Leyton Orient 2 Blackpool 0: Forrester and Scarlett goals leave Tangerines in drop zone

Evatt’s team failed to capitalise on their earlier dominance and have now gone six league games without a win.

An encouraging display full of purpose and promise for an hour ultimately counted for nothing.

The 600 Blackpool fans inside the BetWright Stadium experienced a full circle range of emotions as the afternoon wore on.

From anger towards referee John Busby that their side wasn’t awarded a 20th-minute penalty to the hope that bright attacking football might bring its reward.

Then, the all-too-familiar sinking feeling as the second half wore on and Orient clinched a victory which brought them back to anger at the final whistle.

Boos and gestures from some of those who stayed until the final whistle cascaded down as the Blackpool players made their way over to the away section.

Where has that early-season optimism gone so quickly?

The game started with promise. A flowing move involving Karoy Anderson and George Honeyman ended with Finley Munroe driving a low ball across the Orient area which just evaded the outstretched leg of Jerry Yates.

Then the trend of refereeing decisions going against the Seasiders in recent weeks continued when a slick passing move on the right ended with Josh Bowler being clattered by Orient defender Alfie Gilchrist when he turned inside the penalty area.

Whether Blackpool should have been awarded a spot-kick or not, there was certainly contact, which made referee John Busby’s decision to book Bowler for simulation at odds with the reality.

That incident summed up the opening half-hour with Evatt’s team looking threatening without turning their dominance into clear-cut chances.

That was until Orient opened the scoring. Blackpool’s frailty from set-pieces came to the fore again when having cleared the initial danger from a corner, they failed to prevent Alex Gilbert from swinging over a cross.

Nor did they pick up Orient defender Will Forrester who guided his bouncing header into the far corner.

The Seasiders’ response was to bombard the home goal. First, Bowler cut inside only for his curling shot to be diverted for a corner by Jospeh Oluwo.

Honeyman was next to try but his shot was deflected wide for the corner from which Zac Ashworth’s header was going in until it was cleared by the head of Forrester.

How the Tangerines went in trailing at the interval given their midfield dominance was a mystery, although it could be argued that they hadn’t created enough clear-cut chances to be in the lead themselves.

That trend continued into the second half. Bowler was at the heart of most Blackpool moves, although his inability to deliver the right ball into the area became increasingly frustrating.

He should have equalised on the hour when Jerry Yates scampered clear only to find himself shunted away from goal.

Bowler took over, cut inside only to lose his footing and then drag his shot wide of the far post.

When an Oluwo header cannoned against the bar from an Orient corner and an Idris El Muzuni follow-up shot struck Olly Casey’s hand, the game was up.

Substitute Dane Scarlett calmly despatched the penalty and Evat and his team were left to face the ire of the Tangerines’ fans at the final whistle.