In a match against Wigan Athletic, a team that “should be right at the top end of this division,” Lenyto Orient manager Richie Wellens expressed his pride in his squad’s ability to handle being down a man for the most of the game.
The “game-changing moment” was admitted by both Wellens and Latics manager Shaun Maloney, who dismissed Ethan Galbraith in the 42nd minute for two yellow cards in 13 minutes.
Both Wellens and Latics manager Shaun Maloney acknowledged the “game-changing moment” when Galbraith was sent off for the second time in 13 minutes in the 42nd minute.
Wellens wasn’t too unhappy with the outcome and wasn’t upset with the red card.
“I can’t really remember the first (yellow), but I’ve got no complaints about the second one, his foot was high, and it was a fair booking,” he stated.
“We controlled the game up to the final whistle.
“It was too easy for us, the only threat they had was when we lost the ball in the middle of the pitch and they countered on us.”
Then, Wellens talked about Latics’ recent history at this level, maybe ignoring the significant goalpost shifting that has occurred at the DW Stadium during the past 12 months.
“I’m very proud of the team…to come to this stadium, against a club that wins the league whenever they are in League One,” he stated.
“Wigan ought to be near the top of this league, so it was great to come here with such young guys and perform as well as we did.
“They didn’t seem to be causing us any problems up until they made a smart substitution, taking Charlie Goode off and replacing him with a player who was more adept at handling the ball in the back, which created issues for us.”
However, a set-play has defeated us, and we must improve on it.
“After that, they managed the game well, the referee allowed them to slow the game down, waste time, which you expect the opposition to do in that position.”
