It was one goal and one point each for the Bluebirds and the O’s, with the two teams sharing the points on Saturday, January 10th, in east London.
City boss Brian Barry-Murphy made three changes to the side that faced Wigan Athletic last time out, with Will Fish, Gabe Osho and Ollie Tanner coming into the starting XI.
The hosts gave the Bluebirds a brilliant game at Cardiff City Stadium earlier this season, and they certainly showed their attacking abilities in the opening half of this one too. The returning Fish needed to be alert to deny Ollie O'Neill early on, while forward Alfie Lloyd headed off target 11 minutes in.
Orient found the opening goal one minute later as danger man Dom Ballard closed down Nathan Trott and forced the ball into the net at close range. Trott made up for his rare slow reaction with a brilliant stop to keep Lloyd's header out with 22 minutes on the clock.
It wasn't all one-way traffic, though. Yousef Salech was denied a chipped effort by goalkeeper Killian Cahill while Joel Bagan and Ryan Wintle saw efforts go off target.
The leveller came 33 minutes in, after a piece of individual forward play by City's top scorer Salech. He muscled his way beyond the Orient defenders near the halfway line and ran clear in behind. Our number 22 showed great composure one-on-one with Cahill, rounding the goalkeeper before firing into the roof of the net, beyond the defenders who had rushed back to cover.
Tanner, on his first start since returning from a four-month lay-off, went close to giving the Bluebirds the advantage before the break, cutting in from the right, but his effort was pushed away.
The match at CCS earlier this campaign was open and with plenty of goals, but the second half in Leyton was a compact clash with City looking to break down their hosts, while Orient stayed strong at the back.
Brian Barry-Murphy's men saw plenty of the ball, but chances were few and far between in the opening 25 minutes of the final 45. Chris Willock's dangerous effort across goal just needed a touch to take it into the net 67 minutes in, while substitute David Turnbull struck wide from distance moments later.
Theo Archibald, captain of Leyton Orient, had already made himself popular with the away support after an overreaction to a coming together with Tanner earlier in the half. His low shot with 20 minutes left was thankfully saved well by Trott.
The Bluebirds had a big chance of their own three minutes later. Salech was played in behind again, and under pressure set it for Alex Robertson to strike. City's number 18 though saw his effort blocked at the final moment.
Substitute Isaak Davies’ attempted cross almost caught everyone out inside the final ten minutes. It looked destined for the top corner, but Cahill made a good reaction stop to keep it out.
The final moments of the game saw both sides trying to find a way through, but the goal tally remained at one each. The Bluebirds are on the road again next weekend, visiting Bradford City.
FINAL SCORE: LEYTON ORIENT 1-1 CARDIFF CITY
Leyton Orient: Cahill, James, Simpson, Forrester, Craig (Abdulai 61'), Clare, Bakinson, Archibald, Lloyd (Koroma 75’), O'Neill, Ballard. Subs Not Used: Mitchell, Beckles, Perkins, Moorhouse, Wellens.
Cardiff City: Trott, Ng, Osho, Fish, Bagan (Kpakio 60'), Wintle, Robertson (Robinson 85’), Kellyman (Turnbull 42'), Willock, Tanner (Davies 60'), Salech. Subs Not Used: Turner, Lawlor, J.Colwill.