Brisbane Road manager praises team and explained why Dean Cox was substituted and Ryan Hedges didn’t start

Newham Recorder: Orient forward Chris Dagnall has an opportunity to score with his header against Bradford City (pic: Simon O'Connor).Orient forward Chris Dagnall has an opportunity to score with his header against Bradford City (pic: Simon O'Connor). (Image: Simon O'Connor Photography)

Leyton Orient manager Fabio Liverani was happy with his team’s performance against Bradford City, despite watching them suffering a 2-0 defeat at Brisbane Road.

James Hanson scored twice in the first half to give the Bantams all three points last night and keep O’s in the bottom four of League One.

Newham Recorder: Ryan Hedges made his Leyton Orient debut at Colchester (pic: Simon O'Connor)Ryan Hedges made his Leyton Orient debut at Colchester (pic: Simon O'Connor) (Image: Simon O'Connor Photography)

But Liverani was encouraged by the display of his team against the FA Cup quarter-finalists and felt they were just lacking luck in front of goal.

“There are moments in the season where I can be angry about a performance, but at the moment we are not angry,” he said via a translator to leytonorient.com.

“I was pleased with the performance against Bradford, it is just we missed the last touch to score a goal.

“I think we created a few chances in the second half and Dean Cox and Chris Dagnall went close a couple of times and the ball was stopped on the line.

“In the first half we hit the crossbar and straight after that they scored a goal so it was not a very lucky moment for us, but we will manage to turn it around.”

Liverani received criticism from the O’s supporters in the 59th minute when Cox was replaced by Ryan Hedges.

The substitution was met by boos, but Orient manager revealed he made the change because Cox was injured.

He added: “From the stands you don’t really pick up what is happening, but Cox asked for a substitution himself because he had a problem with his thigh.

“We waited a few minutes because Pritchard was suppose to come off, but then Cox asked to be substituted and that was why I replaced him.”

Hedges made an immediate impact on the left-side of midfield and looked threatening, but he switched to the right-side towards the end of the match.

He didn’t look as threatening on the opposite flank, but Liverani explained why he made the adjustment.

And he also revealed why the 19-year-old, on loan from Premier League Swansea City, didn’t start against Bradford.

“The idea was to have the right-footed player on the left and the left-footed player on the right so they could go one v one and get a shot on target,” added Liverani.

“That was the reason for the tactical change. Hedges is a player that I like a lot and he is going to be important for us between now and the end of the season.

“He didn’t start because Bradford had a very dangerous player on the wing and we thought we wanted a midfielder at the start of the game that would give a bit more balance to the team to prevent us from conceding.”