Brisbane Road head coach reflects on 3-2 success over Minstermen, his new players and the Jamaican international playing again

Leyton Orient head coach Ian Hendon was pleased to see his team record a 3-2 win against York City at Brisbane Road in League Two and see Jobi McAnuff return to the fold.

Mathieu Baudry and Jay Simpson scored in the first period before Vadaine Oliver pulled one back on the stroke of half time.

Simpson scored again after the break before another goal from Oliver in the 86th minute set up a nervy finish for the east Londoners.

But the O’s held on with McAnuff making his first appearance of the season as a substitute and Hendon was happy to see his team back to winning ways and Simpson in the goals again.

“I wouldn’t say it was vital, but it is another victory and another three points towards the total,” said the Orient head coach.

“Jay has had a little quiet spell and it was only a matter of time before he started scoring again and I am pleased for him today to get two.

“You are talking about chances York created, but we have a back four that have not played together and two new centre halves in the side – it is going to take a little bit of time before they are settled.

“Jean-Yves M’voto has trained for a couple of days, but him and Cole Kpekawa haven’t been practicing together, it has been Mathieu Baudry.

“They have just been thrown together today and I thought they were fantastic, having not played week in, week out so they are going to be a bit rusty and I thought they were great today, the pair of them.”

Another person for the O’s that hasn’t played too much of late was McAnuff, making his first appearance since pre-season.

The Jamaican played at Bishop’s Stortford during the summer and was then not involved at all with the match day squad for the start of the campaign.

It is believed that the Orient president Francesco Becchetti made that decision, but now the former Reading man has been allowed to return to the fold.

Hendon added: “Jobi is in the squad and involved and that is it. It is over with and done.

“He is back involved. It has taken four months, but he is back onside. I say back onside, he has always been onside. He is back involved - it’s as simple as that.

“It doesn’t matter who has made the decision, he is back involved. He is back in the first team squad and that is where he is going to say. It is something I welcome, of course it is.”