Leyton Orient0

Wrexham1

Morrell 25

(League Division Three)

PAUL Brush found it hard to remain diplomatic about controversial referee Mark Cooper after the West Midlands whistle blower took the gloss off Orient's final home game of the season by inexplicably sending off Justin Miller for a clumsy challenge on 25 minutes.

The former Ipswich man was given his marching orders after hauling down Lee Trundle inside the box, and while the South African may have been the last O's player, the fact that the Robins striker was at an acute angle on goal on the left by-line probably should have only warranted a yellow card.

Cooper, a ref who has a history of sending off O's players, had other ideas though and brandished the red card at a dumfounded Miller.

The League's leading marksman Andy Morrell gleefully stepped up to slam home the resulting penalty to chalk up his 35th goal of the campaign. But after that Orient held their own for the rest of the game against a side that has already been promoted to Division Two.

It was easy to see why the the Robins will be leaving Division Three behind as they attacked at will through the impressive Carlos Edwards and the dangerous front pair of Trundle and Morrell. That trio could all have added to the scoreline had they managed to either keep their efforts on target or not found Glenn Morris in the home goal in such good form.

In fact, the O's could have sneaked a point had Chris Tate managed to bury a point-blank shot that was somehow blocked on 50 minutes by Wrexham stopper Kristian Rogers. And with lively sub Boniek Forbes having a first Orient goal turned down late in the game for offside and a Michael Turner header going just inches wide, there could have been something more for the home fans to cheer about other than the final appearance in the red and white shirt at Brisbane Road of skipper Andy Harris.

A disgruntled Brush said: "Their manager Denis Smith said some nice things about the way we played and he also told me not to talk about the referee and get myself in to trouble.

"Justin Miller says he never touched him and even if it was a penalty. Nine times out of ten it's a penalty and that's it - but this referee ruined the game by sending him off.

"I knew who the referee was before the game so the question of whether he would have shown common sense is irrelevant. We'll look at the video and see if it's worth appealing.

"We were in the game and it never occurred to me we would be down to ten men. We tried to keep two men up front and everyone dug in, chased and put in total effort. I thought it was a really gritty determined performance and I'm really proud of the way we battled."

Orient: Morris, Joseph, Turner, Miller, Jones, Purser, Toner (Fletcher, 64), Harris, Lockwood, Tate (Forbes, 75), Alexander (Thorpe, 75). Subs not used: Harrison, Stephens.

May 1, 2003 10:30