Leyton Orient head coach Justin Edinburgh has urged his side to start quickly when they visit Havant & Waterlooville on Saturday. The O’s travel South to face the relegation threatened Hawks with Edinburgh keen for his side to start on the front foot. Speaking to the O’s Show “we need to go there and have a better mindset. We need to start the game by imposing ourselves and start winning football matches”.

• Sit 3rd on 61 points – five behind league leaders Wrexham
• One win in last three games – W1  D1  L1
• League Record – P33  W17  D10  L6  F53  A24

The O’s head to Westleigh Park after making the FA Trophy Semi Finals with a 2-1 win at Brackley Town last weekend. Second half goals from substitute Matt Harrold and Daniel Happe sent the O’s through after Lee Ndlovu had put Brackley ahead in the first half.

Orient’s Last Six Results

Orient were second best in the first half and could have found themselves more than one behind. Edinburgh was disappointed by the performance but praised his side on getting the result. Speaking to leytonorient.com “probably worse performance in any 45 since I’ve been manager. Only positive at half time was only one down and still in the game. Credit to the players and their response second half”.

• Kept 14 league clean sheets (five away)
• Best defensive record in league conceding just 24 goals
• No clean sheet in last three games
• Two clean sheets in last five games
• No clean sheet in last three away games

Defender Daniel Happe grabbed his first Orient goal at Brackley and praised the impact of the substitutes. Josh Coulson, Matt Harrold and Jordan Maguire-Drew all made a difference which helped Orient push onto victory. Speaking to leytonorient.com “Josh Coulson come on and made a big difference, that’s the sort of player he is. Whoever came on was positive, Jordan done his bits and tricks. Matty popped up with the goal. You’ve always got to be ready on the bench, the lads did that today”.

• Scored 33/53 league goals in second half (13/24 away)
• Scored six of their last eight goals have been in second half

The O’s sit five points behind leaders Wrexham but have two games in hand on the Welsh Side. Heading into the crunch time of the season, Edinburgh is hoping to use their come from behind victory at Brackley as a boost for their upcoming fixtures. Speaking to the O’s Show “to end the way we did and get the win means we are looking to use that to kick on from here”.

• Away League Record – P16  W7  D6  L3  F24  A13
• One win in last three games – W1  D1  L1
• Last two wins have been in the FA Trophy
• Taken just two points from last 15 available in league  – no team has taken fewer points in league in that period

Orient’s inconsistent form has coincided with a number of injuries to key players. With Josh Coulson and Marvin Ekpiteta returning at Brackley, the O’s are only waiting on Josh Koroma and James Dayton to return. Edinburgh feels this could be pivotal for the end of season run in,  speaking to the O’s Show “it’s very encouraging, slowly but surely we are starting to get a full squad to become available. It will increase competition for places, I certainly feel it give us a boost to the end of the season”.

• Failed to score in eight league games (three away)
• Scored in four of their last five games
• Scored in their last two away games and three of their last four

In a serious competitive title race, the O’s haven’t won back to back league games since November. Edinburgh highlights his side will have to regain their winning feeling if they are to maintain their challenge at the top of the league. Speaking to East London Advertiser “it will be about which team holds their nerve, we have to find that consistency in our performances to give us a chance”.

• Orient have only won back to back games twice since November (all competitions)

Orient’s trip to Havant is their first of a hectic March which sees them play eight games which includes a two legged Trophy Semi Final against AFC Telford. Both Orient and Havant will be looking for maximum points on Saturday at differing ends of the table with Edinburgh surprised with how tight the league is this season. Speaking to O’s Show “it is a bizarre season for me, normally there are one or two adrift at the top but there are five, six or seven who feel they have an outside chance. Then there is no one cut adrift at the bottom. Havant will be fighting for points as much as we will”.

Orient’s March Fixtures

Team News

Striker Josh Koroma and James Dayton are nearing a return to action but are set to miss out the trip to Havant. Marvin Ekpiteta is a doubt after suffering a broken nose last week but defender Josh Coulson could start after making his return off the bench. Joe Widdowson should return to the starting 11 after being rested at Brackley.

Jordan Maguire-Drew and Matt Harrold are both pushing for starts after being involved the come from behind goals at Brackley.

Head to Head – One Previous Meeting

27/10/2018 – Leyton Orient 4-0 Havant & Waterlooville 

(Coulson 13, Lewis OG 18, Lee 39, Bonne 59)

Last Time Out – 23/02/2019 – Brackley Town 1-2 Leyton Orient

Starting 11 vs Brackley

Prediction – Brackley 1-3 Leyton Orient