Richie Wellens furious with ‘weak’ Leyton Orient after draw with Burton

Leyton Orient head coach Richie Wellens was left irate at the attitude of his side despite securing their League One status with a 2-2 draw against Burton.

Goals from Will Forrester and Dom Ballard kept the east London outfit in the third tier, with Fabio Taveres and Alex Hartridge twice pulling Albion level.

The result left Orient with no wins in the final eight games of the season and just one place above relegated Exeter.

Wellens was particularly angry with the lackadaisical approach in the latter stages of the contest, especially given the high stakes involved.

He said “I’m pleased for the supporters but for the last 15 minutes we were a disgrace.

“We were passing around the back and we didn’t want to win the game. We thought the game was won with Exeter losing, but in football you never know.

“They could score two goals quickly but the way we passed it about summed the group up.

“I’ve come out a couple of times and had a go at supporters, and I want to apologise to them for that.

“We are weak, really, really weak. The last six to seven weeks, we’ve served up some absolute rubbish.

“We have relegation written all over us, we relied on somebody else getting the result for us.”

It was an excellent start by Orient, with skipper Forrester scrambling home a Charlie Wellens corner after less than two minutes – their first goal since April 11.

Taveres pounced on a loose ball from shotstopper Will Dennis after 33 minutes to equalise, but Orient retook the lead in the 51st minute when Ballard found space in the area and drilled home low past Bradley Collins.

However, Burton regained parity seven minutes later when Hartridge turned a header in from close range.

The point was enough for both sides, as Exeter’s defeat to Bradford was more than sufficient to guarantee League One football next season.

It was also a good end to the campaign for Burton, and head coach Gary Bowyer felt his side more than showed a good account of themselves.

He said “I was really disappointed with the start, but the response was excellent. I’m guessing their goalkeeper was man of the match with the saves he made in the first half.

“Half-time we said to them to keep going. It was a great ball from Tavares. He hadn’t had many minutes since January, he was in the right place.

“In the second half we didn’t start great again. You can’t give Ballard all that much room with the season he’s had.

“But again the spirit and the response was terrific and I was really delighted with the second goal for Alex.

“We couldn’t find the winner but it was an end-to-end game and it was a fantastic support, we really appreciated that.”