Simon Weaver hails Harrogate after win at Leyton Orient

Posted Wednesday, August 25, 2021 by PA

Manager Simon Weaver could not praise his Harrogate side enough after their 2-0 away win at Leyton Orient.

The victory moved them into third position in League Two as they maintained their 100 per cent record with their third win in the league this season.

A first-half brace from Luke Armstrong gave Town the initiative before a penalty save by Mark Oxley from Harry Smith protected the two-goal cushion to ensure Harrogate a success they fully deserved.

“I thought the lads were excellent tonight,” Weaver stated.

“We were really organised throughout, gritty and the distances between players when we didn’t have the ball was compact allowing us to spring into attack. I thought we looked menacing at times.

“It was great to score early on and it settled everyone down because you know there will be a good atmosphere at Leyton Orient, so I am really delighted with the overall performance.

“Luke Armstrong’s overall play was outstanding so I was delighted for him to get the brace but his whole game tonight was tremendous.

“At half-time the message was to stop the home crowd getting on our backs and giving Orient a lift. The penalty was a big moment but full credit to Ox (Mark Oxley) who couldn’t have done anymore since he arrived at the club. He’s another who has been outstanding.

“The players deserve a day off tomorrow and we will probably get back around three or four o’clock but they will be back in Thursday and focussing on Exeter at the weekend.”

Orient boss Kenny Jackett was phlegmatic after his side slipped to their first league defeat of the season that saw them miss the opportunity to move into third place in the league.

“It was a tough night and we gave poor goals away where we got caught in midfield for the first one but we still could have rectified it,” he lamented.

“The second one we looked the favourite in our box to clear it but couldn’t do so.

“Generally as a performance, those goals aside, we didn’t do enough. We didn’t compete enough and Harrogate did a bit of a job on us in terms of getting tight in midfield and we couldn’t find the spare man and we lost our confidence and we couldn’t play out.

“We need to play a lot better than that, we need to be realistic about the division too and on Saturday we have to come bouncing back versus Bradford.

“The penalty could have changed it but the goalkeeper saved it. We needed that but overall I thought they did a job on us. They were a little bit more manly than us, a little bit more street wise and generally just defended better than us.”