The former Colchester United forward has two in two now and looks in form again after a run of one goal in four games

East London Advertiser: Macauley Bonne (centre) celebrates scoring for Leyton Orient against Havant & Waterlooville (pic: Simon O'Connor).Macauley Bonne (centre) celebrates scoring for Leyton Orient against Havant & Waterlooville (pic: Simon O'Connor). (Image: Simon O'Connor Photography)

Leyton Orient forward Macauley Bonne turned 23 on Friday and he celebrated his birthday with a goal a day later and also received praise off James Dayton come full time.

The O’s leading marksman found the net in the 4-0 home win over lowly Havant & Waterlooville on Saturday in the National League.

Bonne did have other chances to add to his tally, but played his part in the own-goal which made it 2-0 to Orient and looked at his best against the Hawks.

Dayton, who also impressed on the right, said with a smile: “Is he 23? Are you sure he is not 33? He should have had a hat-trick, but again he did really well.

“He was a threat all game and that is what he can do; he scores goals and gets in good positions.

“I think he will probably be a bit frustrated not to have a hat-trick, but he is getting in the right place at the right time and that is what you want.”

During Orient’s 2-0 loss away to Maidstone United in the FA Cup on October 20, Bonne struggled to make his mark on the game.

The energetic forward couldn’t get on the end of any crosses into the area, but on Saturday he was a threat throughout and Havant just couldn’t live with him.

What seemed to help Bonne is the fact he was back up front with Josh Koroma, with the young pair forming a strong bond up front in the early months of the season.

Although Koroma didn’t get on the scoresheet, he caused Hawks all sorts of problems and his flair and skill took the attention off Bonne, who enjoyed some extra space compared to usual.

O’s will come up against plenty of teams better than Havant, but after the FA Cup exit, this was the type of game they needed to get back on track.

The loss at Maidstone had put a slight dampener on Orient’s start to the season, which had been excellent, but winger Dayton was delighted for them to get back on track.

He said: “We were disappointed because we wanted to go on a run in the FA Cup.

“All the lads were disappointed, but we were still positive about things because we had only lost two games all season.

“We went into the week ahead of playing Havant knowing we had to put things right which went wrong against Maidstone and we did.”

Tougher tests will come for Orient over the next two months, but with confidence flowing now and Bonne returning to his dangerous best, they should get on a roll again.