Milanese upbeat despite defeat

Mauro Milanese felt Leyton Orient deserved a first home win of the season following their 2-2 draw with Coventry.

However, the O's saw two points snatched away following a mistake goalkeeper Gary Woods as Coventry left Brisbane Road with a 2-2 draw. Milanese, only appointed last Sunday, insisted that his team deserved the victory but he was left as frustrated as the home fans - who last saw Orient win a home league match on April 26th. "We came very close to getting the three points we deserved," said Milanese. "After we equalised, the confidence throughout the team went up and we scored a second goal and Coventry weren't making too many chances. "We only lost the chance to get three points very late on but I like the attitude of our players. "The team is alive all the time and they are showing a lot of energy and perhaps we just need a little more luck. This season has been tough for us, it's been a tough season and we were a bit unlucky at the end. "Apart from that second goal that we conceded, I thought that we looked solid and organised and we tried to play the ball on the floor rather than playing long ball. "Our shape was okay, sometimes we need to get a bit better quality in our passing and to switch the play, but they tried to do their best which is what I asked of them. "I want our guys to be tough and give 100 per cent, which they did. "I don't think I could have asked more of the players today, they gave me their maximum effort. Just a mistake or a bit of misfortune has cost us a lot. "The players are very disappointed in the dressing room because we think we deserved the win more than Coventry. It's sometimes a thin line between winning and drawing." Two goals by Jim O'Brien earned Coventry an away point, after Scott Cuthbert and Jay Simpson had scored for the hosts. The Sky Blues opened the scoring in the 35th minute after Nathan Clarke had slipped allowing Gary Madine to run onto the ball and square a pass across goal for O'Brien to net from close range. Orient levelled after 54 minutes when Cuthbert rose highest to meet a Dean Cox corner and found just enough power on his header to send the ball across the line. Then in the 70th minute, Simpson put Milanese's men in front from close range after being set up by Mathieu Baudry. But in the first minute of injury time, O's goalkeeper Woods flapped at a cross from the left and sent his punch straight to O'Brien who volleyed home from 20 yards. Sky Blues boss Steven Pressley was disappointed that his side were unable to pick up their first away win in the league this season. He said: "The word that I would use is frustrated because we were in so much control of the game. "I thought that we preformed really well after that cagey opening 10 or 15 minutes when neither side managed to get a foothold on the game. Then after that, we dominated proceedings in the first half and we never looked in danger. "Two set-plays have cost us dearly and in Division One, you have to deal with set-plays. The first goal came from a corner when we don't pick up and we lose our marker. Then on the second one we have to do better in the second phase. "We put so much into the game, so much hard work and endeavour and to find ourselves 2-1 down was hugely frustrating. But I said to the group in our dressing room that good teams score late goals and it's a sign of a good team when you never give up and continue to push for the equaliser. "It was the least we deserved over the course of the 90 minutes." Breaking news, transfer gossip, line ups and goal alerts from your football club - delivered direct to your mobile. Sign up for Sky Sports Alerts