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.
Tuesday night’s Bristol Street Motors Trophy group stage encounter between Leyton Orient and Arsenal U21 ended in a close 2-1 loss, which increased the strain on struggling manager Ritchie Wellens.
Josh Robinson’s smooth lofted goal into an empty net in the third minute gave Arsenal U21s the early lead. Robinson had taken advantage of a poor pass in the Orient defence. The O’s had a rough start, but they rallied fast.
Soon after, Tom James had a chance to score when he headed a free-kick from Zech Obiero back into the box where Dan Happe was waiting, but his shot went over the bar. The O’s started to exert pressure to get in
to the game; Sonny Perkins’ attempt was rejected, and new signing Jack Currie is trying to avoid a Perkins crossIn the 19th minute, Orient’s perseverance paid off as Happe rose at the back post to tap in James’ precise cross and square the score. Just before halftime, Happe’s second shot failed to find the goal, giving the O’s a near-victory.
Ismeal Kabia broke through the defence and scored expertly past the goalie in the 55th minute of the second half to give Arsenal U21s the lead again.
Orient made a strong effort to equalise. Diallang Jaiyesimi almost missed Jamie Donley’s dangerous cross at the far post, while Darren Pratley headed wide from a corner. Donley had two excellent opportunities in a short period of time, but Brian Okonkwo, the goalie for Arsenal U21s, stopped both of them.Dan Agyei was fouled in the box in the ninetieth minute, giving the O’s a fantastic chance to tie the game. He took the penalty, but his shot went beyond the bar, costing him a crucial opportunity.
Orient failed to find a way through despite late pressure, which included a blistering shot from Happe and a blocked effort from Sean Clare. The O’s were left to lament lost opportunities as Arsenal U21s held on for the victory.Despite the lost chance to give his men a victory that would have boosted their confidence, manager Wellens was left to focus on the positives.
He said, “I thought it was excellent,” on the official YouTube account of the club. “It’s unbelievable how we lost this game.” Compared to them, we had far more possession, shots, and shots on goal. We also appeared to have a dozen corners. We must improve on set plays and from corners.We ought to have won by a larger margin. We can improve in and around the final third, based on the frequency with which we reached the byline and overhit crosses. However, there were a tonne of good things about the response from Saturday.
Even if the outcome might be difficult to accept, Wellens said he thought the players could go into the international break with a positive attitude.It’s critical that we remain united and resilient.
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.”
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