Peter Leven praises Rotherham youngsters after victory at Leyton Orient

Rotherham assistant Peter Leven praised his inexperienced youngsters for seizing their opportunity in a 2-0 League One win at Leyton Orient.

Harry Gray, 17, ended the already-relegated Millers’ run of seven consecutive away matches without scoring when his right-footed cross bounced into the far corner in the 24th minute.

Sam Nombe then swept into the bottom corner in the 73rd minute, sealing a deserved victory that leaves Orient three points above the relegation zone.

Leven and head coach Lee Clark – who nearly missed kick-off because of a delayed train following a family bereavement – also gave minutes to teenagers Cohen Lee, James Clarke and Harrison Duncan, who all stepped up to the plate.

Leven, speaking in place of Clark, who headed straight back to the north east to be with his family after the match, said: “If you look at the average age of the team, there were a lot of positives to take from today.

“I thought Cohen Lee grew again since last week, taking the ball under pressure. Clarkey as well, bringing energy and did well for the second goal.”

Interim manager Clark finally tasted victory at the sixth time of asking and Leven believes their hard work in training is starting to pay off.

He said: “That was the first time I’ve seen the points that we’re trying to put across come to fruition.

“The defensive work to make sure they don’t play centrally, I thought we did that really well.

“Obviously, in transition we were really good and could have scored more.”

Clark had been at home following the death of his mother-in-law and arrived at Brisbane Road with minutes to spare, having taken a cross-country taxi from Doncaster to east London.

Leven added: “It just shows you the character of the guy, that he wants to be here and do well for the players and the club. It was good to have him here.

“He arrived just as we came in from the warm-up. The manager turned up and took charge.”

Orient manager Richie Wellens was less than impressed with his team’s performance and picked out one shining example for the players to follow.

He said: “To be fair to them, they had the best player on the pitch – Gray was excellent.

“We worked all week on not showing him inside and then we showed him inside for the first goal.

“They chucked a few young kids in and they came to the game wanting to get on the ball and enjoy it.

“Maybe it’s the mentality that, because they are relegated and we’ve got them at home, it was going to be an easy game.

“We all have to take accountability because it was nowhere near good enough today.”