Brisbane Road head coach reflects on 1-1 draw with Wycombe, the change in formation at half time and Jay Simpson

Leyton Orient boss Ian Hendon admitted Ollie Palmer has boosted his chances of earning a first league start of the season at Northampton Town next weekend after his performance off the bench helped the Brisbane Road outfit draw with Wycombe Wanderers in League Two this afternoon.

The 23-year-old was introduced at half time against the Chairboys and impressed during his 45-minute display, playing a crucial part in the equaliser goal for the hosts.

He battled brilliantly with the away defence and it was that physical presence that enabled Jay Simpson to score his sixth goal of the season and earn a point for the O’s.

Although they would have wanted more from the game than a 1-1 draw, the performance of Palmer in particular was a huge positive to take from the encounter.

Hendon said: “Ollie’s been knocking on the door since day one and he played in midweek for the reserves and scored and he is putting pressure on our forwards.

“Jay is the man at the moment, but Ollie is putting big pressure on Paul McCallum and that is what we want. Paul might not like it, but that is life and we have to get on with it.”

The Orient head coach added: “Jay has got six goals now in eight games so we are delighted with Jay and his finishing, but that is what he does and what he is good at.

“We need to get him on the ball a bit more often than we did today. I think you’ll find that Blair Turgott was the one that slipped the ball to him for the goal.

“Ollie chased and harried, but then Blair’s got up there as well with his legs and he is the one who got the assist after all of Ollie’s effort and Jay’s tucked it away with a sublime finish.”

After that equalising strike it seemed like all the momentum was with the O’s, but that was halted when a supporter ran onto the pitch.

It was a incident that frustrated the home boss, although he stopped short of suggesting that it did halt their momentum.

Hendon also reflected on the change of formation he made during the match, switching from a 4-1-2-1-2 to a 4-4-2 at the start of the second period.

“We can play many systems, we are not a one plan team. We have got a few things up our sleeve if we need to use them. We are aware of the fact that sides are matching us up and trying to stop us play because we are quite good at it,” added the Orient boss.

“Today we went with the diamond formation until half time and then we had a little change so it is alright and no problem for us.

“People are changing the way they play to adapt to us and our qualities so we have to change things at times and who knows what we will do next week.”

On the pitch invader, Hendon added: “I don’t know why these people do that. We did have momentum and I am not saying the pitch invader killed it, but we don’t need things like that especially here at home.”

So Orient couldn’t continue their 100 per cent record at home, but they came from behind and ensured that they remain top of the table.