Leyton Orient have moved to within two points of Brentford at the summit of the League One table with a 2-0 win over Stevenage tonight.
The hosts took the lead inside 15 minutes, with Boro goalkeeper Chris Day parrying Chris Dagnall's shot before Moses Odubajo reacted quickest and fired home the rebound.
Graham Westley's men, who began the evening as the bottom club in England's third tier, were given an uphill task in their bid to move away from the foot of the table shortly after.
Dagnall, recalled to the starting lineup at the expense of Kevin Lisbie, justified his inclusion on 23 minutes, capitalising on a defensive mix-up before firing past Day.
Westley's troops spurned the opportunity to provide an immediate riposte through Lucas Akins, who headed a Filipe Morais cross narrowly over the bar.
Boro should have reduced the arrears in the final quarter through Darius Charles, who found himself unmarked at the back post from a corner, but the striker could only find the side-netting with his headed effort.
Shaun Batt and David Mooney both missed chances at the death to add gloss to the scoreline, but the misses were rendered academic by the final whistle moments later as Russell Slade's troops move into the automatic promotion places.
Shane Callaghan
