Wigan boss Gary Caldwell takes positives from Leyton Orient stalemate

Wigan boss Gary Caldwell described his side’s 0-0 draw against fellow Sky Bet League One strugglers Leyton Orient as a “game of two halves”.

Wigan were in charge of the first period at the Brick Community Stadium but were unable to force Orient goalkeeper Will Dennis into a save worthy of the name.

After the break, Orient came into it far more and Wigan were indebted to keeper Sam Tickle for making crucial saves to deny Demetri Mitchell (twice) and Dom Ballard.

“It was a game of two halves,” said Caldwell. “We dominated in the first half, I thought we were excellent, they way we went about trying to win the game.

“We had some great moments, some great chances and just lacked that final action to score.

“In the second half, we became a bit more edgy when they put us under a bit of pressure.

“But it’s another really positive defensive performance, another clean sheet at home, and another point added to our total.

“The way we played in the first half especially was excellent, we passed forwards, we caused them problems.

“We just couldn’t come up with that final bit of quality in the final third to get that goal.

“If we had managed to do that, we’d have probably gone on to win the game.

“That’s football – when you have as good a first half as we had and don’t score, you all know what’s going to come in the
second half.

“There’s going to be a drop, or the opposition are going to raise their game and we tried to guard against that.

“The big thing in that moment is definitely don’t lose the game and I thought we defended well when they put us under
pressure.

“They’re a dangerous team, with one of the best strikers in the league, and it’s a massive clean sheet and another point.”

Orient assistant head coach Paul Terry handled post-match media duties, with boss Richie Wellens having missed the game after undergoing a medical procedure.

“The gaffer is fine,” said Terry. “He’s had something done to his neck or shoulder, but he’s feeling a lot better.

“He gave us all the tactics and information we needed for tonight’s game, but it must be a big thing for him to miss a game.

“He must be in some pain, which we have noticed in the last few days. But hopefully he will be all right and back for Huddersfield on Monday.”

On the game, Terry added: “I thought we were a little bit sloppy in the first half, we didn’t take control of the game, we
didn’t switch it enough.

“The second half was a lot better, the body language was a big shift, we moved the ball better and you could see at the
end they were knackered chasing the ball.

“We got into the final third a lot more and we just have to be more clinical with our chances.”