Saturday's trip to Crawley was a crunch game for the two relegation-threatened sides.

The hosts managed to take all three points to climb out of the drop zone, which left Orient languishing in the relegation places while ruing a missed opportunity.

After the game, Scott Cuthbert admitted that Crawley were 'hungrier' than Orient and in the early stages that appeared to be the case. The home side were more energetic in their pressing and they were often first to loose balls.

By contrast, the O's weren't as quick to close down their opponents and Crawley were afforded too much space in the centre of midfield.

The match was no more important for Crawley than Orient and it is surprising that Fabio Liverani's side did not show the same desire to make a strong start to the game. Orient's survival hopes are slim if they aren't motivated for such a big game against their relegation rivals.

Despite their slow start, the O's did enjoy a good spell of pressure and created chances, but they failed to find the net during that period. Crawley were awarded a penalty and they seized the opportunity.

Crawley were content to sit back and defend their lead. In the second half Orient enjoyed plenty of possession, but lacked the creativity and guile to fashion many clear-cut chances. Ryan Hedges had a great opportunity, but he put his header over the bar.

Brian Jensen was required to make saves in the latter stages, but most of Orient's attempts were from outside the box.

The problem in the second half wasn't so much a lack of effort but a lack of invention. Orient continued to push for an equaliser, delivering numerous crosses into Crawley's box but few were of the quality required to really threaten.

It was a familiar story for Orient as they missed the chance to claim points by a small margin, just as they had done in the last few games. The O's could have been in a much stronger position if only they had been more ruthless and efficient going forward.

Orient have now failed to score in three of their last four, the 3-0 win over Yeovil being the anomaly that now seems to say more about the Glovers' distinct lack of quality rather than Orient's goalscoring prowess.

The fact Orient struggled to break Crawley down is all the more concerning considering Dean Saunders' side had conceded six goals in their previous three games. Over the course of the season so far only Crewe have let in more goals in League One.

The O's had 18 shots, nine of which were on target, but crucially they had failed to punish the home side when they were on top in the first half and were forced to chase the game after conceding. That isn't something Orient have been good at this season having lost 16 league games out of 20 after conceding the first goal.

Izale McLeod's penalty was his 18th goal of the season and his third in as many games. He is showing signs that he has the ability to fire his side to safety.

It had looked like Chris Dagnall could be that man for the O's. He has managed three goals in his last six, but hasn't been as clinical in the last two games and Orient can't keep relying on him to score every week.

Darius Henderson hasn't scored in his last four appearances and judging by his performance on Saturday, that looks unlikely to change any time soon. David Mooney hasn't scored in his last six appearances and Jay Simpson hasn't been offering goals from the bench either.

Fabio Liverani remains convinced that his team can survive. While his post-match comments played down the significance of the defeat a bit too much in my opinion, the O's aren't dead and buried just yet.

We still have a game in hand over some of our rivals while Crewe, Notts County and Scunthorpe are being dragged into the fight and we have games against the Railwaymen and Coventry still to come.

Orient's recent performances have been better than some of the woeful displays from earlier in the campaign, but we must find that vital cutting edge if we are to survive in League One.