ORIENT manager Martin Ling was left fuming after a string of blunders from referee Nigel Miller cost Orient an extra two points at Leeds United on Saturday.

The O's boss was thrilled with his team's performance, but he is disappointed that Miller's officiating will steal the headlines.

He said: "It's sad that our performance will be overshadowed by that of the referee. The players gave absolutely everything for me and should take all the plaudits, but they won't make an inch of copy in tomorrow's newspapers.

"It will all be about the inaccuracies of the referee. For me, his decision making was mostly wrong - if not all wrong - and he's going to steal the headlines.

"I'm not one to criticise referees because I think they do their job to the best of their abilities.

"But he's got all four of the major decisions in this game wrong - and 30,000 people here will share that opinion. He crumbled in front of a massive crowd and he couldn't handle the occasion.

"We've looked at the video of the sending off and Sean's hand has brushed their player's face. The referee has told one of my players that he's elbowed him, and to another that it was a punch. I didn't see it that way and we will be appealing.

"The penalty was another decision he got wrong, Alton swears it was never a corner for their equaliser and then we've managed to score down the other end with a ball that everyone tells me is a metre over the line.

"You could see from where we were that it was in. Effectively we've won the game 2-1 but I don't think you'll be seeing us with three points in the press tomorrow."

Of his own side's performance, Ling felt they would certainly have taken the points had all 11 men stayed on the pitch.

He continued: "When it was 11 v 11 we were the better side. We defended resolutely, but we also sprung quickly to counter attack and pass the ball with pace and purpose.

"For that half-hour it was our best performance of the season, and even when we had ten men you could put a big tick next to it.

"I feel we'd have won the game at 11 v 11 so there is a sense of injustice."