Jon Mellish deflected a Ruel Sotiriou shot into his own net on 73 minutes, which proved the difference at Brisbane Road, and O’s survived with only 10 men in the final quarter of an hour after Charlie Kelman was sent off.
The final whistle sparked wild celebrations among the home side, cheered on by an 8,713-strong crowd, and Sweeney is hoping to enjoy a bigger party in the coming weeks.
RECAP: https://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/sport/23428774.league-two-leyton-orient-1-carlisle-united-0/
“That’s the best feeling I’ve had all season, in my career,” the 21-year-old told the club website.
Massive
“Just massive relief, elation, so happy. And I can only imagine if we get over the line it will be 10 times better than that.
“Massive three points, after the run we’ve had, four draws, we’re thinking we’re in a bit of bad form, but that win makes them four points really good points.
“It’s a massive win and we felt it in the stadium, we felt it with the celebrations, just so happy.
“Especially after the way Chaz got sent off, the way the fans carried us felt like we had 11 out there really.
“So massive thanks to them and hopefully we can keep that atmosphere going from now to the rest of the season.”
O’s had a late scare when Mellish seized on a mix-up on the edge of the box and rounded Lawrence Vigouroux, only to see Omar Beckles clear his effort off the goalline.
And Sweeney, making his 21st appearance of the season, praised his captain and fellow young defender Ed Turns after their latest clean sheet.
“That just epitomises him [Beckles]. That experienced head. When he needs to pull us out of it he’s there,” he added. “Great player, massive for us.
Class
“Ed is class. We’re both young, at the start of our careers, but games like that are massive, great experience and great learning curve.
“But the whole back four, the whole team has a great balance of youth and experience, with people like Becks, Hunty, Loz have been there, done it, they’ve got promotions, they help us through and it’s been a pleasure.
“Ed’s a class player, good on the ball, great defender and it’s been a pleasure playing with him, hopefully it continues to the end of the season.”
Having let leads slip against lowly Colchester and Hartlepool in their previous two outings, Sweeney said O’s were determined to protect their advantage on this occasion, especially after the disappointment of being reduced to 10 men.
And despite some nervous moments, he was delighted they managed to achieve their goal this time.
Message
“When we scored the main message was to keep doing what we were doing,” he said.
“In previous games we’ve scored, sat back and let the pressure come onto us. And in the recent weeks we haven’t been able to see it out.
“When we scored, it was ‘lets keep pressing, keep being aggressive, doing what we’re doing’ and then when we get the red card that kind of throws everything out of the window.
“But it was just about being strong, being a unit, relax, calm down. I think there was a few chaotic moments in there where their player rounds the keeper, there was a few chances they had but it was about keeping a cool head and being relaxed, making the right decisions.
“The most important thing is the clean sheet, seeing the game out, putting our bodies on the line and not letting the ball go in the goal!”
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