Jobi McAnuff's 30-yard stunner gave Leyton Orient their second point under Ross Embleton as the O's earned a 2-2 draw at home to Chester tonight.

The hosts took a rare lead through Macauley Bonne early on, but they led for only 10 minutes.

James Akintunde levelled up for the visitors with an effort which looked to have not crossed the line, before Ross Hannah's free-kick gave them the lead.

They could have gone further ahead when Jamie Sendles-White was sent off and Hannah stepped up from 12 yards, but Sam Sargeant's penalty save would later prove crucial when McAnuff's long-ranger ensured the O's took home a share of the spoils.

Orient need wins, and came up against a Chester side who have won only one of their last nine games in all competitions.

After picking up a point in his first game at the helm against high-flying Dover at the weekend, Embleton went with the same squad for the visit of the North West side.

Early on that appeared to have paid off as Bonne lobbed McAnuff's cross over a helpless Alex Lynch to open the scoring only six minutes in.

But having seemingly ridden out a spell of Chester pressure, the O's were undone by a piece of controversial officiating; Akintunde’s touch from a cross was deemed to have crossed the line, much to the anger of the home support and players.

Undeterred, James Dayton forced a save from Lynch and Craig Clay's header was deflected over, before the visitors struck again after 40 minutes.

From just outside the box, Hannah's free-kick was driven in beyond Sargeant to give Chester the lead for the first time.

And in the final minute of the first half they could have all-but sealed victory, when Akintunde went down heavily under a Sendles-White challenge.

The latter was given his marching orders, while Hannah, fresh from his first goal, stepped up to take the resulting penalty.

But Sargeant went the right way to keep out his spot kick, moments before Embleton was sent to the stands with the half-time whistle still yet to be blown.

Orient made a double-change at the break as they adjusted to their missing man, and within moments James Brophy's cross had been deflected wide via Dayton's shot.

McAnuff took matters into his own hands with a blinder of an effort on the hour mark, firing home from long-range to bring the hosts level and leave Lynch again clutching at thin air.

To their credit, the O's looked the better side in the final half-hour despite their numerical disadvantage, and nearly regained the lead through David Mooney in the dying minutes, only to see the captain's first-time shot from 12 yards narrowly miss the far post.

Leyton Orient: Sargeant; Caprice, Sendles-White, Happe, Widdowson; Dayton (Mooney 81), Clay (Harrold 45), Lawless (Westbrooke 45), Brophy; McAnuff, Bonne.

Not used: Brill, Ellis.