Leyton Orient midfielder Ebou Adams highlighted his relief of finally getting some minutes under is belt. The Norwich loanee started only his second game since October on Tuesday and is relishing the chance of playing ahead of Orient’s FA Trophy clash with Dover. Speaking to leytonorient.com “it was unbelievable, I’ve not played much for six months and to come in and play how I did. I couldn’t be prouder. It’s all about getting game time now”.

• Sit 17th in National League, five points above relegation zone
• Form in last six – W2 D2  L2  F6   A6
• Beat Bognor Regis 2-1 AET in Round Two

The O’s grabbed their first league win of 2018 on Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory in their rearranged clash with Halifax. Macauley Bonne grabbed his 17th of the season before Josh Koroma sealed all three points after Tom Denton levelled for Halifax.

Justin Edinburgh’s side sat just two points above the relegation zone before the game and the former Newport boss knew the significance of the victory. Speaking to leytonorient.com “I thought it was a very good performance, I thought we had to dig in at times and rightly so, there was a lot riding on the game but I thought we managed it well and I thought we were worthy winners on the night”.

• Kept nine clean sheets this season
• No clean sheet in last three 
• Kept two in last five and four in last eight games
• Kept two in six away games under Edinburgh
• Only one clean sheet in last 11  away cup games

With the increased gap between themselves at the bottom four, Adams knows that his side can build on their victory and take into the Dover game on Saturday, “it pushes us up the table and gives us a bit of confidence for the weekend”. With a potential trip to Wembley in the offing, the 22 year old is aware of the prize “the reward is winning and playing at Wembley, who doesn’t want to do that. No-one wants to shy away from Wembley, it’s a dream for everybody. We’ll be ready for Battle“.

• Away Record this season – P19  W6  D5  L8  F21  A29
• Unbeaten in last five away – W4  D1
• Last loss – 02/12/17 – 1-0 vs Solihull Moors
• Scored two in four of their last five away games
• Both FA Trophy wins have been away from home

Since Edinburgh’s arrival in E10, the 48 year old has maintained his stance on taking the competition seriously. After a horrendous run of form earlier in the season, assistant manager Ross Embleton is aware that the trophy could put a smile on everybody’s faces. Speaking to leytonorient.com “the competition is a big one for us, everyone has been disappointed where we have found ourselves in the league, in this competition we have given ourselves an opportunity of something to look forward to”.

• Failed to score in 11 games this season
• Scored in last three games
• Scored in five of last six away games
• Scored in their last three away cup games
• Last failed to score – 14/10/17 – Dagenham 0-0 Orient , FA Cup

The O’s drew with Dover back in November with Embleton in temporary charge for the game, “We know Dover have had a good season, I felt when we played them at home, we had a real go and were probably unfortunate not to get three points” The former Swindon man highlights that Orient could trouble the Kent club again “We know where we can hurt them and are aware of their strengths and what their about, we’ll respect that. We will take elements from Tuesday night’s performance to try and get the result”.

• Conceded 12/50 goals this season between 31-45 minutes
• Including a goal vs Halifax and Aldershot in that period
• Four of nine conceded under Edinburgh in first half

After a strong January window with several additions, Adams knows that he can stake his claim for a shirt with Alex Lawless suspended for tomorrow’s trip to Dover , “you need strong competition in the team, it makes it for a healthy team. Everyone wants to keep the shirt and wants to do well. It helps the team and hopefully means better performances”

• 11 of 16 goals scored under Edinburgh been in second half
• 15 last 21 scored have been in second period
• Orient have only scored one of their six cup goals in the first half

Chris Kinnear’s Dover side will be looking for their fourth consecutive victory when Orient visit tomorrow. The Whites grabbed an 88th minute Mitch Pinnock winner to see off Guiseley last time out. Mitch Brundle put them ahead early on but Dayle Southwell levelled before Pinnock’s winner.

• Sit 6th in National League – Five points off top
• Only Wrexham have a better defensive record in league
• Scored nine in last three games
• Form in last six – W3  D2  L1  F12  A10

After four draws and one loss over Christmas, Dover appear to have caught the winning bug once more picking up three wins on the spin for the first time this season. Assistant manager Jake Leberl stated to kentonline.com “it looks like we’ve got ourselves back, the lads confidence is coming back”.

• Home record this season – P19  W9  D6  L4  F31  A16
• Won last two at home
• Five of last seven at home scored two or more
• One loss in last seven – W4  D2  L1
• Last loss – 06/01/18 – 2-1 vs Aldershot
• Only lost two of last 14 home games – W8  D4  L2

For the third game in succession, Dover grabbed a late goal which helped picked up the win. First team coach Mark Newson was pleased with his sides battling qualities. Speaking to doverathletic.com “we did leave it late, the conditions really changed for both teams near the end. We dug in and showed great resilience and nicked at the end, I think we did deserve the result”.

• Kept 14 clean sheets this season
• No clean sheet in last five
• One clean sheet in last seven games – 0-0 vs Halifax, 30/12/17
• One in last five at home, four in last seven at home

Back to back wins in the league has helped push Dover back into the mix at the top of the table, leaving them just five points from top spot. Newson feels that now back amongst it in the league, the cup needs to help rather than be a hindrance, “to keep that momentum going is important, it takes us into cup next week. We forget about the league, we have that nice distraction of the trophy with a home game with Orient”.

• Failed to score in nine games this season
• Scored in last five and six of their last seven
• Last failed to score – 0-0 vs Halifax
• Scored in six of last seven at home

Tomorrow’s clash with Orient is their third consecutive home FA Trophy game and they will be looking to use their home advantage. With Dover the second highest ranked team left they would have liked an easy tie than Orient but Leberl knows that “it is going to be tough but if we want to win this, which we obviously do, we have to beat teams like Orient on our way”.

• Dover have only lost two of their last 11 Home FA trophy ties

Dover’s last 11 home ties in FA Trophy

• Dover have scored in their last 19 home FA Trophy ties – last failed to score 3-0 loss to Forest Green, 2003

With a trip to Wembley and a day to saviour if you reach the final, Mitch Brundle knows that there is plenty of football to be played before they can even think about it. Speaking to kentonline.co.uk ahead of the Orient game, “we played them before and they have given us a tough game. Everyone in the world would love to play at Wembley, but there is still a lot of games before we get there”.

• Dover have scored in their last 22 FA Trophy ties – last failing to score 26/11/2011 – 1-0 vs Boreham Wood
• Scored in 29 of their last 30 FA Trophy ties

Dover’s last 8 seasons in FA Trophy

Team News

Leyton Orient will be without the suspended Alex Lawless and the cup tied Dan Holman. James Dayton is expected to be out for the season as it was revealed on Friday he needs surgery on his hamstring. Myles Judd is struggling with a groin injury but Joe Widdowson is available after serving his two match suspension. Josh Koroma and Ebou Adams are expected to keep their places after good performances on Tuesday. Deadline Day signing James Brophy is set to be in the squad after joining on a two and half year deal.

James Alabi is available for selection after his proposed move to Ebbsfleet fell through while Mitch Brundle and Mitch Pinnock will be hoping to build on their goals last week. Defender Connor Essam is set to face his former side at the Crabble.

Last time Out – 18/11/2017 – Leyton Orient 1-1 Dover Athletic

Prediction – Dover Athletic 1-1 Leyton Orient