Exeter City FC

Manager Matt Taylor praised the impact of the substitutes as Exeter City came from 2-1 down to grab a late point at home to Leyton Orient.

Matt was disappointed with some of the defending for the two goals his side conceded but felt that when he introduced players off the bench they managed to make a difference to the performance and that pleased him.

"I made a real point about pointing them out at the end of the game,” said Matt. “They made a difference and they have to.

"Not just this week, in terms of three games in a week, but throughout the season. Luckily so far, in terms of the players coming in, they have been excellent and that is testament to the strength of the squad and they will get their opportunity.

"Tom Parkes came on and made a difference, Ben Seymour came on and made a difference, Alex Fisher came on and made a difference and that is exactly what I need from the boys behind me, but I still want more from the ones on the pitch.”

The Grecians deservedly took the lead in the first half when Pierce Sweeney fired home from the edge of the box. However, despite also hitting the bar and having what looked to be a good goal from Nicky Law ruled out, the Grecians went into the half-time break level when Lee Angol scored just before half-time.

Then after the break, Orient took the lead when Louis Dennis’ shot took a deflection on its way past Lewis Ward.

"Speaking about the performance, Matt said: “I am pleased to get something out of the game. I thought we deserved something because of the way we dominated the ball and created the most amount of chances.

"However, I am bitterly disappointed with the goals we conceded. They are two poor goals to concede from our point of view and then you are chasing the game and full credit to Leyton Orient.

"They were tough, they were resolute, they took time out of the game. I have got no problem with that and we had to find a way to break them down.”

Asked if he was pleased with the character his side showed to come back and to claim a point, Matt added: “A lot is made about spirit and you have got to be careful about that ‘character and spirit’ word.

"The players are playing football. It is their jobs to get back in the game, it is their jobs not to concede in the first place.

"So a lot gets talked about late goals and comebacks, but it is football. We can’t always tag it as spirit and character. They are good lads. They try hard and they try and win games of football and they try and score goals and they will make mistakes because they are not perfect, but it is what you expect from a group of players.

"You can’t tell me the fans are stood there expecting them just to give up when they go 2-1 down. And we have got enough quality on the pitch to hurt opposition we just had to find a way of creating clear cut opportunities. Fortunately, it has come in the form of a penalty, but we were getting balls into the box and we didn’t quite have that final touch.”