Hasney Aljofree snatched a deserved point for Swindon with an equaliser deep into injury time after Orient had taken an 86th minute lead through Adam Boyd, writes Adrian Smith.
Aljofree's goal was his first for the Robins and meant that Martin Ling's Orient were denied top spot in League One after a performance in which the London side did most of the attacking but the Swindon earned a point with a late scrambled goal and Paul Sturrock will have been relieved that the run of two defeats had been ended.
Swindon Town kicked off with Steve Adams making his first League appearance at the County Ground against Martin Ling's Leyton Orient who were in second place in League One. The visitors showed their attacking intent with shots by Jason Demetriou and Adam Boyd in the first five minutes. Ex-Yeovil player Paul Terry also wasted a good opportunity when he found himself in space at the edge of the area but his shot lacked power and was easily caught by Peter Brezovan.
The visitors were dominating the opening proceedings and were awarded a free-kick on the left wing for a foul by Comminges on Demetriou but the resulting cross was cleared by Ifil although Wayne Gray went close with a header when the ball was sent back in.
Swindon eventually pushed forward and had a good spell of attacking play which ended with a shot by Peacock which was cleared by the O's defence and resulted in the first corner of the match for the visitors in the 20th minute but Brezovan took the resulting cross with ease. The Town keeper had to be smartly down to catch a powerful shot by Demetriou shortly afterwards as Orient continued to pile pressure on the Robins.
Orient had another corner in the 25th minute but Brezovan was fouled when the ball was crossed and Swindon were able to clear their lines.
The visiting keeper Stuart Nelson finally had a shot to save in the 27th minute when Craig Easton rifled in a low powerful effort from 30 yards and Nelson did well to keep hold of the ball on the greasy surface with McGovern on hand to snap up any rebound.
Swindon eventually managed to push Orient further upfield without being able to get any clear shots on goal as the half wore on and the Robins were indebted for a fine save by Brezovan from a close range shot by Wayne Gray five minutes before half time at the expense of a corner.
Shortly before halftime Jason Demetriou was cautioned for diving in the penalty area under a challenge by Ifil and although he protested his innocence, the referee brandished the only yellow card of the game at the Orient forward.
One minute of added time was played after a half which saw the visitors have the lions share of the attacking play but the teams left the field at half time with nil-nil showing on the Stratton Bank scoreboard.
Half Time: Swindon Town 0 Leyton Orient 0
Swindon started the half in a much more positive manner and visiting keeper almost gifted a goal to the Robins with a clearance straight to Simon Cox but he elected to cross the ball to Paynter on the edge of the area when it appeared that Cox could have lobbed the ball over Nelson and the Orient defence were able to clear the danger. Swindon finally had their first corner of the match in the 50th minute after Paynter had pressurised a defender into a hurried clearance but the cross by Zaabob was cleared by the defence.
The alarm bells were sounding in the Town defence ten minutes into the half when a free-kick into the penalty area was only just missed by the head of Mkandawire much to the relief of Brezovan and his colleagues. Five minutes later Simon Cox managed to clear the roof of the Town End with a shot from the edge of the penalty area after some good approach work by Zaaboub.
Orient's first corner of the half came in the 64th minute from a sliced defensive clearance by Ifil and there was another scare for the Robins when Mkandawire headed just wide when the ball was crossed. One minute later Paul Sturrock replaced Paynter with Barry Corr and he made an immediate impact with his physical presence to put the Orient defence under pressure and that eventually led to Swindon's second corner of the match but that was cleared by the defence.
Orient lanched a counterattack which saw JJ Melligan curl a shot narrowly wide from the right wing with Brezovan furiously backpedalling in the 70th minute and shortly afterwards Paul Terry sent in a powerful shot which went narowly wide of the upright.
Jerel Ifil made a superb last ditch tackle on Adam Chambers as he charged towards goal but the Town centre half stuck a foot in just as the Orient player was about to shoot and the ball was cleared upfield but Orient continued to look dangerous exploiting space in the left back position and Melligan managed to shoot straight at Brezovan after ghosting in behind the defence.
Swindon had a brief period of attacking play which resulted in a free-kick when Zaaboub was fouled on the left wing but McGovern's cross went straight to Nelson and immediately Orient counterattacked to earn a corner and that led to Chambers shooting just over when in space near the penalty spot. Still Orient attacked being given space by the Town midfield and Adam Boyd almost punished the Robins in the 82nd minute with a powerful shot from outside the area but his effort flew over the bar and Wayne Gray also found himself with space in the penalty area but he blazed over from 12 yards.
Steve Adams involvement in the match ended in the 83rd minute when he was replaced by Michael Pook but it was the visitors who continued to do most of the attacking and it was the Londoners who took the lead in the 86th minute with a goal by Adam Boyd who prodded home from close range at a corner.
Swindon's last substitution saw Christian Roberts replace Craig Easton with two minutes remaining and he too made an immediate impact running at the Orient defence who were back in numbers behind the ball.
Three minutes of added time were indicated on the 4th officials board and just when it seemed that all three points were going east, Zaaboub's cross was flicked on by Corr and up popped captain Hasney Aljofree for his first goal in Town colours to snatch a point right at the death and that was the cue for wild celebrations around the County Ground.
There was no time for any more play and the final whistle was blown by referee M Russell so Swindon move into 10th place in the League with 20 points while Orient missed out on top spot in League One.
Full Time: Swindon Town 1 Leyton Orient 1
