Richie Wellens reserves praise for Rarmani Edmonds-Green after Leyton Orient win
The 27-year old marked his first appearance this season with a goal and an assist.
Richie Wellens praised the comeback performance of Rarmani Edmonds-Green after Leyton Orient defeated Cambridge 3-0.
The 27-year old marked his first appearance this season with a goal and an assist after suffering an ACL injury in October 2025.
His performance was rewarded with a man of the match award, after Orient responded well to having lost back-to-back games with further goals by Jaze Kabia and Aaron Connolly.
Head coach Wellens was especially keen to highlight the patience of defender Edmonds-Green – and admitted he might have sent his matchday hero out on loan.
He said: “It’s been a long, hard road back for him. He’s been frustrated the last three or four weeks where he needs to play to get properly fit.
“We toyed with the idea of sending him on loan to a National League side for a month, because friendlies at this time of year are very difficult to arrange.
“So he’s had to sit and wait a little bit. I trust him: he makes decisions, he’s strong aerially. I didn’t think he would score a goal, but the whole group are pleased for him.
“I had the same injury as a player that Edmonds-Green had, when you come back you run on adrenaline for the first three or so games. But it’s the fourth, fifth and sixth games where you can fall off a cliff.
“We’ll look after him this week, and he’s got experience – he’s won two or three promotions, and it shows.”
Defeat was only a second for Cambridge in 11 games, but head coach Neil Harris felt the result was down to a lack of experience catching up with his side.
He said: “What we’ve achieved is six defeats in 46 games, in league football. But we’ve done that with sheer desire and determination and a lot of learning.
“The mix of experience and youth can only get you so far. When you come into games like today, when you don’t do the basics you get punished.
“We turned the ball over too cheaply at times, but ultimately we’ve conceded two set-play goals that have taken the game away from us.
“It’s a learning curve for everyone involved – if the coaches don’t learn quickly then the players don’t learn quickly. And we’ll have more pain to get through.
“We shot ourselves in the foot time and time again. I feel for the travelling fans today, they’ve loved watching us and what we’ve achieved this season.”
Orient took the lead in the 32nd minute when Edmonds-Green connected first time with an Alex Gilbert corner.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 49th minute when goalscorer Edmonds-Green turned provider for the unmarked Kabia to net from less than six yards out, before a goal at the end of a fine solo run by Connolly sealed the win.