Leyton Orient were narrowly defeated 2-1 by Arsenal U21 in their Bristol Street Motors Trophy group stage match on Tuesday night, piling pressure on beleaguered manager Ritchie Wellens.
His side are rock bottom of League One with four defeats in four, and now humbled by an Under 21 side in the EFL Trophy. They can take solace from their League Cup run, but it’s looking like a long season for Orient, on exasperated by Arsenal Under 21s at Brisbane Road.
Arsenal U21s took an early lead in the third minute when Josh Robinson capitalised on a loose pass in the Orient defence and calmly lofted the ball into an empty net. It was a frustrating start for the O’s, but they quickly responded.
Tom James came close soon after, heading Zech Obiero’s free-kick back into the box where Dan Happe was waiting, but his effort sailed over the bar. The O’s began to settle into the game and apply pressure, with Sonny Perkins seeing his shot blocked and new signing Jack Currie heading wide from a Perkins cross.
Orient’s persistence paid off in the 19th minute when James whipped in a pinpoint cross, and Happe rose at the back post to nod home, levelling the score. The O’s almost took the lead just before half-time, but Happe’s second attempt couldn’t find the target.
The second half saw Arsenal U21s retake the lead in the 55th minute, as Ismeal Kabia muscled his way through the defence and finished clinically past the keeper.
Orient pushed hard for an equaliser. Darren Pratley headed wide from a corner, and Jamie Donley’s dangerous cross just missed Diallang Jaiyesimi at the far post. Donley had two great chances in quick succession but was denied by Arsenal U21s keeper Brian Okonkwo on both occasions.
The O’s had a golden opportunity to draw level in the 90th minute when Dan Agyei was fouled in the box. He stepped up to take the penalty but fired it over the crossbar, missing a vital chance.
Despite late pressure, including a stinging shot from Happe and a blocked effort from Sean Clare, Orient couldn’t find a way through. Arsenal U21s held on for the win, leaving the O’s to rue missed opportunities.
It left manager Wellens to to take positives, despite the missed opportunity to get a confidence-boosting win into his players.
“I thought it was excellent,” he told the club’s official YouTube channel. “How we’ve lost the game is unbelievable. We had a lot more possession than them, more shots, more shots on target, and it felt like we had a dozen corners. We need to be better from corners and set plays.
We should have scored more. The number of times we got to the byline and overhit crosses— we can be better in and around the final third. But as a reaction from Saturday, there were loads of positives.”
The result might be tough to take, but Wellens explained that he felt the player could hold their heads high going into the international break.
“It’s important that we show resilience and stick together. They’re all gutted in the changing room, but I told them to keep smiling. I think anyone who came tonight could see a team really trying. We showed a lot of quality at times and mixed up our game against a team that’s used to opponents playing in front of them.”
Writer’s View
Orient did play well, and it’s important to remember that Arsenal are an elite academy, rather than one of the also-rans. They don’t need to put first team players in to get the win, as Aston Villa did. Their kids are good enough on their own.
That said, the Orient boss knows he needs to turn some of these games into wins, and quickly. It’s easy to get cut adrift in League One, given the size of the clubs fighting for survival, and those good performance, like this and the win at Millwall, need to be turned into points, and quickly.
Be the first to comment