Leyton Orient head coach Steve Davis is hoping his side extend their unbeaten run as they travel to Boreham Wood tomorrow. The O’s fought back from a goal down last weekend against Guiseley to move them up to second in the League. Macauley Bonne struck a hat trick whilst deadline day signing Matt Harrold headed home on his debut.

• Sit 2nd on 16 points
• League Record – P8 W5  D1  L2  F14  A1

Despite falling behind, Davis was pleased with his sides performance. Speaking to leytonorient.com post match “I enjoyed it, the first time in ages I have, especially the second half performance. Obviously we went a goal down against the run of play but I told the lads don’t panic”. Two Macauley Bonne penalties before half time turned the game around for Orient with Davis stating “I thought our play and dominance deserved that in the first half”.

After Harrold made his debut, Davis was relieved that he finally got the target man he desperately wanted, “we have been looking for someone for a considerable amount of weeks, I am glad we have got someone with that experience and ability, we have to get used to what he does”.

• Only Ebbsfleet (11) have scored more second half goals than Orient (11)
• No team in the National League has scored more goals in the last 15 minutes of games than Leyton Orient (5)

After netting the first league hat trick at Brisbane Road for 11 years, Macauley Bonne stated it was “a perfect day for me and the team, three goals, man of the match and three points”. Continuing from his interview with leytonorient.com “I don’t think anyone outside this club would expect us to be where we are now. There is such a buzz around the place, the fans stay behind us and everyone dug deep”.

Only two players in last 60 years have scored more goals in the opening eight games of a season than Bonne

Orient have fought back to gain four points from losing positions in their last two home games with Bonne crediting the attitude of the team, “we have all the chances and they have one, they score it. But that is where this team we have right now don’t want to give up, we keep on going, pushing and get our rewards in the end with the three points”.

• Only Chester (5), Ebbsfleet (6) and Maidstone have gained more points after conceding the first goal than Leyton Orient

Following a slow start to the season, the O’s are now unbeaten in their last four league games with Davis keen for that to continue “we focus one game at a time, it is good to be unbeaten, momentum and confidence grows, expectations grows with that to. It is important we try and do what we can do to win every game, approach with that attitude”. He added “It doesn’t always work like that, but as long as we are positive and performances are of a good standard, it gives us the best chance of winning”.

• Form in last six games – W4 D1 L1 F11 A8 
• Orient have scored in their last seven games – last failed to score on the opening day of season vs Sutton
• Orient last scored in eight consecutive games between Boxing day 2015 and February 2016
• Orient last went unbeaten for five games back in November and December 2015

Davis has named the same back five in all eight leagues games with defender Joe Widdowson slowly building into the campaign. Speaking to leytonorient.com ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Boreham Wood “as a back four, me Jake, George and Josh along with Chaz behind us, it is pleasing to keep clean sheets. For us it is our little zone, our responsibility to keep the goals out, in the main we have been doing that, bar one or two games”.

• Orient have kept three clean sheets in their last six games
• Following their 1-0 win at Maidenhead, Orient picked up back to back away clean sheets for the first time since February 2016
• Orient last kept three clean sheets in a row away from home was February 2016 (Wycombe 2-0, Portsmouth 1-0, Notts County 1-0) Nolan’s reign
• Orient have only conceded two goal in the four games

Widdowson has experience at this level and is wary of threat that Boreham Wood could pose tomorrow “they will be competitive like most teams in this division. Every team at home will look to have a go. From my experience they have a few lively attacking players/wingers. They have a few threats and it will be a difficult game for us. We are in good form and we will be ready for it”.

Boreham Wood head into tomorrow’s game with Orient on the back of two consecutive defeats. Luke Garrad’s men succumbed to a 2-1 away defeat to Barrow last weekend thanks to first half goals from Besente Gomis and Jack Barthram. Bruno Andrade halved the deficit however the Wood were unable to draw level.

• Sit 10th on 11 points
• League Record – P8 W3  D2  L3  F16  A13

Following the defeat, manager Luke Garrad stated to Borehamwoodfc.co.uk “you can’t start a game after 25/30 minutes in the National League, I don’t care what team you are. We were second the everything, we were not at the races. I asked questions of all of them at half time”.

• Only the bottom three clubs (Torquay, Guiseley and Solihull) have conceded more goals than Boreham Wood

Boreham Wood are only one of two sides in the League without a clean sheet with Garrad highlighting “we looked great over the halfway line at times and the returns in the goals have been brilliant. But we are susceptible at the back and at the minute we have got to ask some questions to why”. He added “We need to start asking people to put bodies on the line, the second goal was criminal”.

• Last kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win at Chester 29/04/17
• Kept just one clean sheet in their last 15 games 
• Failed to keep a a clean sheet in their last seven home games
• Last kept a clean sheet at home March 2017, when they kept three in a row

Striker Shaun Jeffers acknowledged that his side failed to turn up in the opening exchanges against Barrow, “it is very frustrating, we are disappointed in our performance, we have to put it to one side and move onto the next game. Our home form has shown how strong we are, we need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and prepare for Leyton Orient”.

• Home record – P4  W2  L2  F7  A5
• Scored in seven of their last ten home games
• In five of those games they have scored two or more goals
• Six of their seven home goals have been scored in the first half

With Orient in town, Boreham Wood are hoping to beat their attendance record of 1293 against Grimsby in 2015. Garrad wants the town to get down and support his side, “I would love to shatter our record, but I want it to be our own doing. I want it to be because the Wood army have turned up in their droves to back us in what could potentially be our biggest match of the season”.

• Last time Boreham Wood lost three league games in a row was April 2017
• Bruno Andrade is top goal scorer has scored six in his last seven games – only failing to score in their 1-0 home loss to Wrexham 28/08/17

As Orient are set to bring around 1000 away fans tomorrow to Meadow Park, Garrad knows that it will be a great day all around. Speaking to Borehamwoodfc.co.uk “it will be an excellent day of football, the boys will be right up for it and we are raring to go”. The Wood have already beaten Aldershot at home and Garrad is keen “to show these big club’s what the league is all about, of course we are confident we’ve shown against Aldershot, Torquay and Tranmere, that we can beat anyone on our day”.

• Only Dagenham (19) have scored more goals than Wood (16)
• Only Failed to score in one of their eight games
• Boreham Wood have drew three of their last four home games against relegated Football League clubs (1-1 York, 0-0 Tranmere and Cheltenham)

Garrad highlighted the threat that Orient will pose tomorrow, “they are on a good run at the minutes and are unbeaten in their last four and I think they have started to click. They have brought in a lot of new recruits in the summer and I think they are finally getting to grips with each other’s strengths and weaknesses”.

• All three defeats have been by just one goal
• Only Wrexham and Boreham Wood have not seen a goal in the last 15 minutes of their home games

After back to back defeats, Garrad is looking for a reaction from his side “it is going to be a good test and one we are really looking forward to. The players are really looking forward to it, regardless of who it is, they are all tough at this level, it is all about the reaction after last Saturday”

• 11 of their 16 goals scored have been between minutes 31-60 – the most in the league

Team News

Orient midfielder Alex Lawless missed last weekend’s win over Guiseley with a hip flexor injury but trained on Thursday and is set to be involved in the squad. Matt Harrold will be pushing for a start after netting from the bench while Macauley Bonne will be looking to add to his seven goals in eight games. Charlie Lee remains absent with a long term knee injury.

Boreham Wood look set to have Ricky Shakes and Angelo Balanta available after both came off at Barrow last weekend. Jamie Turley has overcome a sickness bug and is available. Blair Turgott is available after signing on loan from Stevenage on Friday and could play against his former side.

Prediction – Boreham Wood 1-3 Leyton Orient