Leyton Orient led Lincoln City 1-0 before the League One fixture was abandoned in the 82nd minute due to a medical emergency in the crowd; a fan ran on the pitch towards referee Stephen Martin to draw attention; 20 fans sat down on the pitch at the home end to stop the game
Wednesday 4 October 2023 13:09, UK
Leyton Orient and Lincoln City's League One fixture was abandoned on Tuesday evening after 82 minutes due to a medical emergency involving a member of the crowd.
A fan ran on the pitch towards referee Stephen Martin to draw attention to the fact that a member of the public needed medical attention in the East Stand.
The game then continued for less than a minute with Orient leading 1-0 before around 20 fans sat down on the pitch at the home end to alert the referee to the continuing medical emergency and the game was halted.
With the paramedics appearing to give the individual CPR on the side of the pitch, the referee took the teams off the field.
The match was abandoned an hour after the initial stoppage occurred and as the fans left the ground, the medical teams were still attending to the patient.
Orient released a statement on X after the game which read: "Tuesday's fixture against Lincoln City was abandoned due to a medical emergency in the East Stand of Brisbane Road.
"The thoughts of everyone at Leyton Orient Football Club are with the individual involved and their loved ones at this distressing time.
"The club would like to thank all supporters in attendance at Brisbane Road this evening for the understanding and compassion shown, during a very difficult situation.
"The club will provide a further update in due course."
Orient's goal came from an error by Sean Roughan after 10 minutes. Under pressure in his own penalty area from Ruel Sotiriou, the Imps defender miskicked the ball and Sotiriou squared across goal for Joe Pigott to net his second goal of the season with the simplest of chances.
Roughan had earlier produced a good save from Orient goalkeeper Sol Brynn who was at full stretch to turn the ball around the post for a corner.
Both sides produced some neat football, with Hakeeb Adelakun going close for the visitors while former Lincoln midfielder Max Sanders was denied a goal against his former employers when Imps keeper Lukas Jensen flung himself to his left to avert the danger.
A lively and entertaining second period produced chances at both ends, with Ethan Hamilton going close for the visitors while Jensen clawed away a powerful header from Idris El Mizouni, before the medical emergency ended play.
