Orient produced a sensational comeback on Tuesday night, beating Mansfield 3-2 after being two goals down at half time.
Both of Mansfield’s first half goals came from the penalty spot with the first being given in the 12th minute. Marvin Ekpiteta got the wrong side of Danny Rose and pulled him down, leaving referee Sebastian Stockbridge with no choice but to point to the spot. Rose then dusted himself down to comfortably slot the penalty past Dean Brill in the O’s goal.
The second penalty was a little less cut and dry with Stockbridge adjudging that Joe Widdowson’s tangle with Kellan Gordon was deserving of a spot kick when both men were running away from goal. Rose stepped up once again and calmly scored his second of the game to give his side a two goal advantage going into the break.
With his team looking at a fourth consecutive ninety minutes without a goal, O’s boss Ross Embleton made what turned out to be an inspired half time change that saw Dan Happe make way for Louis Dennis and Orient switch from a five at the back to a four.
The O’s’ barren spell in front of goal was ended in the 64th minute when Conor Wilkinson netted his first for the club with a close range header after some acrobatic work from substitute Dennis.
And just like London buses another came along a mere ten minutes later when Lee Angol fired underneath Conrad Logan to open his Orient account and give his side parity.
The away side weren’t done there though and in the fifth minute of stoppage time Angol once again found space down the Mansfield right and fired a ball across goal that was turned in by Jordan Maguire-Drew to spark jubilant scenes in the away end with even Embleton himself getting involved in the celebrations.
Player Ratings
Dean Brill 6.5 – Didn’t really have a whole lot to do other than pick the ball out of the net from the two penalties.
Marvin Ekpiteta 6 – Recovered very well after making the mistake that led to the Stags’ first penalty, looked a lot more comfortable in a back four.
Josh Coulson 6.5 – After a shaky game against Stevenage, Coulson was back to his reliable self at Field Mill, winning plenty of aerial challenges and marshalling his defence well.
Dan Happe 6 – Had to be sacrificed at half time so Embleton could change formation but didn’t play badly in the first half. Was unlucky not to get an assist after playing an excellent ball into the box from just past the halfway line which almost resulted in an Orient goal.
Sam Ling 6.5 – For a brief spell at the start of the second half it looked like the switch to a back four might overwhelm Ling as Mansfield looked to target him several times throughout those opening stages of the second period. But he kept his composure and built on a solid first half performance with another good 45 in the second half.
Joe Widdowson 6 – Another who benefitted from the switch to a back four. Perhaps a tad unlucky to concede the first half penalty but showed naivety by putting his hands on the streetwise Rose in the first place.
Craig Clay 6.5 – Like many in red yesterday evening, Clay failed to stamp his authority on the first half but improved in the second.
Josh Wright 7 – Knitted patterns of play together quite nicely after half time. His ability to consistently make the simple but correct passes is crucial to this side.
James Brophy 7 – Not as electric as he was on Saturday but still got the O’s up the pitch well with his direct driving runs.
Conor Wilkinson 7 – Did well to net his first goal for the club with a real poacher’s effort. Continues to work hard but Orient would improve exponentially if he could win a few more aerial challenges.
Lee Angol 8 – Despite not scoring, throughout the opening games many have been saying that Angol’s all round game is there and the goals will come. Last night the goal came with a well struck finish, but he also managed to show a significant improvement in his all round game too. Key to everything that was good about Orient’s turnaround, it was a superb performance from the 25 year old.
Subs
Louis Dennis 7 – The catalyst for the O’s’ comeback after coming on at the break, Dennis has flattered to deceive so far in his previous cameos but last night he showed why so many Portsmouth fans were gutted to see him leave Fratton Park. The highlight of his performance being a magnificent assist for Wilkinson’s goal.
Dale Gorman 6.5 – Didn’t have a great deal of time on the pitch but impressed with a couple of strong tackles that showed the home side who wanted it more going into the closing stages.
Jordan Maguire-Drew 7 – Got the 95th minute winner with his first and only touch. Need I say more?
