Brisbane Road manager happy with display his team put in at League Two leaders to earn 1-1 draw

East London Advertiser: Leyton Orient forward Jay Simpson celebrates with Ollie Palmer after scoring against Plymouth Argyle (pic: Simon O'Connor).Leyton Orient forward Jay Simpson celebrates with Ollie Palmer after scoring against Plymouth Argyle (pic: Simon O'Connor). (Image: Simon O'Connor Photography)

Leyton Orient head coach Ian Hendon praised his side after watching them dominate for long parts against League Two leaders Plymouth Argyle before settling for a point.

Jay Simpson put the O’s ahead after four minutes with a brilliant strike before he was substituted before half time with a twisted ankle.

The east Londoners began the second period well and had opportunities to double their lead before the hosts hit back.

Argyle captain Curtis Nelson beat Alex Cisak from close range before Orient missed further chances late on and had to settle for a point at Home Park.

“I think we should have extended our lead, John Marquis got in a couple of times and had good opportunities,” said Hendon.

“Plymouth’s goalkeeper has made more saves than ours, that’s for sure. Three I can remember were good saves and Alex hasn’t really had that much to do all evening.

“It was a good performance and it played how we thought it would. We knew it would be tough first half and if we stuck at it we would get more chances as they tried to flog forward second half. I certainly do think we deserved to take all three points.”

The sight of Simpson leaving the pitch in the 38th minute was a concern to the 198 away supporters that made the trip to Home Park.

Hendon insisted he took off his top goalscorer because he was struggling with an ankle injury.

That came after some hefty challenges on him and in turn forced him to retaliate by hacking down Plymouth’s Oscar Threlkeld just before he was taken off, which earned the former Arsenal man a yellow card.

“I substituted Jay because he was injured because of the tackle that was made on him previously,” added Hendon.

“Maybe that was a little bit of retaliation on Jay’s part the tackle that he made after. That shows what he’s like.

“He’s not going to be kicked around the football pitch and rightly so. We’ll have to see how he is on Wednesday, but I think it’s a little bit of a twist more than anything else.”

Orient will hope to have Simpson fit and firing for the visit of AFC Wimbledon on Saturday with League Two top goalscorer seemingly back in form.

And it seems like the O’s are back too after delivering a top performance away to the leaders last night.