Orient express sends Fulham packing

Fulham 1 Leyton Orient 2

Strikes from Craig Easton and Joe Keith sent Orient into the fourth round and Ling has given his players permission to celebrate in champagne style - with club chairman Barry Hearn paying the bill.

"We're having our Christmas do tonight, we told the players we'd have it after this match," Ling said.

"The chairman is picking up the tab. They deserve it and we'll let them enjoy themselves. They'll have lots of girls chasing after them now! They'll have a few drinks and rightly so."

League Two outfit Orient took a two-goal lead into half-time but Fulham hit back with a 50th-minute strike from Collins John. Fulham looked on course to complete their fightback when Luis Boa Morte was brought down by Gabriel Zakuani and referee Peter Walton awarded a penalty. But Orient keeper Glyn Garner saved John's spot-kick to send the visiting fans into delirium.

"This is a great day, probably the best in my nine and a half years at Orient. We edged them on the pitch and in the supporters department. The first half was top notch," Ling added.

"We needed a bit of luck to pull off the upset and we got that with the deflections and the penalty. We passed the ball against a Premiership side."

Orient hero Easton described the victory as the highlight of his career. The former Dundee United midfielder, who joined Orient over the summer, produced a magnificent display to spearhead the club's charge into the fourth round.

"That was the most enjoyable game of my career and I always did well with Dundee United, getting wins over the Old Firm a few times, mainly Rangers," he said.

"It was a good day today. The way the game started I thought we did well and had a chance. We passed the ball and played to our maximum.

"We defended well when we needed to and helped each other out. We were the underdogs so we had to give it a go - that's what the manager said. He told us to enjoy ourselves. I know Fulham had injuries but they should have had the strength in depth to deal with us. We just went out there and tried to do ourselves justice."

Furious Fulham boss Chris Coleman blamed the defeat on "arrogance" and admitted he was "absolutely gutted".

"The defeat was down to a sense of arrogance. There was also a lack of effort and enthusiasm. God knows where the arrogance came frombecause we can't afford to approach any game like that," he said.

"We did our homework on Orient and didn't change anything in terms of preparation because we knew what a tough game it would be. I'm gutted, absolutely gutted. I didn't show Orient any disrespect because they're a good team who have a good manager and play good football. I showed them respect but the players didn't."

FULHAM: Warner, Rosenior, Knight, Pearce (Goma 86), Niclas Jensen, Radzinski, Elliot, Legwinski, Boa Morte, Elrich (Timlin 62), John.

LEYTON ORIENT: Garner, Lockwood, Mackie, Miller, Zakuani, Keith (Carlisle 85), Tudor (McMahon 72), Easton, Simpson, Alexander (Barnard 90), Ibehre.

Ref: P Walton (Northamptonshire).