'˜Fantastic' - Ruthless Doncaster Rovers marching onwards and upwards

He praised Rovers’ ruthlessness in the second half as they triumphed with a brace from John Marquis plus strikes from Tommy Rowe and former Orient defender Mathieu Baudry at Brisbane Road to remain six points clear at the top with eight games to go.

“Once we got the second goal we were pretty ruthless,” said Ferguson after inflicting a 16th home defeat of the campaign on Orient, who are due in the High Court today, having been served with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue & Customs.

“It’s a fantastic win, four goals, 78 points,” added the Rovers chief.

Rowe’s 12th goal of the season put Rovers in front nine minutes before the break when he seized on a loose clearance and crashed a 20-yard shot past recalled goalkeeper Alex Cisak.

The O’s equalised a minute before the interval when Tom Parkes coolly slid the ball past Ian Lawlor after a counter-attack.

Rovers restored their lead 10 minutes after the break when Orient defender Aron Pollock played the ball across goal and into the path of Marquis, who fired in off the post from 20 yards.

Marquis struck again in the 82nd minute when he latched on to a cross to net his 23rd league goal of the season and Baudry volleyed home the fourth, leaving Rovers 17 points ahead of fourth-placed Stevenage.

Leyton Orient: Cisak, Pollock, Clark, Parkes, Judd, Koroma (Dalby 77), Atangana (Alzate 88), Kelly, Collins, Semedo, Massey. Unused substitutes: Sargeant, Happe, Mezague, Moncur, Liburd.

Doncaster Rovers: Lawlor (Marosi 46), Blair, Baudry, Butler, Alcock, Mason, Grant, Rowe, Coppinger (McSheffrey 77), Marquis, May (Williams 71). Unused substitutes: Marosi, Lund, Evina, Middleton, Mandeville.

Referee: C Sarginson (Staffordshire).