Matt Harrold was delighted at the way in which Leyton Orient fought back to gain a point yesterday, equalising in the fourth minute of stoppage time through his goal.

The O’s had been 2-0 down through goals from Manny Duku and Devante Rodney, but Josh Koroma’s superb strike just before the break brought them back into it before Harrold scrambled home with seconds to go.

“Come the end of the season it could be really important,” Harrold said after the game. “We probably didn’t deserve to lose the game anyway. We created a lot of good opportunities, we started on the front foot, their goalie made a few good saves, they threw their bodies on the line and we found ourselves, against the run of play, 2-0 down.

“Josh scored a great goal before half-time which gave us a little bit of a boost and then they defended resolutely I scored one of the best goals of my career at the end from about 12 centimetres!

“It’s been a bit of a tough week. My grandad passed away and he was 97, I was quite close to him so I always fancied, if I got a chance today, something might just go in. You sometimes get one of those feelings and I had it today and it was lovely just to see it roll in.”

Orient started the game on the front foot, forcing Halifax keeper Sam Johnson into a number of stops in the opening minutes, but the hosts fell behind after just nine minutes and conceded again on the brink of half-time, and Harrold felt as though both set-backs came against balance of the match.

He said: “I think they played on the counter quite well. They scored against the run of play. I thought we started really positively, we were getting into good areas but they just managed to stay in the game and score the first goal which was poor from our point of view. We’re not really happy with the goals.

“We’ve banged on about team spirit and the squad all season and that’s what it’s about, I think everyone had an impact from the bench, as we have done as a squad. There’s been no passengers this season and we’ve pushed each other every day in training and that’s what you get, late goals, which just shows our spirit.

“It’s not ideal, we’d have loved to have won the game but it’s a tough game. I know their manager, he was with me at Bristol Rovers, he demands a lot and they work their socks off. They came here in a big game for them and it’s not always easy.”

The O’s have five more games remaining in the National League and, having dropped down a place because of the draw, they need to forget the result and focus on Tuesday’s game at home to Eastleigh; something that Harrold is keen to do.

He said: “It’s definitely not a game we deserved to lose and on the balance of chances created we probably could have easily won the game but it’s a point and now onto Tuesday. I think it’s a big one for mindset on Tuesday having scored a late goal and we know now that we have to go into that game being positive and take them on as it’s not going to be an easy game.”