Soccer
Matt Taylor hoping Exeter can build on goalless draw with Leyton Orient
Exeter interim manager Matt Taylor feels a goalless draw with fellow-strugglers Leyton Orient has given his side something to build on despite slipping into the League One relegation zone following the stalemate.
The Grecians are now 14 games without a win, with that dire run seeing them slide down the table and into the bottom four for the first time following Blackpool’s late win at home to Burton Albion.
Exeter head to Blackpool on Good Friday, but a point and a clean sheet has at least given them a confidence boost after a decent performance against an Orient side that are now unbeaten in five.
“I loved us first half apart from a goal,” Taylor said. “The players will get sick of me saying it, but we need to add set-piece value because we were in the ascendency against a team that are in form.
“I was really pleased and you could see we were desperate for that goal, desperate to get ahead, and the second half Orient came out and were better, and it became quite an attritional game.
“We had a header against the back post and I can’t be too critical. It’s a good starting point to where we want to get to but we need to add more to it.
“We would love to have had a goal in that first half, but in the second when they had more field position and looked more of a threat, I was really pleased with how we stood up to that. But it gives us something to build on ahead of a massive double-header next weekend.”
Orient manager Richie Wellens felt the draw was a fair result, saying: “We started slowly and looked a bit lethargic. It’s not an excuse, but when you play Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday, sometimes you don’t get lethargic in those games and you get through on adrenalin. You are training light and I thought that caught up with us a bit today.
“To come here, keep a clean sheet and not get beat was important. In the second half, I thought we were the better team. We had more chances and we dominated the ball more against a team that really dominates the ball in most games.
“They started better but we finished strongly. In the end, probably a point was the fair result. I think Dom (Ballard) had the best chance in the game, he tried to chip the goalkeeper, and then we had a few other chances.
“Sometimes, when you feel a little bit anxious, you rush to score. Just relax, you’re in a good area, you can still breathe, you can still see the picture. Too many times in that second half we didn’t take a breath, or make the right weight on the pass. But, overall, I think a draw is a fair result.”
