Burton boss Dino Maamria was the happier of the two managers at the end of a goalless draw against Leyton Orient.
“I thought we played some of the best football we have played this season”, said Maamria. “All it needed was a goal. We weren’t as clinical as we have been lately, and we missed some big, big chances.”
Both sides had opportunities late on, with the best probably falling to Burton skipper Deji Oshilaja who could only fire over when unmarked inside the box.
Maamria added: “If Deji scores that chance with five minutes to go everybody would have been, hey, what a performance that was.”
The Burton boss was forced into changes owing to injury and admitted he tweaked his formation to cope with a strong Orient side.
He said: “We changed shape to fit the personnel we had available and to nullify their threats. They have been in really good form and they are hard to beat. They normally dominate possession and today we dominated that.
“I felt our game plan was perfect and all we needed was a goal. Max [Crocombe] had a big save at the end of the game, but their keeper made some unbelievable stops; Josh Walker early on with a point-blank save and then Tom Hamer’s chance. I don’t know who made the save, the keeper or a block on the line. We had clear-cut chances which came from our good football.”
Richie Wellens felt that the hectic schedule was a factor in a below-par performance from Orient.
“The second half stank of a third game in a week and a second away game in four days. We were really poor in the second half,” he admitted.
Striker Ruel Sotiriou failed to capitalise on a first-half chance when through on goal which frustrated the Orient manager.
“We were good at times in the first half, playing through them and Ruel has the best chance going straight through one on one and just has to tidy his touch up. We are disappointed in there.
“Burton had won four on the bounce at home before today, so we knew it was a tough place to come, but the first half was more how we want to play the game and in the second half there were too many long throws and free-kicks, and we just have to grow up and change with it.”
All things considered Wellens felt the result was fair as both sides hit the 20-point mark sitting safely in mid table.
He said: “All in all, did we deserve to win? Probably not. They could have nicked it in the end but with a lack of goalkeepers making big saves, apart from at the end, a draw was probably a fair result.”
