Crawley player ratings vs Wrexham: 5s for duo who struggled; bright spark gets an 8

Wrexham’s owners, Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, were not at the Broadfield Stadium but the cameras were for hit Disney+ show Welcome to Wrexham in front of a sell-out crowd.

The visitors took the lead after 13 minutes through former Crawley striker Ollie Palmer. It was a brilliant first-time finish with the outside of his boot.

The Reds nearly forced an instant equaliser when Adam Campbell struck the crossbar after Danilo Orsi had a shot saved.

Captain Ben Gladwin was then forced off with an injury but it didn’t stop Crawley from dominating for large periods. They were playing with purpose, with more possession, but just lacking cutting edge.

Wrexham improved after the break and put the hosts under a great deal of pressure. The Reds looked to hit them on the counter but were still struggling to create clear cut chances.

Wrexham were reduced to ten men with 20 minutes remaining when Andy Cannon hacked down Adam Campbell, who was thankfully okay to carry on.

Crawley threw men in search for that all-elusive equaliser but they couldn’t make their extra man count on a desperately frustrating afternoon.

Wrexham held on for their first win in four games, and condemned Scot Lindsey’s side to a second consecutive defeat.

Here’s how we rated the Crawley players:

Corey Addai – 7: Left stranded by Ollie Palmer’s superb finish. Confident claim from a corner. Got down well again from cross. Awesome save from Paul Mullin when the striker was one-on-one and then followed up with a punch to clear. Good save from Palmer as Wrexham took control of things in the second half. Much improved performance. Late save from long-range strike.

Ronan Darcy – 6: Plenty of endeavour but just lacking that final ball. A couple of long-range efforts easily saved.

Will Wright – 8: Crawley’s best player and didn’t deserve to be on the losing team. A great cross should have been finished by Orsi in the first half. Another superb cross into the box just before the hour mark but no one could get on the end of it. Bizarrely booked

Dion Conroy – 5: Back in the team after missing out last week and had a difficult afternoon. Didn’t always play the obvious pass and made fans nervous with delayed clearances. A couple of crunching slide tackles were well timed.

Laurence Maguire – 6: Left of three CBs when defending. His long through-ball attempts didn’t quite work out. One or two sloppy moments and . was beaten too easily out wide on a few occasions. Not always strong enough against Palmer. Went about his business quietly in the second half

Nick Tsaroulla – 6: Nice move out on the left early on. Impressively beat Paul Mullin in the air – fans loved that. Very quiet by his standards, especially in the second half. Earned a free kick right on the edge of the box but it came to nothing

Jay Williams – 6: Broke up play well and made some good interceptions.

Aaron Henry – 6: Was making his second league start and was a good chance for the Charlton loanee to impress in Liam Kelly’s absence. Some nice turns in midfield but didn’t have a huge impact on the game. Blasted an effort over the bar from distance. Wasteful from set piece in late minute on injury-time

Ben Gladwin – N/A: Back in the team after missing out last week. Unfortunately forced off with an injury after half an hour

Adam Campbell – 7: Looked a real threat. So unlucky with effort onto the crossbar as the Reds nearly grabbed an instant equaliser. Nice cross looked it might give Orsi a tap-in but the goalkeeper was equal to it. Great tackle to stop a dangerous counter attack. Nearly caught the keeper out with lofted effort. Good run but left in a heap after red card earning challenge by Andy Cannon. Inches wide with a shot from range

Danilo Orsi – 5: Back in the team after a game off against Doncaster but didn’t have his best game. His first real chance was the shot that was saved after Wrexham scored. He them did well to set up Campbell for strike onto the crossbar. Somehow managed to fire over the bar when it seemed easier to score. Very quiet second half.

Subs:

Klaidi Lolos – 7: On the pitch earlier than he would have expected after Gladwin’s injury. Some nice link up play and not afraid to shoot from distance – not always the best option though. So close with powerful effort outside the box.

Kellan Gordon – 6: A couple of crosses from the right after coming on in injury-time. Did well to win late free-kick. Booked.

Harry Forster – 6: Struggled to make real impact after coming on as late sub.