Leyton Orient head coach Justin Edinburgh highlights the importance of his side being thoroughly professional tomorrow against Haringey Borough. The O’s travel to Coles Park in the First Round of the FA Trophy with Edinburgh stating to leytonorient.com “our mentality is key, if it is weak in any way we could find ourselves in for a tricky afternoon. We have drummed it into them, if the approach is right w should go and win”.
- Sit 20th in National League – three points above relegation zone
- Second worse defence in National League
- Form in last six – W1 D2 L3 F8 A10
Tomorrow’s trip to Haringey will be Orient’s first ever game in the FA Trophy and despite sitting 58 places above their opponents in the Non-League pyramid, Edinburgh is keen to show them respect. Speaking to leytonorient.com “we have given Harringey the respect they deserve. There will be no excuses from us, we have equipped ourselves correctly and prepared properly and we are looking to get on a run and continue what we started last week”
- Failed to score in eight games – (five away)
- Failed to score in last two away games
- Scored in six of last eight games in all competitions
- Last failed to score in three consecutive games in
Edinburgh’s Orient side finally ended their three month wait for a League win last weekend with a 4-1 victory over Sutton United. Top goalscorer MacAuley Bonne (2) and Matt Harrold put them 3-0 up before Tommy Wright grabbed a consolation for Sutton, but James Dayton rounded off the scoring for Orient.
- First win in 16 league games
- First win in last 10 games in all competitions- W1 D3 L6
It was the perfect first home game in charge for Edinburgh who stated to leytonorient.com “it’s exactly what we needed, I am delighted for the players, they have been on a tough run and confidence has been low but they delivered everything we put into practice in the week”.
- Away Record this season – P14 W2 D4 L8 F13 A26
- No win in last ten away – D4 L6
- Lost last four in all competitions
- Last away win 28/08/17, 1-0 at Maidenhead
After toppling the league leaders, Edinburgh emphasised to his players that the levels hit against Sutton is the benchmark now. Speaking to East London Advertiser “when I spoke to the players after the Sutton game, I said that performance is the standard, we can’t fall below that”. The former Northampton man felt it was “important to remember what it feels like, so now we need to make sure it stays in dressing room”.
- Worse away run since 2010
- Last went 11 away games without a win in 2004/2005 season
With Edinburgh completing his first two weeks in charge, striker MacAuley Bonne reflecting on the impact the head coach has made to leytonorient.com “everyone has clicked on and everyone has been learning fast. Everyone has dealt with it the right way and you can already see he is affecting a lot of players”.
Bonne netted the winner in Orient’s only cup win so far this season against Dagenham & Redbridge and highlighted that “in any cup game, anything can happen, we will go in with confidence and willing to do it for one and other. Any sloppy mistakes can cost us, the right mind-set will get us through to the next round”.
- Kept five clean sheets this season (two in cup vs Dagenham)
- No clean sheet in last nine games in all competitions
- Kept just two clean sheets in their last 19 games all competitions
- Last away clean sheet – Dagenham 0-0 Orient, 14/10/17
After reaching the FA Trophy final with Newport County in 2012, Edinburgh knows that his side have a realistic chance of progressing further in the competition. “It’s not a distraction, it is a competition I feel we can win at the end of the day. It is a day out at Wembley and I don’t think anybody associated with Orient would turn it down”.
- Orient have won one of last six cup fixtures – 1-0 vs Dagenham, 17/10/17
- Have won just two of their last nine cup fixtures – Dagenham 1-0, Stevenage 3-1 JPT 2016
- Orient have not won their last three cup games in December – failing to score in all three
- Last victory in cup competition in December was – 1-0 vs Walsall, FA Cup 2nd Round, 07/12/13
Harringey Borough manager Tom Loizou is looking forward to facing one of his old clubs. Loizou worked at Orient back in the 1990’s and stated to hamhigh.co.uk “there is a lot of staff and players here with links to Leyton Orient so it’s a nice tie for us”. He added “hopefully on the day, we get that little bit of luck and we upset them”.
- League Record – P18 W10 D4 L4 F31 A20
- Form in last six – W2 L4 F6 A8
Borough head into the game on the back of a 2-1 away victory at AFC Sudbury last weekend thanks to a double from Chris Benjamin. It was their first win in four games and their first since the draw was made for the first round of the trophy.
- Home Record this season – W10 D3 L2 F31 A14
- Lost one of their last seven- W5 D1 L1 – 1-0 vs Hertford Town, 02/12/17
- Were unbeaten at home until defeat to Heybridge Swifts 4-2 in October
- Last home win – 3-1 vs Thame United 25/11/17
Loizou is in his 10th season as Borough boss after joining nine years and has seen his side continually progress since his arrival. Speaking to isthmian.co.uk “our progress over the last few years has been incredible but we are not done yet. I think this club can go an awful lot further than Bostick North and a match like this will help us enormously”.
Borough are enjoying their best ever season in cup competitions progressing the furthest they have been in both the FA Trophy and FA Cup. Chairman Aki Achillea is aware the quality that Orient will have but is hopeful can pull of the unexpected. Speaking to hamhigh.co.uk “make no mistake, Orient will be right up for giving us a pasting to get their season back on track. But I am hopeful that we have the quality to unnerve and unsettle them and I expect a bold showing from our boys”.
Haringey’s Trophy Run so Far
With several players missing for tomorrow’s clash with Orient, Loizou highlighted to hamhigh.co.uk “we shouldn’t be living on the same pitch as Orient but I would feel comfortable if I had all my players available. At the moment, it’s not looking likely so that game has come at the wrong time for us”. However he did highlight “they’ve got an ageing side and I’ve got a young side they don’t like playing on Astroturf, we should be used to playing on it”.
- Scored two or more in 66% of their home games (10/15)
- Scored in 14/15 home games (failed to score in last home game vs Hertford Town)
- Scored in three of their last four games
Achillea made the decision not to raise ticket price despite Orient’s high profile and is hopeful of a bumper crowd at Coles Park. Speaking to thefa.com “our normal crowd size is around 150, we got to the final round of the FA Cup and just missed out but we had a great atmosphere”. He added “this weekend will be the highest crowd we’ve had in our entire history and we anticipate that we could be seeing close to 1500″.
- Kept eight clean sheets this season (six at home)
- Kept three clean sheets in their six games at home
- Last clean sheet – 1-0 vs Sittingbourne, 13/11/17
Haringey’s last seven home FA Trophy games
Team News
Leyton Orient can welcome back defender Josh Coulson and Jamie Sendles-White after injury and suspension. Jake Caprice will serve the last match of his ban following is red card at Torquay in November. Defender Michael Clark is unavailable after joining East Thurrock on a one month loan deal on Friday.
Edinburgh stated to leytonorient.com “I always put a team out to win a game of football, I am sure there be one or two changes on the team sheet”.
Prediction – Haringey Borough 1-3 Leyton Orient
Football Analyst 