Leyton Orient first-team coach Matt Harrold felt his team were excellent throughout as they came back from a goal down at half-time to win 2-1 at Oxford and give their play-off hopes a big boost.
Tyler Goodrham gave Oxford a 20th-minute lead but the O’s hit back through Ollie O’Neill and George Moncur.
Boss Richie Wellens was sent to the stands for the third time this season, on this occasion for timewasting when making a substitution, so Harrold was again put forward after the match to speak to the press.
And Harrold said: “I thought we played really well.
“I felt they had a goal against the run of play really – we switched off and allowed a runner and they played around us with a little bit of quality.
“But apart from that, I thought we were good in the first half.
“Then we said a few things at half-time and we went from strength to strength and deserved the win.
“We worked on something in the week which came off a few times in the first half and at half-time we urged them to shoot through bodies.
“And that’s what Ollie O’Neill did and it was a great strike into the far corner. It was just that little moment that we were maybe lacking in the first half.
“It was a great goal and with Moncs, we’d said to him at half-time to take more chances – and that’s what happens when he does. He does it all the time in training and it was an unbelievable finish.
“We all know Moncs can do it, we just want to see it more often.
“It just shows what he can do. He’s fresh, he’s hungry and I think he looks really confident. We all believe in him so much – he’s done it, with a great goal and it was a great moment for us.
“I’ve got to be honest, I thought the red card for Richie seemed a little harsh because we were just trying to make a substitution which we’d made clear we wanted to do and I thought a lot of our yellow cards were harsh too.
“The gaffer’s disappointed – it doesn’t look great, obviously, but I thought that one was a harsh one.”
Oxford boss Des Buckingham admitted his team’s performance was not good enough.
He said: “I’m disappointed with the performance because we didn’t deserve to win the game.
“But we’re still sixth in the table and we’ve got 11 more opportunities to make sure we stay where we want to stay.
“We’ve only got the one point from these last two home games which is not what we wanted.
“The first goal they scored we had four different chances to clear the ball and we didn’t. And the second one, we allowed a guy who’s right-footed onto his right foot to shoot.
“But we’ll deal with this together. It’s not about looking for excuses or blame. That’s not where you take a group of people where you want to go.
“Yes, it’s about accountability and making sure across the group we’re all clear about what we’re doing.
“It’s still a work in progress, it was never going to happen overnight.
“It’s something we will work on hard throughout the rest of the season and make sure we get right.
“We have to find that combination and we will find that combination.
“We have a free week before the Portsmouth game and it’s important we use these four days on the training ground to get back on track to get as many points as we can from the last 11 games.
“We need to get a run of results together to get people here behind us more often.”
Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women
Tottenham Women manager Robert Vilahamn believes his side will use their FA Cup final defeat to start something special, rather than ending their good work.
Spurs were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United Women in Sunday's Wembley Stadium showpiece as Ella Toone and Rachel Williams were on target before Lucia Garcia's second-half double.
Vilahamn's side failed to manage a shot on target but the Spurs boss suggested his team will catch up to the women's elite clubs.
"The main thing I said was this is not the end, it is the beginning," Vilahamn said.
"We still have a gap between us and the top teams but that's normal. We are closing the gap but we haven't closed the gap yet."
Tottenham finished sixth in the Women's Super League as well as reaching this final, their first FA Cup showpiece appearance in their short history.
Vilahamn wants his Spurs players to use this defeat as motivation going forward.
"If you take away the feelings right now, you need to look at these players doing some incredible things this year," he said.
"We are at Wembley playing in front of our fans and they are actually enjoying it and staying, and supporting us after.
"We got a good experience today and we are learning how to play at Wembley more times. We need to look at it that way because the players are amazing."
Erik ten Hag: Man United fans are understanding of situation
Erik ten Hag is confident he still has the understanding of supporters after Manchester United's poor run of form continued with defeat to Arsenal.
United were beaten 1-0 by Premier League title chasers Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday in a game that saw them create little.
While United did well to restrict Arsenal's chances, they had just two shots on target themselves - long-rangers from Casemiro and Antony.
The Red Devils have had to contend with a number of injury problems this season, not least against Arsenal with a makeshift defence fielded.
And for that reason, Ten Hag - whose job beyond this season has been called into question - believes the fanbase remain supportive.
"They understand where we are and where this club is," he told Sky Sports. "We have so many injuries in key areas.
"The fans don't get what they deserve, but they understand this and that is why they are behind the team.
"I think that is why they are with us we are united. Hopefully we can pay them back in the future."
Ten Hag pointed out that United were without seven possible starters, forcing him to field veteran Jonny Evans alongside Casemiro at centre-back.
Casemiro was at fault for Arsenal's goal as he was slow getting back up the field, meaning Havertz was onside before teeing up Trossard.
Ten Hag, though, was not willing to point the finger of blame at the underperforming midfielder.
"In that situation he is a midfielder playing in that position and making a small mistake, but it has hard consequences," he said.
"Before that, in possession we could have done better in others positions. It's details."
Eighth-placed United have won just one of their past eight league matches in a run that includes a 4-0 thumping at Crystal Palace earlier in the week.
The Red Devils have lost 19 games in all competitions this season, which is their most since 1977-78 when also losing 19.
Asked if he believes he is the man to turn things around, Ten Hag said: "I have no doubt about this.
"Mostly, this team has the right spirit and they execute the rules and principles of the game even if they have to adapt in their positions.
"I can only be happy and it is a big compliment for this team that they executed all that they could and they were fighting."
Manchester United Women 4-0 Tottenham Women: Garcia double secures Red Devils' first FA Cup triumph
Manchester United Women banished last year's FA Cup demons to lift the trophy for the first time in their history after smashing Tottenham Women 4-0 at Wembley Stadium.
United suffered a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea Women in the final of this competition last term but exacted revenge after Lucia Garcia scored twice in a comfortable win on Sunday.
Ella Toone's eye-catching strike in the first half set the tone before a goal for Rachel Williams and Garcia's double added gloss to a convincing scoreline, despite Beth England hitting the crossbar for Spurs.
Marc Skinner's side dominated the opening half as Millie Turner saw a header cleared off the line by Martha Thomas, while Williams headed over.
However, there was no stopping Toone on the stroke of half-time as she exchanged passes with Lisa Naalsund before arrowing a rocketed right-footed finish into the top corner from the edge of the area.
Further punishment followed for an underwhelming Tottenham after the interval when Williams headed down from Katie Zelem's free-kick to double United's lead in the 54th minute.
Goalkeeper Becky Spencer then handed Skinner's team more joy just three minutes later, mindlessly playing straight to Garcia, who slotted into an empty net.
Garcia capped the scoring after 74 minutes, receiving an offload from Turner before curling a delightful finish past the powerless Spencer as United secured their first major trophy in club history.
Data Debrief: United ease pain of last year
United fell short last year against Chelsea but continued their impressive record against Spurs here, extending to 13 games unbeaten against Tottenham since being founded in 2018.
This defeat will remain painful for Spurs in their first FA Cup final appearance, also ending a seven-game undefeated streak since losing to rivals Arsenal at the start of March.
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