Richie Wellens reveals frustration with injuries after Orient and Mansfield draw

Richie Wellens admitted his deep frustration with injuries as his Leyton Orient side drew 0-0 against Mansfield.

The game at the BetWright Stadium was a drab affair, with neither side creating much in the way of chances.

Idris El Mizouni limped off in the first half, and Wellens continued to count the cost of absentees.

He said: “In the circumstances, I’m happy with a point. We’ve arguably got a lot of our best players out injured. We’ve got about 10 injuries.

“The atmosphere in the last 20 minutes, we were never going to win the game, because we haven’t pushed to win it.

“My options on the bench are very limited. Apart from six or seven this season, I’ve got no options to win the game.

“If you’re not going to win it, then make sure you don’t lose it. I’m pleased with the clean sheet, we don’t have much firepower at the moment.

“The positives are, we didn’t get beaten. Hopefully we’ll get two or three back on Saturday.”

Chances for Lucas Akins and Ryan Sweeney were as good as it got entertainment-wise in east London.

The visitors were well on top in the beginning of the contest, although for all their superior play they failed to produce a clear-cut opportunity.

It took 21 minutes for Mansfield to fully test Orient, with home keeper Will Dennis needing to get down low to turn an Akins shot around the post.

The hosts were forced into an early change, with El Mizouni limping off after 33 minutes and Tyreeq Bakinson his replacement.

Orient started much stronger in the second half, though like Mansfield in the first half did little of note with their ascendancy.

At the other end, Dennis had to tip over a flicked Sweeney header on 66 minutes after an Akins long throw.

Dom Ballard turned his effort well wide on 75 minutes, after running into space, in what proved to be the last meaningful chance in a disappointing contest.

Mansfield matched their points tally of 2024-25 with the point, which effectively secures their League One spot.

Manager Nigel Clough felt his side could have won the game in the opening period of the tie.

He said: “We now have last season’s tally which puts us to safety, although not mathematically. But I’m very pleased.

“When you think about last season how they put six goals past us, I think it is a big improvement on our part.

“We started the game absolutely brilliantly, we should have won the game in that first 20 minutes.

“After Saturday I’m very pleased with the way we played.

“The pitch here is great, it was probably the best we played on all season.”