Brisbane Road manager reflects on 1-1 draw, missed chances and picking Plasmati over Mooney
Leyton Orient boss Fabio Liverani was disappointed his side didn’t pick up all three points against Crewe Alexandra, but happy with their performance at Gresty Road.
O’s found themselves behind after 10 minutes when Lauri Dalla Valle bundled home Greg Leigh’s cross from the left.
The visitors were struggling for a short while afterwards before they regrouped and grabbed a deserved equaliser when Marvin Bartley crossed for Darius Henderson to volley in his eighth of the season.
But they couldn’t make the most of the various opportunities they created after the break with the best falling to Chris Dagnall.
He failed to beat Railwaymen goalkeeper Paul Rachunka from just outside the box, though, when Ryan Hedges had played him through on goal.
“I am quite pleased with the performance today,” said Liverani via a translator.
“We showed good spirit and of course I am disappointed we didn’t get the three points because we created so many chances.
“But overall I am pleased with the spirit, the performance and I think the players know what I want.”
The point moves O’s up to 19th in the table on 47 points with five matches remaining this season.
Liverani had stated earlier in the campaign that 52 points would be enough for survival, but he was coy when asked whether that total would be sufficient enough now to keep Orient in the division.
He added: “Let’s take it step by step and today we are out of the relegation zone with five teams behind us so we are taking it game by game.”
The Brisbane Road manager did confirm Dean Cox and Jay Simpson both missed the game through injury – the latter a thigh problem.
He also revealed it was a tactical decision to bring on Gianvito Plasmati ahead of David Mooney.
Mooney started on Easter Monday against Gillingham, but remained an unused substitute against the Railwaymen.
“The reason we put Plasmati on over Mooney was mainly tactical due to the fact it was very difficult to play on the floor,” said Liverani.
“Mooney is a very technical player that likes the ball at his feet and to play on the floor, but it was very difficult to do that today.
“For the last five to 10 minutes I thought we could use long balls to Plasmati with his height better rather than using technical skills like Mooney.”
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