Justin Edinburgh full of praise for ‘excellent’ Haringey Borough after pushing his Leyton Orient close in the FA Trophy
Leyton Orient head coach Justin Edinburgh on the touchline against Haringey Borough (pic: Simon O'Connor). - Credit: Archant
The O’s head coach reflects on Saturday’s win and reveals his preference for the second round with the draw taking place later this afternoon
Leyton Orient midfielder Craig Clay gets away from two Haringey Borough opponents (pic: Simon O'Connor). - Credit: Archant
Leyton Orient head coach Justin Edinburgh hailed Haringey Borough after the Bostik North club gave their London rivals a scare in the first round of the FA Trophy on Saturday.
Michael Ademiluyi fired the Coles Park outfit into a shock lead after only five minutes played in front of a record attendance of 1,133.
Orient looked to be heading for a Trophy upset at this point, but Josh Coulson levelled in the 58th minute before substitute Matt Harrold scored with his first touch with 80 on the clock to secure a 2-1 victory for the O’s.
Edinburgh said: “Haringey’s players absolutely did themselves proud. I thought they were a credit to their club and everyone connected to the club made us feel welcome.
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“I thought they were very professional and gave an excellent account of themselves, but in these type of competitions it is all about the result for us and I’m pleased we are through to the next round.”
The draw will take place later this afternoon at around 1pm and Orient’s head coach would like a home tie.
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But regardless of who the O’s are to face in the second round on January 13, they are looking to go all the way.
“I’m led to believe the draw goes national now, so it isn’t regionalised anymore,” said Edinburgh.
“You always want a home tie, so that would be my preference, but whoever we play we’ve just got to win.
“At the beginning of last week I said it is a competition which we can realistically go a long way in and I don’t see anything wrong in us trying to go and win it.”
Orient may not have been at their best on Saturday, but they made it through and have now won back-to-back games for the first time since September 2.
Edinburgh expects that to lift the confidence of the players, he said: “I don’t think you can underestimate how invaluable winning back-to-back games will be for us.
“I did see a big difference in the players leading up to the Haringey match and I hope to see something similar again for this weekend.”
