Better Leyton Never

Sky Bet League 2’s top scorer Jay Simpson opened the scoring after just four minutes at Home Park, smashing in a superb long range strike to give his side an early lead at Home Park. 

The Greens narrowly spurned a pair of clear opportunities after the goal, as they were unable to convert plenty of possession and attacking intent into a goal before half time. 

“We dominated for large spells after they scored an absolute stunner of a goal in the first half,” said Derek. “It’s a fantastic strike from Simpson, and he’s a top quality player – a very good goal from him.

“In the first half it was only us in the game. I didn’t think that Leyton Orient troubled us in the first half. 

“The first half was all ours - we had an open goal missed and another chance missed in the first half, but I’m very happy with the performance and the way we played. We probably should have scored in the first half.” 

Despite an improved display from the O’s after the break, the Greens ended their run of consecutive defeats at Home Park at three thanks to a first goal of the season from skipper Curtis Nelson, who reacted quickest after fellow centre back Luke Croll’s shot was blocked in the area. 

“In the second half,” said Adams, “they obviously came into the game a wee bit. Christian [Walton] has had a couple of good saves from our errors, but overall, another excellent performance. We put them under a lot of pressure in the end, and we got our rewards. 

“It’s difficult in this league, because you’re going to get games where teams are going to come and it’s going to be rough-and-tumble. Teams are going to come and stop the match, and that’s what happened tonight. 

“We got a point in the end. I think you’ve got to look at it in the cold light of day, with where we’ve come from to get a point. It was a good performance again tonight.”