Ling happy after O's slash Daggers apart

10:10am Thursday 24th July 2008

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ORIENT continued their good start to pre-season with a 4-1 win over Dagenham and Redbridge, and O's boss Martin Ling was pleased with his sides second half display, writes Craig Rodhouse.

The east Londoners fell behind to a Ben Strevens goal, but two goals from Adam Boyd, along with strikes from JJ Melligan and new signing Simon Dawkins turned the match on its head in the second half.

And Ling was clearly happy with the way his side responded after a very poor first period.

"We didn't really affect the game in the last 30 minutes of the first half and at half time we had some negative thoughts in our heads," Ling told the club's official website.

"But we took the game over in the second half and really ran the show.

"The team was a little bit more experienced in the second half - we looked like a better unit and controlled the game."

Another pleasing factor for Ling was the performance of his two wingers; Jason Demetriou and JJ Melligan, both of whom preformed well on the night.

He continued: "Something we work on a lot in training is for the one winger to be on the back post if the other is putting in a cross, with the two strikers and another midfield player in there as well.

"JJ took up that position for the goal and you'll score a lot if you cover into the back post."

Simon Dawkins made his first appearance for the O's since joining the club on a six month loan deal from Tottenham and Ling felt that he linked up well with fellow striker Adam Boyd.

"Adam didn't play at all Saturday with a knock, but he's come back today and scored two good goals.

"It looked a good combination with him and Simon Dawkins up there in the second half."

And Ling clearly feels that if the youngster reproduces his best form at the O's, then he could have got one of the signings of the season.

"It was a good 45 minutes from Simon I don't want to get too excited, but in training he's showed some lovely touches, he's got really good feet, he's bright and sharp and he knows the game.

"He showed that tonight and if he can produce that week in, week out he'll be a real find."

The O's next test is a journey to football league new boys Aldershot on Saturday.