Sky Bet League One

LEYTON ORIENT 0 PORT VALE 0

JOHN CHUBB at the Gaughan Group Stadium

@JohnCphoenixfm

Following two consecutive defeats at home to Bristol Rovers and away at Wigan Athletic, Leyton Orient were hoping to get back to winning ways against relegation threatened Port Vale at Brisbane Road on Tuesday night, but a combination of missed chances and a resilient performance by the Potteries side meant they had to settle for one point instead of three, in a predominantly uninspiring encounter.

Port Vale went into this match second from bottom in League One, with their new manager Darren Moore – the former West Bromwich, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield boss, who took over at Vale Park last month – yet to taste victory at his new club as, going into this game, they had gone 12 matches without a win – including five defeats and a draw since he took charge.

But despite their dismal run, former Orient winger Gavin Massey set up the first chance of the match for the visitors after three minutes, outpacing Brandon Cooper down the right-hand side but O’s goalkeeper Sol Brynn safely gathered his cross.

In the 10^th minute, Port Vale’s number one Connor Ripley was called into action for the first time, after Rob Hunt received an excellent through ball and laid on a clever pass for Shaq Forde, but the striker’s cross didn’t provide much of a test for the visiting keeper.

Vale’s next chance didn’t come until the 27^th minute, when Tom Sang was fouled by O’s midfield man Ollie O’Neill and took the resulting free kick himself, which found Jessie Debrah but his header sailed over the crossbar.

A couple of minutes later the Staffordshire side had another chance to open the scoring, but another close-range opportunity went over the bar, this time from James Wilson.

Hunt had an effort for the home side in the 37^th minute, after receiving the ball on the right from Idris El Mizouni but his shot was well wide to Ripley’s right.

This was soon followed by a shout for a penalty from the home fans, when Forde appeared to be bundled over in the area, but referee Gavin Ward waved play on to loud disapproval from the O’s supporters, just before the lively Watford loanee saw a shot narrowly go out for a corner as Richie Wellen’s men began to pressurise the visitors.

Orient continued where they had left off at the beginning of the second half, and once again it was Forde in the thick of the action, forcing a save from Ripley following some clever interplay with his striking partner Joe Piggott.

But Moore’s men continued to battle, Alex Mighten forcing a decent stop from Brynn at the opposite end of the field.

Home boss Wellens made a triple substitution not long before the hour mark, with Tom James, Darren Pratley and Ruel Sotiriou replacing Jayden Sweeney, El Mizouni and Max Sanders.

And in the 63^rd minute, his side came as close as they had all evening to opening the scoring as Sotiriou’s cross from the left found O’Neill – who flicked the ball in Pigott’s direction – and it was only Ripley’s fisted clearance that stopped the home team from going in front.

Six minutes later Sotiriou himself had a decent chance go narrowly wide, after he managed to find his way between two Vale defenders.

Then with a quarter of an hour remaining, Forde almost made it 1-0 but Ripley brought off an excellent stop as he tipped the ball over the bar before a Sotiriou shot three minutes later bounced off the woodwork, as the Orient attacks kept coming.

With only a few minutes left, O’s boss Wellens made his two remaining permitted substitutions, Piggott and O’Neill making way for Dan Adu-Adjei and Zech Obiero.

The visitors might have nicked it when play resumed, Vale substitute Ethan Chislett’s going close, and it was probably only an important block from James that prevented a goal.

But neither side managed to break the deadlock, and Orient remain in tenth place with eight games to go.

LEYTON ORIENT (Head Coach: Richie Wellens) – Sol Brynn, Rob Hunt, Omar Beckles ©, Brandon Cooper, Jayden Sweeney (Tom James 57), Jordan Brown, Idris El Mizouni (Darren Pratley 57), Shaq Forde, Max Sanders (Ruel Sotiriou 57), Ollie O’Neill (Zech Obiero 86), Joe Piggott (Dan Adu-Adjei 86).

PORT VALE (Manager: Darren Moore) – Connor Ripley, Jesse Debrah, Nathan Smith ©, Dan Jones, Thomas Sang, Funso Ojo, Ben Garrity, Alex Mighten (Jensen Weir 68), Jason Lowe, Gavin Massey (Ethan Chislett 68), James Wilson (Baylee Dipepa 68).

Referee: Gavin Ward