Gillingham manager Neil Harris reacts to 2-0 League 2 defeat at leaders Leyton Orient

Gillingham boss Neil Harris cut a frustrated figure after his side failed to build on their promising first-half display at League 2 leaders Leyton Orient on Tuesday night.

The Gills edged a tight first half in east London, the manager producing a tactical master-stroke with a 4-3-2-1 formation that stifled the home side.

But they conceded early in the second half and never really looked like getting back into the contest before letting in a second goal with just under 20 minutes remaining.

“Firstly, I’d like to thank the fans for their input tonight, they were magnificent,” said Harris, with more than 900 Gillingham supporters making the trip. “They deserved more than a defeat.

“First half I thought we were outstanding. We changed shape, we had a game-plan, we nullified them, we were excellent without the ball. We were good with the ball and we should have been in front. Again, we just haven’t scored, have we?

“The frustration for me as the manager is I [couldn’t] sign the players that I wanted in the summer, it comes back to bite us again. Then two really poor goals to give away, as you can tell I am fuming. On the back of the first half to concede goals like we did was not acceptable.”

Gillingham restricted Orient to three off-target attempts in the first half, and they could have easily gone ahead.

Skipper Stuart O’Keefe had their best opening but he hesitated with a clear sight of goal and eventually hit shot turned into a cross which was blocked by the home side.

“Glenn [Morris] has hardly touched the ball in the first half apart from the times we passed it back to him and made him kick it from his goal line,” noted Harris. “Other than that he hasn’t touched the ball with his hands, he hasn’t had to make a save and