A solitary Matt Spring strike was enough to give Orient all three points as they overcame ten-man Charlton Athletic 1-0 at Brisbane Road.

The O’s were handed an early advantage with the game just five minutes old as keeper Ben Hamer was shown red for handling the ball outside the box.

Orient made the most of the extra man midway through the opening period when midfielder Spring netted against his former side to give the hosts the advantage.

Jimmy Smith volleyed the O’s two goals in front just before the break but his effort was chalked off for by an offside flag.

David Mooney was presented with a glorious chance to double the lead in the second half but he saw his effort fall wide of the upright.

Russell Slade made two changes to the side that were beaten 3-0 on Boxing Day by MK Dons.

Mooney was back in the starting XI in place of Jamie Cureton who dropped to the bench for the O’s, while Leon McSweeney returned to the back four, replacing Tony Craig who was recalled by Millwall this week.

Elsewhere, Ben Chorley continued in defence while Dean Cox returned to the matchday squad, being named amongst the substitutes after a spell out with strained medial knee ligaments.

Kevin Lisbie once again lead the attack for Orient as the striker looked to net against his former employers.

The game was just five minutes old when it sparked into life as the Addicks found themselves down to ten men.

Lee Cook’s ball over the top found Mooney charging down on goal but as the Irishman looked to lob the onrushing Hamer, the keeper appeared to use an arm in blocking the ball outside of the penalty area, with the referee having no hesitation in issuing a red.

Orient initially struggled to make the man-advantage count but slowly began to show composure on the ball and looked to stretch the visitors.

With 20 minutes gone, Terrell Forbes, unusually playing at right back, managed to advance and sent a looping effort goalward but reserve keeper John Sullivan was able to watch it fall harmlessly into the north stand.

Slade’s side were really beginning to make the most of the extra man by this point and a clever move between Lisbie and Stephen Dawson should have resulted in a one-on-one situation but the skipper’s control let him down.

It didn’t matter though as the O’s took the lead after 25 minutes.

With everyone in a red shirt looking to exploit the gaps, Forbes’ ball into the middle found Spring, who dragged the ball past two Charlton defenders before finding the net via a deflection off Matt Taylor.

The O’s were well on top by this point and would have been frustrated they couldn’t add to their lead as both Forbes and Smith went close.

Charlton were struggling to get forward throughout the half with Lee Butcher’s only real action of the opening 45 minutes being to comfortably gather a free kick from Johnnie Jackson just before the break.

With the half in stoppage time, Smith did find the net for Orient with a volley from a Spring cross but the effort was ruled out for a marginal offside decision.

Orient continued to push forward in the second half and Smith might consider himself unfortunate not to have got on the scoresheet, first being denied by Rhoys Wiggins on the line before his fierce drive was blocked by Taylor.

Wiggins was then guilty of wasting the Addicks best chance of the match after latching on to Yann Kermorgant’s pass before driving well over.

The O’s seemed destined to double their lead just past the hour when Mooney found himself through on goal with only Sullivan to beat.

A slight touch saw the loose ball beat the defender but Mooney snatched at the effort to shoot wide when a second to compose himself might have seen a different result.

The Irishman was at the centre of the action again minutes later when his low drive was well saved for a corner with the resulting set piece eventually seeing the striker volley wide.

Orient were struggling to create as easily as they had in the first half and were nearly caught out at the back with less than ten minutes to play as Charlton pressed for an equaliser.

Chris Solly drilled an effort well over while Chorley was in the right place to block Wiggins’ low strike on the line.

But the visitors were unable to find a way through as Orient held on for a dramatic victory.

Orient: Butcher; Forbes, Cuthbert, Chorley, McSweeney; Smith, Spring, Dawson, Cook (Cox 81); Lisbie, Mooney (Téhoué 73).

Subs: Cureton, Porter, Laird.

Charlton: Hamer; Solly, Morrison, Taylor, Wiggins; Wagstaff (Sullivan 6), Hollands, Russell, Jackson (Hayes 81); Wright-Phillips (Pritchard 63), Kermorgant.

Subs: Hughes, Cort.

Attendance: 5,097 (1,994).