Leyton Orient will be hoping to collect their fourth consecutive away league victory when they travel to play-off chasing Dover Athletic in the National League this Saturday.
In their previous outing, Orient were held to a 3-3 draw by Gateshead in the FA Trophy quarter-finals last weekend. Two excellent strikes from Josh Koroma and Ebou Adams put the O’s in control before Josh Coulson’s header looked to have sealed the tie. However, substitute Danny Johnson struck a lifeline for Gateshead on 68 minutes. The Gateshead man then notched a second ten minutes later before Richard Peniket nodded home an injury-time equaliser to force a replay on March 6th.
Orient sit 16th in the league with 42 points having won 11, drawn nine, and lost 14 matches this season. They are eight points clear of the relegation zone and twelve points adrift of their opponents from the Kent coast.
The Visitors
As for Dover, they will be looking to stay within touching distance of the play-offs with a victory this weekend. There will be extra motivation for the Kent club to avenge their defeat to Orient in the FA Trophy a month ago.
In their previous game, they fell to a 3-1 defeat at fellow play-off hopefuls AFC Fylde in Lancashire. Mitch Pinnock opened the scoring for The Whites, before Fylde fired three goals in the last twenty minutes to jump back into the play-off places.
Chris Kinnear’s men occupy ninth place in the league with 54 points having won 14, drawn 12 and lost nine matches this season. They sit just one point off the last playoff place despite losing three of their latest four league games.
Ones to Watch:
For Orient, midfielder Ebou Adams has settled into life at Brisbane Road extremely well with some impressive performances in recent weeks. The 22-year old, who on loan from Norwich City until the end of the season. Adams has started Orient’s last six matches and scored his first goal for the club in the 3-3 draw with Gateshead. Adams is a quick, tenacious midfielder who has defensive awareness as well carrying a threat in attack.
For Dover, striker Ryan Bird bagged a brace in the FA Trophy clash between the two sides in early February. Bird, who stands at 6ft 4in, is an effective target man with 13 goals to his name in the National League this season. He is the league’s joint fifth highest scorer alongside four other players and will be keen to help his side back into promotion contention by getting on the scoresheet this weekend.
Previous Six Results:
| Leyton Orient 3-3 Gateshead (FA Trophy) | AFC Fylde 3-1 Dover Athletic |
| Chester 0-1 Orient | Dover 1-0 Dagenham and Redbridge |
| AFC Fylde 0-1 Orient | Solihull Moors 3-2 Dover |
| Orient 1-1 Tranmere Rovers | Dover 0-1 Sutton United |
| Dover Athletic 3-4 Orient (FA Trophy) | Dover 3-4 Orient (FA Trophy) |
| FC Halifax Town 1-2 Orient | Dover 2-1 Guiseley |
Stats and Facts:
- Orient have taken ten points from 12 available on the road in the league since the start of 2018, winning three matches and drawing one.
- The O’s have kept a clean sheet in three of their previous four away league matches.
- Justin Edinburgh’s side remain unbeaten on their travels since the turn of the year in league and cup, winning five and drawing one of their six matches.
- Dover have won two of their four home matches in the National League in 2018.
- The Whites failed to score in just one of those games, notching four goals in total.
- Chris Kinnear’s side have kept just one clean sheet in six league and cup games at the Crabble since the turn of the year.
Last Meeting:
On February 3rd, Orient travelled south to the Crabble for the FA Trophy Third Round and came away with a dramatic 4-3 victory in a seven-goal thriller.
George Elokobi, Macauley Bonne and Matt Harrold gave the O’s a 3-0 lead, before Mitch Pinnock and a Ryan Bird brace drew the hosts level. However, Orient substitute David Mooney spared his sides blushes netting a last-minute winner to book them a place in the quarter-finals.
Did you know?
Orient have collected 21 points from 36 available in the 12 league games under Justin Edinburgh.
Dover’s 3-1 defeat to AFC Fylde last weekend was manager Chris Kinnear’s 1,500th game in management.
When and Where?
The match will take place this Saturday 3rd March at The Crabble Athletic Ground, the home of Dover Athletic, with kick-off at 3pm.
Missing the Match?
Don’t worry if you cannot make the match this weekend. Via social media, follow live updates on the action across both clubs’ Twitter accounts (@leytonorientfc and @DAFCLiveText)
Also, match reports will be available on both teams’ official websites after the game.
