Josh Windass fired home his eighth goal of the campaign at promotion rivals Leyton Orient to move Stanley up to fourth place in League Two.

Windass struck the winner in the 25^th minute when he latched onto Billy Kee’s pass and held his composure to slot the ball past ex-Red Alex Cisak.

John Coleman has said his side have laid down a number of markers this season  – and this was another one as they celebrated this week’s news of the new investment with a position just outside the automatic promotion spots.

Orient pressed in the early stages but it was Stanley who carved out the first clear opportunity on 10 minutes.

The Reds broke quickly and Piero MIngoia’s cross found Sean McConville at the back post but he clipped the effort wide.

However Stanley’s goal then led a charmed life as, in the 13^th minute, Connor Essam’s effort hit the post, it bounced down and Jay Simpson and Ollie Palmer got in each other’s way as Dean Winnard blocked the ball brilliantly on the line.

A minute later, Jason Mooney dived low to keep out John Marquis’s strike and then, at the other end, a Windass free kick whisked just over the Orient crossbar as the game opened up.

Coleman had said the Reds like to play on the counter attack away from home and, on 25 minutes, they broke quickly, Kee fed Windass and the frontman fired home what turned out to be the winner.

Windass came close to a second a minute later with his effort just wide as Orient seemed shell shocked by the opener.

The home side did come back and enjoyed a spell of pressure without testing Mooney and there was a worry when Matt Crooks was laid out after an accidental clash of heads but the midfielder recovered to almost grab a second for the Reds on the stroke of half-time.

Seamus Conneely’s strike was spilled by Cisak but Crooks could only hook the rebound over the bar.

Orient had a great chance to level just after the restart but Palmer scuffed an effort wide while Cisak pushed away a McConville cross as both teams looked to make their mark after the break.

Stanley had two great chances to increase their tally when Kee’s 58^th minute effort was pushed away by Cisak and then McConville’s strike was inches over the crossbar.

The Reds were forced to defend deep as Orient went for it and Dean Cox couldn’t find the target in a decent position as Stanley held on for a memorable win on their first trip to the Matchroom Stadium.