A false dawn thanks to Jeff Stelling coupled with a red card, a power cut, an away defeat and a helping hand from a former Welsh international – only Leyton Orient could get promoted this way.
In a scene reminiscent of the last time the club departed League Two, the O’s played out the final ten minutes of Tuesday evening’s game at Gillingham exerting no effort as the opposition passed it around between themselves after play resumed following a Priestfield Stadium power failure.
It didn’t matter one jot though as Richie Wellens’ side knew their fate following results elsewhere meaning Orient had secured promotion back to League One after eight years away.
In truth, Orient’s destiny had been sealed since the victory against Carlisle United at the beginning of the month, with many feeling promotion was a foregone conclusion even earlier than that.
Yes, there have been minor wobbles recently, most notably dropping two goal leads at home to strugglers Colchester and Harrogate but this has been a promotion achieved with very little jeopardy or drama.
The O’s have sat at the top of the League Two table since October 22nd and the only time the position looked under any real threat was following back-to-back defeats to Stevenage and Tranmere that coincided with a defensive injury crisis.
Following that Tranmere defeat in late January, Orient went on to go 13 matches unbeaten.
To produce that kind of run at that stage of the season demonstrates not only the mentality Richie Wellens’ has instilled since taking over in E10 just over a year ago, but also the quiet dominance his side has asserted over the rest of the league throughout the campaign.
Should Orient seal the league title they’ll have been top for 89% of the league season and few could argue that they haven’t utterly dominated the division. Yet, they have won just one game by more than two goals – the 3-0 victory over Bradford in December.
It’s been a promotion very much built on control. Just six times this season have Orient had less possession than their opposition and just once have they lost the possession battle at Brisbane Road (incidentally in that win over Bradford).
Defensive solidity has also been integral to Orient’s success; a shutout against Sutton last weekend saw Lawrence Vigouroux break the club’s league clean sheet record set by Ray Goddard in the 1969/70 season.
Of those 23 clean sheets, 15 have come at Brisbane Road which Orient have made a fortress: losing once in the league and conceding just 10 goals in E10 this season.
This is a supremely well coached side that knows exactly what they have to do to win and are able to repeat the process time and time again.
In the long-term, the future of a number of key players are still up in the air with several either out of contract or only on loan while Richie Wellens as manager is also sure to be in demand.
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However, those concerns can be parked for now – it’s been a long road back to League One, the division in which the O’s resided for a decade before Francesco Becchetti took majority control back in 2014.
This season is one to savour, particularly following the dark days of Becchetti’s time at the helm that almost left supporters without a club.
Out of that darkness came light and, following two league titles in their 137 year history prior to the arrival of Nigel Travis and Kent Teague in E10, a second title in five years under their American-based ownership is virtually guaranteed.
Fans should bask in the championship procession over the next few weeks as, in the modern era at least, Leyton Orient have never had it so good.