First half goals from Marvin Ekpiteta and Macauley Bonne saw Orient secure their eighth consecutive victory on Tuesday evening.
Head Coach Justin Edinburgh made one change to the side who progressed to the FA Trophy final with a 2-1 victory over AFC Telford United on Saturday.
James Brophy replaced Matt Harrold who begins a three-match suspension, while Jay Simpson returned to the bench having struggled with a muscle injury.
AFC Fylde got the game underway under the lights at The Breyer Group Stadium, kicking from left to right in their all white strip.
Nervy Opening
Inside five minutes, miscommunication between Dan Happe and Dean Brill saw the ball fall to the feet of James Hardy, whose effort was crucially deflected behind for a corner kick which Brill caught comfortably.
Quickly, Josh Koroma drove forward before weaving his way into the box and going down under a challenge, but referee Richard Hulme swiftly waved away wholehearted appeals from the O’s faithful.
Dominance Asserted
With quarter of an hour played, Orient broke the deadlock courtesy of Ekpiteta. Skipper Jobi McAnuff floated a corner into the box from the right, Ekpiteta headed the ball down into the ground and watched it trickle into the net via the boot of a Fylde defender.
On 22 minutes, Orient won a penalty when Brophy was brought down after beating his man to the ball on the right side of the box.
In typical fashion, Macauley Bonne stepped up and buried the ball into the bottom corner past a helpless Jay Lynch in the visiting goal.
Injury Concern
It was an intense opening half hour for the O’s who were piling relentless pressure onto the Fylde defence.
Two early goals succeeded in settling any pre-game jitters as the home side’s confidence shone through.
However, Orient were dealt a blow when Jamie Turley hobbled off ten minutes before half-time and was replaced by James Dayton.
After a fast-paced first half, the tempo lessened as the O’s saw out four minutes of additional time and took a two-goal lead into the break.
Trading Chances
The O’s kick started the second half and came close to a third goal five minutes in. An inviting free-kick from McAnuff led to a game of pinball in the box, before falling to Josh Coulson who drilled his attempt wide of the post.
Fylde called Brill into action properly for the first time on the hour mark. Lewis Walters latched onto a through ball down the right, before seeing his fierce strike beaten away by the O’s stopper at the near post.
James Alabi replaced Koroma on 73 minutes as the O’s went in search of a third goal that would surely seal the points.
Craig Clay’s cross from the left hung in the air before dropping for Alabi, whose header was palmed away by Lynch at full stretch.
Fractious Finale
As the final ten minutes approached, there was a stoppage in play after a scuffle in the middle of the pitch.
Clay received a booking for the O’s while Jordan Tunnicliffe and Dan Bradley went in to the book for Fylde.
The visitors were hunting for a goal that would make for a tense finish. Danny Rowe, who had seen little sight of the target throughout the game, twisted and turned past Happe before fizzing a low strike inches wide of the post.
Scorer of the opening goal, Ekpiteta, was next to receive a caution after a late challenge in Fylde’s half of the pitch.
However, Orient professionally saw out five minutes of stoppage time to claim a vital three points ahead of their trip to Barnet on Saturday.
Match Stats
ORIENT: Brill, Widdowson, Coulson, McAnuff (C), Clay, Bonne, Happe, Brophy (Gorman 90+3’), Koroma (Alabi 60’), Ekpiteta, Turley (Dayton 36’)
SUBS: Sargeant, Simpson.
BOOKED: Turley (13’), Clay (80’), Ekpiteta (87’)
GOALS: Ekpiteta (15’), Bonne (22’)
AFC FYLDE: Lynch, Francis-Angol, Byrne (C), Tunnicliffe, Hardy (Bradley 68’), Croasdale, Rowe, Philliskirk, Odusina (Hemmings 45’) Walters, Reid (Haughton 45’)
SUBS: Crawford, Brewitt.
BOOKED: Walters (29’), Philliskirk (40’), Croasdale (53’), Hemmings (61’), Tunnicliffe (80’), Bradley (80’)
GOALS:
REFEREE: Richard Hulme
ATTENDANCE: 4,696 (74 away)
