Richie Wellens acknowledged Rochdale’s battling display after watching his Leyton Orient side extend their lead at the top of League Two to 10 points.
The Orient boss had seen his table-toppers beat Rochdale 2-1, although they were made to fight hard for the points.
“You have to give Rochdale credit because they stuck at it and first half we could have been out of sight,” he said.
“We were outstanding at times in the first 45 minutes. We played with a tempo and put a lot of balls into their box but as I say you have to give them credit because they never wavered and kept going.”
Ruel Sotiriou and Idris El Mizouni scored in the first half to give Orient a comfortable half-time lead as the league leaders totally dominated proceedings.
Orient’s impressive run of nine consecutive home league games without conceding a goal came to an end when Danny Lloyd scored 11 minutes after the break to give Rochdale a lifeline and made their opponents work harder for the three points.
However, despite their improved play after altering their shape to a back-three, they went away empty-handed and remain rooted to the foot of the table and five points from safety.
“We had illness going through the camp and there are a few of the players and first-team staff who have got it and our energy levels disappeared second half and that’s what I put it down to,” Wellens continued.
“The results tonight show it’s a really difficult league. The league has taken a turn where the teams at the bottom are really competing and I said before the game we shouldn’t expect this to be three or four nil. Rochdale’s recent results show they are a team always in the game.
“It’s never easy against a committed team who are fighting for their lives.”
Dale manager Jim Bentley said: “We’ve shown the players how Leyton Orient are going to play but ultimately they are the best side in the league and you can tell one million per cent they will get promoted this season.
“We have played four of the top six sides recently and arguably we could have taken something from every single game. Obviously this one could have got away from us as they absolutely pummelled us first half and tactically we got a little bit caught in when to press but there was still evidence of good bits of play.
“They were just miles better first half and got out the traps with a good crowd behind them. At times it was like playing against a Premier League team.
“Second half we have come out and had a go. We got much tighter. Running harder, first phase, second phase, winning tackles and being more vocal passing the ball better and scored a great goal.”
