Tonight Bristol Rovers meet Leyton Orient in what will be the 105th league meeting between the sides
The first 104 meetings have seen 42 Rovers wins, 37 Orient 37 victories and 25 draws. Rovers have scored 158 goals to Orient’s 149.
The first league meetings between the sides took place over the Easter weekend of 1930 when a goalless draw at Eastville on Good Friday, 18th April, was followed by a 3-0 win for Orient on Easter Monday (21st April) in the return fixture.
Last season saw a 1-1 draw when the sides met at The Memorial Stadium on 28th November 2023, when Grant Ward scored for Rovers and Orient’s equaliser came from a last minute Tristan Crama own goal. The return fixture on 2nd March this year saw Chris Martin score the only goal of the game to give Rovers victory.
Current Rovers assistant manager Wayne Carlisle is one of more than 20 post war players to have played for both clubs. His time as a Rovers player took in 14 goals in 71 league games, while he scored three goals in his 40 league appearances at Brisbane Road.
Two members of our current playing squad have also appeared for The O’s; Ruel Sotiriou scored 35 goals in 153 league games and Shaq Forde nine goals in 40 appearances.
In the post war period, 17 players have made their Rovers league debut against Orient, a
list that includes current Rovers skipper Scott Sinclair who made his first appearance for 
Rovers on Boxing Day 2004, going on as a late substitute in a 1-1 draw at The Mem.
The seven meetings between the sides in the FA Cup has seen three wins for Rovers, three draws, and one win for Orient which came in the very first meeting in the competition, a 1-0 home win on 11th January 1930.
The three League Cup meetings have yielded two wins for The O’s and one draw while the three Trophy games have resulted in two wins for Rovers and one draw. In the aftermath of our win at Brisbane Road in December 2020, O’s manager Kenny Jackett was sacked and former Rovers striker Matt Harrold was given the role of caretaker manager and was in charge for three games before the appointment of Richie Wellens.
It won’t be too long before the sides meet for the 106th time, as Orient visit the Mem for the opening game of 2025, on 1st January.
In case you’re wondering, there’s only one side we have met more times in the League and that’s Southend United (108 meetings to date).
Current league standings see Orient in 21st place with 15 points from 16 games, while Rovers are in 14th place with 21 points from 17 games.
Last Saturday both sides were involved in the Second Round of the FA Cup. Orient’s goalkeeper Josh Keely equalised in the 99th minute of their home tie against Oldham Athletic to send the tie into extra time and Dan Argyle scored in the last minute of the added 30 to give the O’s a 2-1 win. They face a home tie against Derby County in Round Three.
Rovers, of course, won through 4-3 on penalties at Barnsley after a goalless draw and will now travel to face Ipswich Town in the Fourth Round.
Of the 52 away league games against Orient we have won 17 of them – here’s hoping for number 18 tonight.
Wishing all travelling Gasheads a safe trip there and back.