Orient progress to the second round of the competition thanks to a brace from captain Idris El Mizouni, capping off an emphatic display by the O’s.

Richie Wellens' side were the favourites coming into the tie, with Harborough Town sitting 76 places below Orient in the football pyramid.

The O’s manager made one change from the side that beat Cambridge United 3-0 in the league on Halloween. Midfielder Charlie Wellens was preferred over Ollie O’Neill, as Orient looked to progress to the next round.

It was the home side who started as they meant to continue, with their first attack putting them ahead. Fin Stevens on the overlap played a teasing ball into the area to find the unmarked Armando Dobra, who slotted it in at the far post to make it 1-0 in the sixth minute.

The O’s could’ve doubled their lead inside ten minutes, when Jaze Kabia’s shot rattled the woodwork, after a brilliant piece of trickery from Aaron Connolly to play him through on goal.

For a while after Orient’s goal, they couldn’t build momentum, with possession ceded by both teams in the middle of the park, which encouraged the visitors to apply the pressure.

That was until the O’s won a free kick on the edge of the box, as Connolly found himself impeded by Harborough’s Rory McAuley. It was the Orient midfielder who bagged their second, with the ball laid into his path for a magnificent strike to make it 2-0 before halftime.

The O’s started the second half as quickly as the first, with El Mizouni putting them 3-0 up within five minutes of the restart. This time, the surging run of fullback Somto Boniface allowed the pullback cross to find the Orient skipper at the far post.

The non-league side weren’t without their chances though, and they caused some unease amongst the home supporters. A flicked-on corner found Town substitute Paul Malone, who poked it in from the 12-yard spot to make it 3-1.

Wellens decided to go for the fourth, and that they did. Substitute Tony Springett finished off a sweeping counterattack move with a guided finish into the bottom left corner to make it 4-1 to Orient.

With seven additional minutes at the end, due to an injury to Harborough’s goalscorer, the O’s were not done.

El Mizouni bagged himself a brace in the last minute of the game, with a driven effort into the top corner, to make it 5-1. The captain’s performance rounded off a strong performance by Orient, who wait for Monday night to see who they’ll face in the next round of the cup.

As for now, they focus on their next game and trying to qualify for the next stages of the EFL Trophy away at Barnet on Tuesday night.