.