MARTIN LING admitted his team had been outclassed by promotion-chasing Carlisle after their 3-0 victory at Brisbane Road on Saturday.

The O's had the handicap of going down to ten men for the last hour, but they were already 2-0 down at that stage and Ling said there was only one team in it - even at 11 v 11.

"We were devoid of ideas and we didn't get going in any way, shape or form," he said.

"Once they went 3-0 up against the ten men it was a case of damage limitation and it's certainly an afternoon to forget.

"It would take a poor manager to use the sending off as an excuse as to why we lost the game.

"The game was lost before JJ was sent off - we lost the game because they passed the ball better than us and they had more movement and more purpose to their play.

"The better side won the game this afternoon, without a doubt."

Ling said that Melligan could have few complaints over the sending off, and he will now miss Monday's trip to his old club Cheltenham as a result.

He continued: "If you go back to last season, that probably wouldn't have been a sending off, but in the current climate you can't leave the ground with both feet.

"JJ got a bit of the ball, but he got the man as well and even though he hasn't gone out to do their player, it's a red card."

And with another game coming up so quickly, Ling is keen for a positive response at Cheltenham.

He added: "If you're looking for little positives, we stuck with them in the last 40 minutes and prevented it from becoming a cricket score.

"It is only a small positive though and we've got to brush ourselves down before we go to Cheltenham on Monday.

"We've bounced back well on many occasions this season but today was as disappointed as I've been - especially in that first half hour."