The AFC Fylde manager expects the O’s to remain near the top of the table for the rest of the 2018/19 National League campaign

Dave Challinor believes AFC Fylde are not too far away from Leyton Orient – a team he fully expects to be in and around the top of the National League for the remainder of the season.

The two clubs did battle at Mill Farm on Saturday and the O’s triumphed 3-1 after an excellent display to move up to second in the table.

Orient have been in the top three for the majority of the 2018/19 campaign, but Fylde are also a quality team and Saturday’s loss was only their second this term and they still sit in sixth spot after 19 games.

Coasters boss Challinor, when he spoke to the official club website, said: “I can’t fault the players’ effort.

“I expect Leyton Orient to be up at the top of the division all year, so if they are the benchmark, we are not too far away.”

Josh Koroma struck a brace to inspire O’s to a superb victory and arguably their best result of the campaign to date.

He set up Macauley Bonne after just five minutes and the forward scored his 13th goal of the season with a stinging effort to follow up his strike in the 1-1 draw away to Eastleigh on October 30.

Fylde levelled 15 minutes later when Danny Rowe was allowed too much space and he drilled home from 25-yards to make it all square again.

Orient had the final word on the first half, however, as Koroma sprinted between two Coasters players and fired into the corner to make it 2-1 with 43 on the clock.

After the break, Koroma doubled his tally with a fine finish in the 52nd minute as Joe Widdowson’s clearance come for Bonne and he set up the teenager, who curled into the net to wrap up the points.

Challinor admitted: “From the third goal, as you expect from an experienced team, they managed the game really, really well and we needed a goal to get back into it and change the momentum.

“In fairness to them, they defended well and their goalkeeper (Dean Brill) has made a couple of great saves and we couldn’t turn the tide.

“But by no means is there total negativity because if they are the benchmark, then I am pretty pleased with where we are at. I hate losing, but there are plenty of positives to take from the defeat.”