Lee Steele’s first goal of the season proved enough for Leyton Orient as they clinched a place in the third round draw of the FA Cup, with a 1-0 win at Rushden & Diamonds.
The former Oxford striker netted with his first touch of the match, just under two minutes after replacing Jabo Ibehre. But despite the win, boss Martin Ling was not entirely happy with his side’s performance.
‘At half-time I posed questions to my players and told them that the press would have nothing to write about if things continued as they were,’ said Ling. ‘We were a lot better in the second-half.?
‘I thought we were poor in the first-half. Having said that Rushden didn’t ask enough questions of us to cause us problems in the opening period.
‘We scraped into the third round with many people missing, but we were resilient ? we have to pat ourselves on the back.’
Ling, though, was full of praise for goalscorer Steele as well as young defender Brian Saah.
‘We sat him (Saah) down and told him that we thought he could play at centre-half or in a holding midfield position and I thought he did really well when he came on for the last 30 minutes.
‘Lee’s been very patient. We just lacked a goal, but that’s what he’s all about and he’s proven that if he gets a chance he will finish it.’
