Bristol Rovers were narrowly beaten 3-2 by Leyton Orient in a closely-contested match at The Memorial Stadium.
Orient hit the front in the early exchanges after Ethan Galbraith fired his effort from range in off the post past Josh Griffiths.
Chris Martin levelled from the penalty spot, but the O's regained their lead through Jamie Donley's excellent free-kick before extending their advantage in the second half, with Charlie Kelman prodding in from close range.
Martin notched a second to halve the deficit with 15 minutes left to play, but Orient survived the final stages to collect all three points.
Iñigo Calderón decided to shuffle the pack and made six changes to the team that lost 3-0 away to Stevenage in his first game in charge. His alterations almost had the desired effect in the opening six minutes, with the incoming Gatlin O'Donkor heavily involved.
The forward rushed down the left and held up the ball brilliantly before cutting the ball across to Promise Omochere in the middle of the box, but Josh Keely parried away his close-range strike.
Instead, the O's broke the deadlock moments later. Sonnie Perkins broke down the wing, dragging Rovers players across with him before laying a pass into Galbraith, who struck his low effort from outside of the box against the post and beyond Josh Griffiths.
Injuries midway through the first half created a stop-start contest, with Daniel Agyei and Omochere coming off for Orient and Rovers, respectively. Lino Sousa lifted the crowd down the left, looking to go forward at every opportunity and testing the O's defence with his dynamic dribbling.
The Pirates were piling on the pressure. Isaac Hutchinson's corner from the right caused problems, and Connor Taylor's poked attempt forced a save from the goalkeeper before Rovers levelled from the penalty spot.
Luke Thomas rushed down the right and was brought down by Daniel Happe, with Chris Martin taking responsibility from the spot. On for the injured Omochere, the striker drilled his shot into the bottom-left corner, sending Keely the wrong way.
Rovers were full of confidence and were inches away from turning the score around just past the half-hour mark. O'Donkor dropped the ball off to Hutchinson inside the area, but he crashed the side of the net with his reverse strike.
Calderón’s men were on top, but the visitors responded with a sucker punch goal before half-time to lead again. Donley stood over a free-kick from a wide position on the right and whipped his left-footed strike across the goal and in off the post in spectacular style.
The O's then doubled their advantage soon after the break. Perkins, the provider of Orient's opener, got the better of Sousa on the byline and assessed his options before pulling a cutback towards Kelman, who stabbed his effort past Griffiths.
A Rovers reaction was required. Thomas' strike from inside the box was blocked before Shaq Forde and Luke McCormick were introduced on the hour.
Instead, Orient pressed on to try and put the game beyond Rovers. Ollie O'Neill had a hat-trick of chances after coming off the bench, smashing the side netting before forcing Griffiths into two sharp saves.
Forde went close to turning from provider to scorer as the pendulum of momentum swung in the Gas' favour, but he curled his strike over from the edge.
Scott Sinclair and Joel Senior were then added to the mix, with the hosts getting a goal back almost immediately. Forde’s low cross from the left found Martin, who took a touch under pressure before slotting his effort in for his second of the match.
Forde almost turned from provider to scorer in the latter stages, bending his strike from range over. The Gas continued to search for an equaliser and thought they had found one in stoppage time after scrambling the ball in, but a free-kick was given for handball.
Bristol Rovers: Griffiths, Sousa (Forde 61), Moore, Wilson, Ward, Omochere (Martin 22), Sotiriou (McCormick 61), Thomas, Taylor (Senior 73), Hutchinson (Sinclair 73), O’Donkor.
Subs not used: Hall, Mola.
Goals: Martin 32, 74
Booked: Sotiriou 38, Taylor 57
Leyton Orient: Keeley, Happe, Agyei (Kelman 19), Brown, Currie, Donley, Pratley (Clare 61), Beckles, Perkins (Ball 82), Galbraith, Jaiyesimi (O’Neill 46).
Subs not used: Phillips, Sweeney, Simpson.
Goals: Galbraith 9, Jaiyesimi 36, Kelman 53
Booked: Keeley 31, Happe 76
Attendance: 7887 (504 away)
