Crawley Town boss Harry Kewell: '˜We didn't really threaten their keeper'

Crawley Town head coach Harry Kewell was left frustrated when his side suffered their third defeat out of four matches played at home this season.
Colchester United v Crawley Town  football
9/9/2017 Crawley manager Harry Kewell. Picture by Colchester Gazette SUS-171109-191855002Colchester United v Crawley Town  football
9/9/2017 Crawley manager Harry Kewell. Picture by Colchester Gazette SUS-171109-191855002
Colchester United v Crawley Town football 9/9/2017 Crawley manager Harry Kewell. Picture by Colchester Gazette SUS-171109-191855002

He felt his side played well in the first half but their display eased off in the second and throught the whole game they didn’t put enough shots on target.

Kewell thought Notts County did well to score from the few chances they had that it was disappointing how little Crawley threatened after the visitors scored.

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He said: “In the first half I thought we created chances but not enough were on target. I had enough attackers to create chances!

Crawley FC v Notts County Fc. Pic Steve Robards SR1723098 SUS-170916-160535001Crawley FC v Notts County Fc. Pic Steve Robards SR1723098 SUS-170916-160535001
Crawley FC v Notts County Fc. Pic Steve Robards SR1723098 SUS-170916-160535001

“Teams will look for that opportunity and that’s all you need in a game, one opportunity to score.

“In the second half we played the long ball too much for my liking.”

Kewell admitted his attacking players did not put visiting goalkeeper Adam Collin under any pressure.

He said: “We didn’t really threaten the keeper at all.

Crawley FC v Notts County Fc. Ibrahim Meite. Pic Steve Robards SR1723074 SUS-170916-160311001Crawley FC v Notts County Fc. Ibrahim Meite. Pic Steve Robards SR1723074 SUS-170916-160311001
Crawley FC v Notts County Fc. Ibrahim Meite. Pic Steve Robards SR1723074 SUS-170916-160311001
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“You can create chances all you like but at the end of the day it’s about putting the ball in the back of the net.

“You play teams like this, they got that first chance, they got a goal and they shut up shop.

“Once the goal went in we stopped playing and that’s the frustrating thing.

“You’ve got to stick to your ideas, they kind of shut up shop and we had nothing to offer.”

Crawley FC v Notts County Fc. Pic Steve Robards SR1723098 SUS-170916-160535001Crawley FC v Notts County Fc. Pic Steve Robards SR1723098 SUS-170916-160535001
Crawley FC v Notts County Fc. Pic Steve Robards SR1723098 SUS-170916-160535001
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Kewell stressed the Magpies did not overawe them, despite arriving at the Checkatrade Stadium in second place in the table and on the back of three successive wins.

He said: “Notts County didn’t really scare us at all, the only thing they looked dangerous from was set-pieces.

“I’m a believer in being confident and trying to play the game the right way.

“The game was 96 minutes and you’ve got to switch on for 96 minutes and you can’t afford to allow quality strikers half a chance.”