EFL: League Two teams stop playing after having promotion & survival confirmed | OneFootball

In the words of Martin Tyler: "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

A bizarre moment occurred during Leyton Orient's game against Gillingham last night. A floodlight failure meant a 23-minute break in play, and with the referee heading to the centre circle to restart the game, cheers rained down from the stands as Orient supporters realised their side had won promotion.

Other results had gone in Orient's favour, meaning the club will play League One football next season.

Leyton Orient and Gillingham see out remainder of game

The players and staff were celebrating on the pitch, while Gillingham and the match officials just wanted to get the game back underway.

With promotion now secured and Orient trailing by 2-0, the players decided they couldn't be bothered playing anymore. There were some rather comical scenes as Gillingham passed the ball around the back four lazily while Orient stood still. One O's player even took the time to retie his laces.

There was a casual attitude from the players, as they knew they had achieved their objective.

The O's had started the game brightly, forcing Gillingham into a goal-line clearance early on. The 1,600 travelling Orient supporters soon saw that bright start come to an abrupt halt, however.

Omar Beckles was shown a controversial red card by referee Carl Brook for his challenge on George Lapslie. From the resulting free-kick, Gillingham went 1-0 up as Lawrence Vigouroux was beaten at his near post.

The hosts ensured an eighth win from their last 10 home games alongside securing their League Two status when Alexander fired home from the penalty spot after Idris El Mizouni handled a MacDonald free-kick.

The result didn't matter to Orient as their performance in the last 10-15 minutes showed. Nobody could blame them either, as the O's return to third tier of English football for the first time since 2015.

With Orient not breaking any sweat, it was a testament to Gillingham that they didn't go all out and put a few more goals past Vigouroux. They had, however, already secured safety. It could have been a different story had they still been fighting relegation.

Floodlight failure, a yellow card for Orient manager Richie Wellens, a controversial sending off, and players almost at a stand still. This wouldn't even happen on a Sunday League pitch, a quite comical evening at Priestfield.