Cheltenham Town ground out three important league points in this match which took place after two pitch inspections.
The conditions were far from ideal but the final result, achieved with a 42nd minute goal from Paul Brayson, was more important for the struggling home side than for mid-table Leyton Orient.
Both teams struggled to tame difficult conditions of a heavy pitch and strong wind, although it was the home side that adapted best in the first half.
The Robins enjoyed the lion's share of possession and threatened the Orient goal with a series of free-kicks and corners.
Despite their dominance the Robins failed, for the first 40 minutes at least, to create a chance anything as good as the one Orient fashioned with only five minutes gone.
On that occasion a long throw from David Hunt found its way to Gary Alexander at the far post and his low drive was blocked by goalkeeper Shane Higgs.
There was a sense of frustration among the crowd as the home side tried and failed to break down the visiting defence, although the disquiet was finally dispelled three minutes before the break by a goal from the recalled Brayson.
The diminutive striker received a pass just inside the penalty area and produced a sharp drop of the shoulder to outwit his marker before catching goalkeeper Glenn Morris wrong-footed with a low shot.
Midfielder Grant McCann almost doubled the lead moments later with a low drive that flashed across the face of goal.
In the second half both sides wasted chances that could have given the result a different look. Wayne Purser and substitute Chris Tate should have done better for Orient while Brayson went close with a couple of opportunities to double his tally.
Orient's Mark Peters also hit the crossbar with a looping header on a day that the East Londoners' luck appeared to be out.
"I thought Cheltenham rode their luck a bit and we were the better side," said Orient manager Martin Ling.
"It all came down to a Billy Jones clearance that went to their player. We've created seven or eight good chances and come away with nothing, which is disappointing." Cheltenham manager John Ward said: "I'm delighted with the win. We had to dig in and scrap for everything and we did that. The conditions were difficult and it was not a pretty game but the result is all important."