‘We’re miles better than these’: Why Leyton Orient boss believes Portsmouth now ripe for picking

Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens believes his side are ‘miles better’ than Pompey after doing a demolition job on John Mousinho’s men.

And Wellens believes taking on a Blues side without Alex Robertson is a much more appealing prospect, as they served up a 3-0 revenge mission at Fratton Park.

Orient took Pompey apart with three goals in 20 minutes and then looked comfortable in the second half, after going down to a 4-0 home reverse at Brisbane Road in August.

Wellens felt the goal swung on Pompey’s penalty miss and killer third goal before the break, against a side missing Robertson’s mercurial talent.

He told Leyton Orient’s YouTube channel: ‘It’s a good time to play Portsmouth, because they’ve just lost Robertson who’s an excellent player.

‘We started well and we never gave them any breathing space. The kick-off was excellent and got us up the pitch straightaway, we pressed them and they couldn’t really play through us.

‘They had a few chances in the first half with the penalty and Bishop’s header, but we had quite a few opportunities to score a few more goals.

‘Coming here is a tough game and tough environment, but an environment we learned from the Bolton game (where they conceded three goals in the first 10 minutes). Everyone contributed and the work-rate was brilliant.

‘There were two pivotal moments - the penalty miss and the goal just before half-time.

‘I turned around at 28 minutes and said “we’re miles better than these”, but it’s reminiscent of the game we played at home. That was never a 4-0 defeat and we should’ve been in the lead, but today we got the goals at the right time.’

Even at 3-0 Wellens was worried about the influence of the Pompey crowd on the game, who he felt stuck with their team despite events on the pitch.

He added: ‘Portsmouth are a really good team with experience all over the pitch who make the right decisions. You’ve got Pack and Morrell and Lowery coming on - really good footie players who make the right decisions - and they get to that level.

‘You take you goals at the right time it gives you confidence and changes the mood of this place and the supporters, who I must say stuck with them.

‘The penalty save was a big moment because if it went to 2-1 this crowd would then have been right up for it with a goal before half-time. We had a bit of luck with the penalty save, but we deserved the three points.

‘I’ve been here before as a manager and one goal can change it, especially behind that goal when they’re shooting to that end it can change the thinking of player and they can shrink - so I didn’t want any momentum shifts.’