Leyton Orient boss Ross Embleton was pleased with the spirit of his side after a dramatic 3-2 victory over Port Vale

James Brophy’s winner five minutes from time secured Orient’s third consecutive league win.

The O’s were on the back foot for most of the second half, and Embleton admitted his side were fortunate to come away with the three points.

“We’re delighted with the win. From our perspective it was a bit of a smash and grab, but to come away with three goals you are expected to get the three points,” he said.

“It was about us hanging on and coming away with a point.

“But this shows the spirit in the group, our appetite to defend and that we can be deadly at the other end.

“We’ve got goals in the team; Danny Johnson’s record speaks for itself and Conor Wilkinson chipped in with another one today, so we know we can always hurt opposition and be a threat in the box.

“Today we dug in and did the ugly bit in our own box in the second half but went up the other end  and probably stole the points.

“At one stage I looked at the lads on the bench, but I wasn’t quite sure what to do and it was just about staying in it.

“But getting a set-piece gives you half a chance to get something and that’s what we’ve done.”

Port Vale skipper Leon Legge opened the scoring before Orient responded through fine finishes from Johnson and Wilkinson.

Cristian Montano curled in a stunning equaliser, but Brophy’s dramatic winner leaves Vale with five straight league defeats.

Boss John Askey said: “We’re really disappointed.

“We conceded from a corner, which I think was their first attack in the second half.

“We actually played really well and created a lot of chances but conceded three sloppy goals.

“The overall performance was actually as good as we’ve seen all season.

“At the moment, everything that could be going wrong is going wrong.

“All we can do is keep working hard and if we keep playing like that, eventually the results will turn.

“One win will spark us and give us the belief that we can actually do this, but it’s really frustrating at the moment.

“You can complain about refereeing decisions, but we’ve got to be better and it’s difficult to know what to say because there was a lot right about our performance.

“If the players weren’t having a go we’d be worried, but we know they’re doing everything we can.

“Things aren’t going totally wrong and I’ve been through a spell as a manager without a win in 10 games, so that will put us in good stead when things aren’t going right.”