Leyton Orient defender Sam Ling insists his side need to take the positives from their 1-1 draw with Ebbsfleet on Saturday. Kenny Clark’s own goal cancelled out Corey Whitely’s opener on Saturday but with a home game with Torquay tomorrow night, Ling is keen for his side to build on the result. Speaking to East London Advertiser “We’ll take it and the unbeaten run starts now and with ten games left hopefully we can kick on”.

• Sit 15th on 43 points – nine points above relegation zone
• League Record – P36  W11  D10  L15  F43  A49
• Form in last six – W2  D2  L2

The draw on Saturday ended a tough week for Edinburgh’s men. Having lost to Dover and departed the FA Trophy in midweek, Edinburgh was pleased with the response from his side. Speaking to East London Advertiser “we need a response and we were disappointed in ourselves, we are hurting because we’ve let situations pass us by. I’m pleased. No one likes being questioned, me, my staff, my players and as a club, I’m pleased with the response”.

• Kept nine league clean sheets – (three at home)
• No clean sheet in last four – conceding eight
• Kept just two in their last 11 – both away (1-0 wins at Chester, Fylde)
• No clean sheet in last four home games (0-0 vs Boreham Wood, 06/01/18)
• Kept two in last seven home games

Ling who re-joined the O’s in February and was delighted to finally make his long awaited home debut on Saturday. Speaking to leytonorient.com “I have waited a long long time for this, it came today, I was buzzing to get out there in front of these fans”. Ling has seen his chances limited so far after being cup tied in the FA Trophy.  But with a clear run to the end of the season, the 21 year old is keen to tie down a starting position, “I know I am not going to walk in to these team, I will need to earn my place, hopefully I can train and play well when I get the chance, make a position my own”.

• Failed to score in 11 league games (five at home)
• Only failed in one of their last 11 games (1-0 loss at Dover, 03/03/18)
• Scored in their last four home games – scoring seven
• Scored two or more in two their last seven games – won neither of them

After falling behind in the last three games, Justin Edinburgh was happy with the guts his side showed to pull level on Saturday. Speaking to leytonorient.com “the response from the setback was good, credit to the players who showed initiative. They were brave in possession of the ball and I thought they moved the ball well on a difficult surface, they played with bravery when required”.

• Conceded 31/48 league goals in the first half 
• 11 between 1-15 minutes and 13 between 31-45 minutes
• Last two games – Orient have conceded a goal in the opening 15 minutes
• Six of their last eight conceded have been in the first 15 minutes or last 15 minutes
• 13/21 conceded under Edinburgh and eight of the last 12 conceded have been in the second half 

Edinburgh side have pulled themselves clear of the relegation mix and know a couple more results will keep them safe. However without a win in their last four, the former Newport manager knows it is the first real test for his side. Speaking to leytonorient.com “questions have been asked of us, we accept and understand that, we’ve come a long way in a short space of time. We had a setback over the last little period, we answered a few questions today and we have set ourselves some challenges, this has given us a start for the remaining games”.

• 27/43 of Orient’s points have come against bottom half sides
• Record – P15  W8  D3  L4
• Home Record – W3  D2  L2

Orient side has been decimated with illness over the last two weeks but with players returning Edinburgh insists his side will be ready when Torquay visit, “it is a quick turnaround, we have come through unscathed today which is a big plus, we will rest up and be prepared for Torquay on Tuesday”.

• Home League Record – P18  W5  D6  L7  F25  A33
• No win in last six – D3  L3
• Last win – 26/12/17, 2-0 vs Dagenham
• Only won three games since 4th September – W3  D6  L7
• All five wins have been by two or more goals

Torquay arrive in E10 on the back of a 1-0 away defeat at Maidstone on Saturday – their third lost in a row. Josh Hare’s goal two minutes from time leaves the nine points from safety with just ten games left.

• Sit 23rd on 27 points
• Form in last six – W2  D1  L3
• League Record – P36  W6  D9  L21  F32  A61
• Second worse defensive record in league behind Guiseley (68)

Torquay manager Gary Owers thought his side should have left with a point at Maidstone but their season unravelled in the last couple of minutes. Speaking to devonlive.com, Owers stated “I thought we were worthy of a point on the balance of play but in the blink of an eye, they score a goal out of nothing at one end and then we have a guilt edged chance and can’t convert. It has been us all season”.

• Kept just seven league clean sheets (two away)
• No clean sheet in last 14 games
• Last clean sheet – 0-0 home vs Aldershot, 02/12/2017
• No clean sheet in last seven away games (last – 1-0 vs Sutton, 21/11/2017)
• Conceded two or more in six of their last ten games

Jon Paul Pittman missed a glorious chance late on to snatch a point back on Saturday. The Gulls are the second lowest scorers in the division and Owers knows that it has been a problem for his side throughout the season. Speaking to torquayunited.com “you’ve got to score. I’m not being critical or personal but we’ve made chances like that all season and if we’d converted more then we wouldn’t be in the position but we don’t take them. That’s a point instead of nothing again and that’s where we are”.

• Failed to score in 16 league games – joint most in league
• Failed in two of their last three games
• Failed to score in four of their last six away games
• Scored 18/32 league goals in first half – eight in the opening 15 minutes

A tail of late goals has cost the Gulls all season and once again was the case on Saturday. Torquay have dropped two points in as many games conceding late goals but Owers knows that his side can only look at themselves. Speaking to BBC Radio Devon “it is something that has cost us dearly in the last couple of games and we have nobody but ourselves to blame”.

• Conceded 42/61 league goals in the second half – most in the league
• Conceded 20 in the final 15 minutes of games – the most in league
• Three of the last six conceded have been between 76-90 minutes
• Dropped six points in last 15 minutes of matches this season

Since Torquay beat Orient back in November, the Gulls have only won two league games in 14. But with seven of their last ten fixtures against the bottom ten, Owers is confident is side will battle to the end. Speaking to devonlive.com “I am sure everyone is writing us off but we haven’t given up, the lads haven’t given up and we are going to see it right through to the bitter end”.

• 12/21 defeats in league have been by two or more goals
• 16 of their 27 points have come against the bottom half – W4  D4  L7

Remaining fixtures against bottom ten

The Gulls have three of their next four away from home so it could be a make or break period for them. Manager Owers might make a few changes when they travel to Orient on Tuesday night. Speaking to torquayunited.com “it will be a tough game. I might just reshuffle it, I might think about having a look at some of the guys that haven’t featured and give them a chance. We have to consider every option at the moment”.

• Away league Record – P18  W3  D4  L11  F14  A34
• Only Woking (12) and Guiseley (9) have taken less points away than Torquay
• Lowest scorers away from home
• Only won one of their last seven away games – W1  D2  L4
• Last win – 2-1 at Maidenhead, 10/02/2018
• Three of their last five league wins have been away

Team News

Defenders Joe Widdowson and Dan Happe are doubts after missing Saturday’s draw with Ebbsfleet with illness and injury. Sam Ling and George Elokobi are set to continue in defence. Jobi McAnuff could be involved on Tuesday after recovering from injury. James Dayton and Charlie Lee remain out through injury.

Head to Head – Leyton Orient 34, Draw 20, Torquay United 31

Last meeting – 25/11/2018 – Torquay United 3-0 Leyton Orient

• Orient are winless in the last four meetings
• Orient have only won one of the last eight meetings – W1  D3  L4
• 10 of Orient’s last 11 wins over Torquay have come at home

The last nine meetings between sides

Prediction – Leyton Orient 2-1 Torquay United