Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens hails ‘outstanding’ Aaron Connolly

Leyton Orient head coach Richie Wellens hailed “electric” Aaron Connolly after his side’s 4-0 win at Burton.

Connolly set the tone for Orient’s first League One win on the road since the start of September, opening the scoring from a tight angle before turning provider for Dom Ballard to head home.

“I thought Aaron was outstanding and a real threat,” said Wellens. “I rate their right wing-back, but he gave him a tough game today. Aaron was electric.”

Burton boss Gary Bowyer too was fulsome in his praise for Connolly.

He said: “I think he is one of the best two players we have come up against so far this season. In my opinion he shouldn’t be playing at this level.”

Azeem Abdulai made it 3-0 with his first goal of the season, a superb 25-yard strike midway through the second half, before Charlie Wellens capped a dominant display with a fourth from the edge of the area.

Boss Wellens was delighted with the contribution of Abdulai in place of the injured Idris El Mizouni in midfield.

“I am really pleased for Azeem because, it’s my fault because I have shifted him left, right and as a 10, but he is a midfielder and he gave us great athleticism in there today alongside Sean Clare,” he said.

On his side’s performance, Wellens added: “I like the way we have done the basics right today.

“I am not sure it was a 4-0 performance though. It was a competitive game and we did things right.

“We defended our box and we prevented their long balls. We won duels and we have the talent in the squad to score goals.

“We are the highest scorers in the league for a reason. Because we have that talent.”

Burton head coach Bowyer was left to reflect on a chastening afternoon for his side, who had gone into the game with just one defeat in eight games.

“We were second best,” Bowyer said. “It’s as simple as that from start to finish.

“They have a lot of quality, but we allowed them far too much space and time to play throughout the whole game and that is really disappointing from us.

“We have to learn our lessons and learn them quickly ahead of the next game on Tuesday at Wigan.”

Albion’s run of form was stalled with the postponement of last weekend’s fixture at Exeter, but Bowyer refused to use that as an excuse for his side’s below-par performance against Orient.

“It just meant that we didn’t play.” Bowyer said. “The preparation and everything else were the same. I don’t buy into that being a reason at all.”