Leyton Orient made a winning start under new player-manager Kevin Nolan after a 2-0 victory at Wycombe Wanderers this afternoon.
The O’s took the lead midway through the second half when top scorer Jay Simpson fired home his 21st goal of the season.
It was not a game for the purist but Orient were not stretched and the visitors clinched the points with a late finish from Calaum Jahraldo-Martin to seal a promising start for Nolan.
New player-boss Nolan named himself on the bench for his first game in charge. Midfielder Nigel Atangana made his debut while Jahraldo-Martin was handed his first start.
Captain Mathieu Baudry returned to the defence after serving his three-match ban while new striker Armand Gnanduillet was picked on the bench.
Sam Wood had the first decent effort of the match but his long-range strike flew over Cisak’s crossbar.
Simpson had a half chance when the ball was released to him but goalkeeper Alex Lynch prevented him from getting in a shot.
The visitors were struggling to threaten but had a rare opportunity through Ollie Palmer’s header which flew wide of the target.
Debutant Atangana was required to make a vital tackle to prevent Luke O’Nien from firing a shot at Cisak’s goal.
Jahraldo-Martin was looking an occasional threat and the Hull loanee fired in an effort which rose narrowly over Lynch’s goal before the break.
The O’s started the second half with a bit more purpose and dominated the early possession without creating a clear opportunity.
Michael Harriman fired in an ambitious strike from distance but it flew high and wide of the target.
Orient opened the scoring in the 64th minute when Simpson was afforded too much space and fired past Lynch. The O’s top scorer celebrated with a customary Nolan ‘chicken dance’ celebration.
Nolan made his first substitution when he introduced Bradley Pritchard in place of debutant Atangana.
Jason McCarthy fired speculatively over the bar with Gareth Ainsworth’s side still looking for their first shot on target.
Gnanduillet was given his first appearance after signing from Chesterfield as a late replacement for Palmer.
Wanderers applied late pressure in a bid to find an equaliser but the O's defended much better than in recent games.
Joe Jacobson had a chance in the 88th minute but blasted his effort over the bar.
But the O's killed off the contest when Simpson set up Jahraldo-Martin for a clinical finish.
There were five minutes of injury time but Orient had few problems seeing out the game as Nolan's managerial career got off to the ideal start.
Wycombe: Lynch; Jombati, Stewart, Pierre, Jacobson; Harriman (Udumaga, 83), McCarthy, O’Nien, Wood; Hayes (Cowan-Hall, 57), Thompson (Ugwu, 71)
Subs not used: McGinn, Bean, Kretzschmar
Leyton Orient: Cisak; Clohessy, Essam, Baudry, Shaw; McAnuff, Payne, Atangana (Pritchard, 72), Jahraldo; Palmer (Gnanduillet, 80), Simpson
Subs not used: Grainger, Turgott, Kashket, Kpekawa, Nolan
Referee: D Bond
Attendance: 4,432 (805)
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here