London (AFP) – Historic London club Leyton Orient’s 112-year stay in the English football league ended on Saturday with Crewe Alexandra’s 3-0 win confirming their relegation from League Two.
It reflects a dramatic fall from grace as two years ago they came within a penalty shootout success of gaining promotion to the Championship, losing in the play-off final to Rotherham.
However, it has been downhill all the way since snooker supremo Barry Hearn — who bought it for five pounds in 1995 — sold the club to Francesco Becchetti prior to the 2014/2015 campaign.
Orient, who enjoyed just one season of top-tier football in the 1962/63 season, were subsequently relegated to League Two.
This season’s campaign has been a catalogue of disasters with five managers, unpaid wages and a winding up order against Becchetti.
Orient will be replaced by Lincoln City who didn’t allow their exploits in the FA Cup, when they reached the quarter-finals, to distract them from the main objective of regaining their league place after a six-year hiatus.
The Imps confirmed their place on Saturday with a 2-1 home win over Macclesfield.
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