The O’s put four past Havant & Waterlooville, but could have scored plenty more on a day when they returned to the top of the table

Justin Edinburgh talked up Leyton Orient’s decisiveness in the final third after his team thrashed Havant & Waterlooville 4-0 to move back to the top of the National League table.

First-half goals from Josh Coulson and Charlie Lee sandwiched an own-goal by the visitors Theo Lewis to put the hosts’ in cruise control.

Macauley Bonne added a fourth after the break and Orient could have had more, but O’s 10th victory of the season moved them ahead of both Salford City and Wrexham, who dropped points against Ebbsfleet United and Chesterfield respectively.

“I am pleased with the performance. It was a positive start, we always looked a threat and we were worthy of the win,” Edinburgh said.

“We spoke during the week and did a lot of work at the training ground and the players responded.

“If we had got a couple more it would have been justified, but credit to Havant because they kept going and never gave up for their manager.

“They gave everything they had until the end, but I felt we were a very good unit today and moved the ball well and always looked decisive in the final third.”

While Havant come into the encounter in the bottom four, they had lost each of their previous four games in all competitions by a single goal.

It suggested Orient might need to be patient, but Coulson tapped home after only 13 minutes and Edinburgh’s side never looked back.

He added: “If you look at their results, okay they haven’t won as many as they would have liked, but they had only lost two games by more than the odd goal, so we knew we had to be positive and try to get the early goal which we did and that brought Havant onto us a bit more.

“Teams haven’t had to do that recently because we haven’t got the early goal here, but once we got that the game opened up for us nicely.”

After Coulson’s opener, an own-goal made it 2-0 in the 18th minute and then a stunner occurred in the 38th minute.

Lee won the ball back in midfield, drove forward and rifled into the bottom corner to cap a wonderful first half.

Orient could have had more than three in the opening 45, but Bonne made it four on the hour mark after a superb nutmeg pass by Craig Clay.

Bonne and Josh Koroma should have added more goals, but four was enough to send the O’s back to the top of the table for the first time since before they lost 1-0 at home to Sutton United on September 29.

Edinburgh concluded: “We were on the front foot and every game we play here nothing else is on our mind other than to win.

“Once you get the early goal it gives you the opportunity to have more calmness and you can dictate the play a bit more with your passing and Koroma and Macauley, when they play together they always look a threat.”