Justin Edinburgh felt a draw was a fair result after his Orient side held play-off chasers Ebbsfleet United at Brisbane Road this afternoon.

The O’s picked up a point after Kenny Clark’s own goal on the half-hour mark had cancelled out Cory Whitely’s early strike for Ebbsfleet, in a result which moves the side up to 15th place in the National League table, nine points from safety.

The game proved to be a tight affair with clear-cut chances few and far between and after back-to-back defeats in the last seven days, Edinburgh was pleased with his players’ response.

He said: “Certainly in the second half, we played a lot more of the game in the opposition’s half. I don’t think we had too many clear cut chances but I thought as the game went on, we may have had an opportunity to nick it but it wasn’t to be. But reflecting on it, I thought it was a fair result.

“We needed a response. We had spoken as we’ve been disappointed in ourselves. We’ve let situations pass us by. That’s very disappointing and we have to accept that.

“We got back to the training ground on Thursday morning. We addressed a lot of things and I think the players have given me a response today and I’m pleased with that. No one likes questions posed about them. Whether that be me, my staff or my players or us as a club. But I’m pleased with the response today.”

Orient enjoyed plenty of possession during the second half, but failed to really create many clear cut chances and Edinburgh was again disappointed that his team couldn’t get all three points for the home crowd.

He said: “You always want to be winning your home games and you always want to be entertaining your crowd. But I don’t think it was through lack of effort. The pitch hasn’t helped us today but we have to accept it and move on.”

Orient’s team has been decimated in recent weeks due to injuries and flu, with Joe Widdowson the latest player to be ruled out, missing today’s game due to illness.

The O’s were buoyed by the return of influential defender George Elokobi as well as midfielder Craig Clay this afternoon though, however, Edinburgh said the recent injury crisis has been unsettling to his players.

“It’s unsettled the players but that’s what a squad is here for and we have to deal with that,” he said.

“It’s not been ideal, but I spoke in my programme notes before that from my time being here, we’ve come a long way in a short space of time. This is the first set-back we’ve had since we’ve been together as a group. Surrendering a lead here against Gateshead, conceding a late goal against Dover and again the replay on Tuesday.

“The response was positive though. I thought there was bravery to pass the ball on a difficult surface and I’m pleased with the players today.”