Richie Wellens hails homegrown keeper Noah Phillips as Orient progress in cup

Richie Wellens marvelled at homegrown keeper Noah Phillips seizing his moment in the spotlight as Leyton Orient edged past Walsall on penalties in the Carabao Cup.

The 21-year-old, who made his League One debut from the bench when Nathan Baxter got injured on Saturday, repelled spot-kicks from Lewis Simper and Declan Skura as Orient won the shoot-out 6-5 after a 0-0 draw at the Bescot Stadium.

“He deserves this, it has been a long time coming for him,” said Wellens.

“Noah has been here from the very start, has gone through some incredible life experiences with us and taken them in. He has a great character, a good work ethic and now he is getting his opportunity.

“The first was a great save and it was a nice moment when he saw his mum and dad in the crowd. I hope they had a great evening because there is nothing better than seeing your son pull off the saves that got us through to the next round.”

Orient edged an open game that got scrappier as it went along with Charlie Wellens denied by top saves in each half from Jed Ward, but Walsall assistant manager Richard Keogh was happy with how the new-look League Two side went toe-to-toe with higher-ranked opponents.

“Penalties are always a lottery but it was a really good performance,” he said.

“We made seven changes, that’s how much we believe in the squad and everyone affected the game. On another night we could maybe have won it.

“We created some fantastic opportunities and if we were a bit cleaner I think we could have really hurt them. That is probably the next stage for this group.”