Emirates FA Cup first round replay: Leyton Orient 1 (Bonne 23) Dagenham & Redbridge 0

Macauley Bonne’s 23rd minute goal was the difference between Leyton Orient and Dagenham & Redbridge in what was a thrilling fourth qualifying round FA Cup replay at Brisbane Road.

After a fairly dull opening 20 minutes, the opener sparked the tie into life and made it feel like a local derby.

Tackles were flying in and at the end, John Still’s Daggers chucked everything at Orient, but Steve Davis’ side stood firm and booked themselves a spot at Gillingham on the weekend of November 4.

The O’s were forced to make one change from the team which held Dagenham to a goalless draw on Saturday.

Alex Lawless missed out through suspension and was replaced by Rommy Boco, but Jamie Sendles-White was absent due to illness, so Michael Clark came in for him.

Davis stuck with the 3-5-2/5-3-2 formation and Daggers did the same with Still keeping the same starting XI from the weekend.

The only change the Victoria Road boss made to his squad was to include Michael Cheek on the bench, which handed the visitors a major boost.

With Gillingham lying in wait in the first round, it was perhaps understandable that the atmosphere at Brisbane Road was subdued.

The East and South Stands were shut with a lot of supporters deciding to give this fourth qualifying round replay a miss.

It was an important match for Davis in particular with O’s on a lengthy run without a victory in all competitions.

The winless streak appeared to be weighing heavy on Orient during the opening exchanges with the hosts appearing to lack confidence.

Dagenham looked to have much more belief, but after a dull first 10 minutes, the home side settled down.

Myles Judd headed wide in the 11th minute, though he was penalised for a foul on ex-Orient youngster Sam Ling – making his first competitive senior start at Brisbane Road.

The visitors demonstrated their threat five minutes later when Morgan Ferrier got past Clark on the left.

His cross was partially cleared and then the ball was knocked back into the O’s area and Joe Widdowson could only head straight into Ferrier’s path.

After looking to work a yard of space, Clark fortunately managed to deflect the effort of the forward past the post.

It was a warning sign for Davis’ team and a poor David Mooney clearance saw Dagenham captain Scott Doe volley wide seconds later.

Orient won their first corner of the mach soon after, in the 21st minute, and tested away custodian Mark Cousins for the first time.

Dagenham dealt with the initial set-piece delivery, but Bonne headed straight at the Daggers goalkeeper following Dan Happe’s knock-down.

Mooney was furious with his strike-partner though, after he was just behind him and in space.

The pair didn’t have much time to argue, as Cousins looked to pick out Corey Whiteley, but Judd did well to get around and cover.

And then Orient took the lead, arguably against the run of play, with their two forwards at the heart of the move.

A flowing move saw Mooney played in on the right and his centre was perfect for Bonne to tap past Cousins with 23 on the clock.

Moments after arguing, the forwards were embracing and the O’s fans enjoyed giving some stick back to the Dagenham supporters, who to their credit had added to the quiet atmosphere in E10.

The opening gave Orient a boost and suddenly there was more zip to the local derby with tackles starting to fly in.

But that flow was halted when Bonne briefly needed treatment in the 32nd minute for a head injury.

He was fine to resume, however, Dagenham earned themselves a good chance in the 36th minute when Happe fouled Elliot Romain around 22-yards-out.

Jake Howells curled the effort wide though, when it looked better suited for Whitely to have a go.

Daggers continued to press and Ferrier caused Clark more problems six minutes before half time.

The former Boreham Wood striker turned the youngster inside out before seeing his low cross diverted wide by Charlie Grainger.

Still’s team were handed another good opportunity on the stroke of half time when O’s defended poorly.

James Dayton’s pass back to Grainger was poor and the goalkeeper was too casual, as he knocked it into Jake Caprice’s path.

Caprice, strangely, looked to let the ball bounce and Whitley nipped in and teed up Ferrier, but he fired over.

The half time whistle followed soon after, following two minutes of stoppage time, and O’s went in ahead.

Dagenham brought off Charlee Adams at the break with Fejiri Okenabirhie coming on in his place.

The visitors switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation with Craig Robson and Andre Boucaud in the middle and Romain, Whitely and Okenabirhie behind Ferrier up front.

Still’s substitution almost paid off in the 52nd minute when Ferrier cut back for the Daggers sub, but he drilled wide when unmarked.

It was a great chance for the visitors and Orient nearly made them pay when Caprice’s cross almost caught out Cousins, but he was able to tip over.

Referee Alan Young was then at the centre of a controversial moment in the 56th minute when O’s wanted a spot-kick.

Bonne flicked the ball on brilliantly for Mooney and he cut inside Scott Doe before going to ground.

Cousins appeared to catch the forward despite the club captain going down easy, but referee Young booked the Irishmen for simulation.

After Orient’s remonstrations had ended, the game resumed, but stoppages were the order of the day.

Widdowson was the next to go down and it took some time before he was able to get back on the pitch.

The former Dagenham defender was getting some stick from the away fans, but had again looked solid as part of a back three.

Still made his second change of the night in the 66th minute when Cheek made his return from injury and replaced the ineffective Romain.

Daggers went even closer three minutes later when the ball came to Robson and his forced Grainger into a stunning save from 15-yards.

The ball looped up and Clark did well to head away under pressure from Ferrier, who was actually penalised.

The Victoria Road club began to ramp up the pressure and Okenabirhie dragged an effort wide soon after.

Orient then wasted an excellent opportunity when Boco played in Bonne and he teed up Mooney, but the forward took a heavy touch and Ling cleared.

Judd, who was the frontrunner for man of the match, was involved again in the 74th minute when he blocked an effort from Cheek before winning a foul on the edge of his own area.

Referee Young was called upon to make another key decision with 16 minutes left when Clark rashly brought down Ferrier.

After taking what appeared an age to make a decision, however, the main official only pulled out a yellow card.

Mason Bloomfield was then introduced in the 80th minute with Daggers desperate to force extra time.

Doe showed his commitment to the cause by sticking with Mooney seconds later and making a timely challenge in the area.

Henry Ochieng was introduced with seven minutes left, as Dayton made way after putting in a decent shift.

Then a tense finale at Brisbane Road occurred with Widdowson first getting a crucial touch from a Whitely cross.

Mooney then drilled over following Boco’s cut back with the tension building inside E10 for both sets of supporters.

When the fourth official signalled for five minutes of additional time, Daggers threw everything at Orient.

Grainger denied Ferrier wonderfully before Widdowson and Clark made stunning interventions in the dying exchanges to get O’s over the line.

The relief could be seen after the full time whistle with all of the home supporters showing their satisfaction after a committed performance.

Orient got a decent chunk of luck, but deserved it and now have kept back-to-back clean sheets.

For Dagenham, they’ll reflect on what might have been, especially after edging the first game at Victoria Road.

Leyton Orient: Grainger; Clark, Happe, Widdowson; Caprice, Dayton (Ochieng 83), Clay, Boco (Westbrooke 90), Judd; Mooney, Bonne.

Unused substitutes: Sargeant, Koroma, Dalby, Sotiriou, Barker.

Dagenham & Redbridge: Cousins; Doe, Lokko, Robson; Ling, Boucaud (Bloomfield 80), Adams (Okenabirhie 46), Howells; Whiteley, Ferrier; Romain (Cheek 66).

Unused substitutes: Chapman, Nunn, Robinson, N’Gala.

Attendance: 2,013 (480 Dagenham & Redbridge supporters).