The former Cheltenham Town winger also praised the support of the O’s fans

Leyton Orient have a rare Saturday off this weekend and winger James Dayton believes it may prove to be beneficial in the long run.

The reason the O’s are without a fixture is because back on October 20 they lost 2-0 away to Maidstone United in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup.

Orient’s defeat in Kent meant for the first time since the 1907/08 term, the club will not compete in the ‘proper’ rounds of the historic, old competition.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for fans, but with Justin Edinburgh’s men second in the National League table after 19 games, there is a lot to be happy about right now.

Dayton, who flourished in the 4-0 win over Havant & Waterlooville on October 27, said: “I guess with the break, it is not the worst thing, but you could also say you want to keep momentum and the flow of games.

“Sometimes a break can be good, though, because I missed the game against Maidstone and I felt really fresh the following game against Havant, so it might be good for us.”

Edinburgh had Craig Clay, Jobi McAnuff and Josh Koroma on the bench at Maidstone and although the latter pair came on, they all did seem to benefit from the slight rest when Havant visited a week later.

The hope will be that when Orient do return to action against Bromley at the Breyer Group Stadium on November 17, they will be fresh and raring to go again.

O’s have shown their class in recent games with a hard-fought point at Eastleigh on October 30 followed by a superb result away to AFC Fylde last Saturday.

Koroma netted a brace with top goalscorer Macauley Bonne also on target as Edinburgh’s team claimed a 3-1 success at Mill Farm to move back up to second.

The victory made it 10 games on the road without defeat this season which equalled a previous record set by the O’s back in the 2005/06 campaign when they went up from League Two.

Orient’s next fixture will be back at home in front of their passionate support and another big crowd is expected with the club putting on a ‘Football for a Fiver’ offer, which has now sold out.

Dayton added: “We had a great atmosphere for the Havant match, like against Hartlepool United too.

“If we can just keep producing performances like this hopefully the crowd continue to come. We really appreciate the noise and like it when the fans get behind us.”

After the weekend off, O’s will look to put on another show on Saturday week, when Bromley visit, and keep the smiles on the faces of Orient supporters.