Crawley Town scored three goals in the space of nine minutes to end their long wait for a home win – and nudge Leyton Orient a step closer to the Football League trapdoor.

James Collins nodded Reds ahead in the 23rd minute and further goals from Joe McNerney and Enzio Boldewijn put the home side in complete control.

Orient failed to pose any threat at all as Crawley picked up three points at the Checkatrade.com Stadium for the first time since January 14.

The result kept Dermot Drummy’s men in 17th place in League Two while Orient remain rooted to the foot of the table with relegation now almost a certainty.

Reds had taken just one point from their last six home games and their lack of confidence was evident in the opening 20 minutes as they were second best to Orient.

The complexion of the match changed completly, however, following an amazing nine-minute spell as Crawley exploited some woeful defending from the visitors.

Josh Payne was the provider for the first two goals with Collins glancing home a header from a free kick to open the scoring and then McNerney crashing home a towering header from another set-piece six minutes later.

Crawley caught the Orient defence napping again to make it 3-0 in the 32nd minute as Boldewijn raced on to a quick free kick over the top to nod past the stranded Tom Sargeant whose attempt to claw it back off the line was in vain.

The quickfire triple blast knocked the remaining stuffing out of an already dispirited Orient side who never even hinted at getting back into the game.

Reds did not need to get out of second gear after half-time but went close to extending their lead as Boldewijn and Rhys Murphy both went close with shots from the edge of the area while Boldewijn somehow failed to convert a cross from Collins at the far post.