Josh Coulson’s brace secured Orient their fourth league win in 11 days at relegation threatened Aldershot Town on Tuesday night.
Justin Edinburgh made two changes from Saturday’s win against Wrexham. Coulson came back in for Jamie Turley, whilst Matt Harrold started up top in place of the injured Jay Simpson.
However, the Orient manager was forced into an early change when Jordan Maguire-Drew went down off the ball just minutes into the game and had to be replaced by James Brophy.
The early injury to Maguire-Drew could partly be to blame for Orient’s lack of rhythm in the first half hour as Aldershot had the better of the opening play, despite not creating any clear-cut chances.
Quick-Fire Double
It was the O’s who broke the deadlock in the 35th minute though, when Brophy’s corner was headed in by Coulson for his fourth goal of the season.
Orient’s number six then added his fifth of the campaign just three minutes later, heading home from Brophy’s whipped corner in almost an exact carbon copy of his opener to give Orient a two-goal lead.
After the second goal, the O’s began to look much more at ease and almost added a third just before half time. A scramble in the Shots six-yard box was nearly prodded home by Harrold before he was denied on the goal line by keeper Jake Cole.
Harrold was again thwarted by Cole 10 minutes after the interval. Joe Widdowson’s cross was met by Harrold but the former Crawley man was unable to convert from close range.
Late Fightback
Orient haven’t won many games comfortably recently and this match was to be no different.
Referee Carl Brook had no choice but to point to the spot when Saturday’s hero Marvin Ekpiteta pulled down Scott Rendell in the box, after the O’s failed to clear from an Aldershot set piece.
Rendell stepped up and slotted the resulting penalty past Dean Brill to set up a nervy final 20 minutes for the 729 Orient supporters in attendance.
Aldershot could have equalised moments later when Adam McDonnell’s cross was fired over by Rendell from close range.
Shots Firing
As the Shots continued to threaten, Edinburgh looked to shore things up with 10 minutes remaining by bringing on the returning James Dayton in place of Harrold while switching to a more compact 4-5-1 formation.
The change hardly had the desired effect however, as Aldershot capitalised on Orient’s unfamiliarity to their new system.
Suddenly, there seemed to be a lot more time and space for the Hampshire clubs’ wide players to deliver balls in to the box, with one of those balls almost leading to the hosts drawing level in the 86th minute.
Substitute Matt McClure’s cross was met by the head of Reece Grant and looked destined for the back of the net, until Brill clawed the ball back from behind him and onto the post in what was an astonishing piece of goalkeeping to keep the O’s ahead.
Top Notch
The Orient fans, housed behind the goal their side were defending in the second half, ramped up the atmosphere in an attempt to spur the O’s over the line. It did the trick as they managed to see out the remaining minutes to secure a vital win.
The victory means Orient are now three points clear at the top of the National League, as they take a break from league action in the next couple of weeks to contest a two-legged FA Trophy Semi-Final against AFC Telford.
Match Stats
Orient: Brill, Ling, Ekpiteta, Coulson, Happe, Widdowson, Clay, McAnuff, Maguire-Drew (Brophy 5’), Harrold (Dayton 80’), Bonne.
Subs: Sargeant, Gorman, Turley.
Booked: Ekpiteta (71’), Dayton (90+3’)
Goals: Coulson (35’, 38’)
Aldershot: Cole, McDonnell, Elokobi, Howell, Rendell (C), Bernard, Booty (McClure 85’), Mensah, Berkeley-Agepong (Grant 79’), Menayese, Goddard.
Subs: Mannion, Gallagher, Finney.
Booked: Menayese (37’)
Goals: Rendell (72’)
Referee: Carl Brook
Attendance: 1,989 (729)
