Leyton Orient interim boss Ross Embleton pleased to end on a winning note

Posted Sunday, October 13, 2019 by PA

In what is likely to be his final match as Leyton Orient interim manager, Ross Embleton was able to end his brief tenure in charge with a 3-1 win over Walsall.

Orient came back after trailing at the interval, with Embleton set to step aside for a permanent appointment next week – Derek Adams and Colin Calderwood have both been linked with the Brisbane Road hotseat.

There was a disappointment for Orient late on, however, with goalscorer Conor Wilkinson sent off after clashing with Dan Scarr – with the Walsall man only seeing yellow.

“My message to the players at half-time was that I knew how capable they were, not to panic and start to show more intensity,” said Embleton.

“I thought we showed our intent immediately when the game restarted, not just because we got back on level terms quickly but because we had a bit more zip about our play and we were moving the opposition around more.

“We created a lot more chances and were able to take our rewards from that.

“The red card for Conor Wilkinson was disappointing, I’ve no argument about it but he has got a black eye which to me means that something had caused him to react in the way he did. In my opinion, perhaps both players deserved to go.

“I must admit I did feel emotional at the end of the game knowing that we are likely to have a new man in charge by our next game. We had a good crowd in here today and to send everyone home happy with a good performance is a good feeling.

“It meant a lot to me to get that win.”

The Saddlers led at the interval through Stuart Sinclair but O’s full-back Joe Widdowson equalised when he scored his first goal in 11 years and spanning 372 senior appearances.

Matt Harrold and Wilkinson then put the game out of the visitors reach although Wilkinson was dismissed for violet conduct 10 minutes form time.

Saddlers boss Darrell Clarke reflected: “Our second-half performance was not good enough.

“For me, the biggest disappointment was that when we were in control, we were not clinical enough. We’ve not committed a good final ball and then we went and conceded three goals again. That’s six in the last two games and when you do that, you are not going to win football matches.

“Three or four of those goals are down to individual mistakes so that’s frustrating.

“We’ve picked up three wins away from home this season but the reason we are putting ourselves under so much pressure away is because of our home form.

“Potentially at one stage today it looked as if we might win another away game but unless you win get your home form going, you are going to be unsuccessful in this league.

“It’s up to people to show character and belief and get on the ball and to produce the things I see in training.”