Neill Collins delighted with never-say-die attitude from Barnsley at Orient

Posted Sunday, October 22, 2023 by PA

Neill Collins was delighted with the way his players responded as Leyton Orient ended Barnsley’s hopes of setting a new club record with a sixth successive away win.

The visitors, who finished with 10 men following the dismissal of substitute Sam Cosgrove for two yellow cards in the closing stages, had fallen behind when the O’s were awarded a first-half penalty that Joe Pigott converted.

Barnsley turned up the pressure after the break and were rewarded when Herbie Kane equalised with an unstoppable 20-yard strike.

“I thought it should have been 0-0 at half-time but I am really pleased that the players were able to come from behind in a tough environment,” Collins said.

“We could have won the game. Equally we could have lost and Leyton Orient will have been pleased with their performance.

“Anyone that sees the penalty will feel the same as me. I don’t think there was a single person in the stadium that felt it was a penalty and we were very confused with what the penalty had been given for.

“I am pleased the players rose above it and come away with a point. There wasn’t much in the first 30 minutes but I thought they put us under pressure when they played directly into Pigott but we lost a goal when we should have been scoring a goal.

“The build-up to our equaliser was brilliant and I thought Herbie Kane was excellent in the second half.

“For a bit more composure we could have scored another but I was really concerned when we went down to 10 men we were going to lose it at the death but the players never gave up.”

Orient head coach Richie Wellens was equally pleased with his own players.

“I thought it was a very good performance and a very good game,” he said. “Two good teams and both found it difficult to get the ball off each other unless it’s a mistake.

“The goal is disappointing although it was a worldie strike for their equaliser. All in all I thought we deserved the three points. It shows how far we’ve come.

“They’re a great team and will be among it. We are gutted with a point and they were delighted.

“Athletic-wise and tactically I thought we were better than them at times. We caused them a lot of problems and could have scored four or five today so lots of positives.

“I have not seen the penalty decision back but we are probably due one. We were dominant but just need to shift and move the ball better at times.

“If we want to accelerate and move to the top end in this league then we do need to score more goals.”