Leyton Orient's promotion hopes suffered another major setback with a third consecutive defeat after Bristol City won 3-1 at Brisbane Road. 

Russell Slade's side got off to a shocking start as goals from Sam Baldock and Tyrone Barnett fired Bristol City into a 2-0 lead after just 12 minutes.

It was a forgettable first half for Orient but they received a lifeline before the break when Kevin Lisbie pulled one back. 

The hosts improved somewhat in the second half but Bristol City punished a mistake by Shwan Jalal as Aden Flint headed in the third to seal the victory. 

Lisbie returned to the Leyton Orient side for their clash with the Robins. The veteran striker replaced David Mooney following the loss to Peterborough on Saturday.

Marvin Bartley started ahead of Lloyd James while Gary Sawyer came in for the injured Elliot Omozusi.

The hosts got off to the worst possible start as Bristol City opened the scoring after just three minutes. Baldock cut inside from the right and drilled a firm strike into the corner of the net. 

The Robins piled on the misery for Orient in the 12th minute as they doubled their lead. Marlon Pack sent in a corner and Barnett headed home from close range. 

It could have got even worse for the O's when Baldock found the net after a fumble by Jalal but the referee blew for a foul against City. 

Barnett fired the ball into the net again but the referee had already blown up for offside as the visitors pressed for a third goal. 

Orient finally mustered their first effort on target in the 39th minute but Sawyer's free-kick was easily saved by Simon Moore. 

Dean Cox had a shot late on in the half but the winger's strike floated wide of the target. 

The O's were handed a lifeline just before the break when Cox's shot was parried by Moore but Lisbie reacted quickest to tuck the ball home. 

Orient made their first substitution in the second half when top scorer Mooney replaced Dagnall. 

There was a complete lapse in communication from the hosts when Mathieu Baudry's pass was not picked up and Baldock raced clear but the striker failed to find the target with his strike. 

The O's nearly grabbed an equaliser after a Cox cross caused an almighty scramble in the area but the Robins managed to block the home efforts and survived. 

But the visitors were gifted a third goal, in the 76th minute, when Jalal completely missed a cross and Flint headed into the empty net.

Slade quickly made another change as he introduced midfielder Jamie Ness in place of Bartley. The O's final substitution saw Yohann Lasimant replace goalscorer Lisbie. 

Cox fired a late effort wide of the target but it could not prevent a third league defeat in a row as their hopes of automatic promotion suffered another significant blow. 

Leyton Orient: Jalal; Sawyer, Clarke, Baudry, Cuthbert; Cox, Bartley (Ness, 78), Vincelot, Odubajo; Lisbie (Lasimant, 83), Dagnall (Mooney, 64)

Subs not used: James, Larkins, Loza, Simpson

Bristol City: Moore; Williams, El-Abd, Flint, Osborne; Cunningham, Elliott, Pack (Pearson, 90), Barnett; Baldock (Gillett, 90), Emmanuel-Thomas

Subs not used: Fielding, Burns, Bryan, Moloney, Reid

Referee: Carl Berry

Attendance: 3,928