Taste of the Terrace: Morris stars as fortress Broadfield under siege

Crawley Town secured a fifth straight home win against struggling Cambridge United but it required an exceptional display by '˜keeper Glenn Morris to keep his side in the game.
Crawley Town season ticket holder Geoff Thornton.
Picture by Steve RobardsCrawley Town season ticket holder Geoff Thornton.
Picture by Steve Robards
Crawley Town season ticket holder Geoff Thornton. Picture by Steve Robards

He made several great saves as the visitors dominated the first half and chalked up a dozen goal attempts.

It was difficult to believe that Cambridge were in the relegation zone as they outshone the Reds in every aspect of the game and there was less than five minutes to the interval before we had a shot at their goal.

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At half-time Gabriele Cioffi adjusted the team’s formation and slowly but surely they got a grip on the proceedings.

The arrival of Panutche Camara enlivened things and others showed more belief in themselves.

One such was Luke Gambin who so far has promised more than he has delivered but with 20 minutes remaining he rounded off a neat move between Lewis Young and Felipe Morais with some fancy footwork of his own and a low drive into the corner of the net.

Ollie Palmer had been fully involved in the attacking play without actually getting in a single shot but seven minutes after the breakthrough he made amends.

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He foxed the Cambridge defence by ignoring Morais in space and despatching a crisp 15-yarder beyond David Forde’s reach thus sealing the win.

Earlier the manager had felt he needed to apologise to the supporters who made the long trip to Notts County last Tuesday after defensive lapses led to his side conceding two soft goals in the first half.

That was not necessary as the fans were only disappointed by the result and not with the team’s performance.

True the result was important, given the recent switch of our management duo to Meadow Lane, but the efforts the lads put in was acceptable compensation.

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The Reds have been criticised for their reticence in front of goal.

Not so in this match when nine different players conjured up 22 shots. That showed both their strength and shortcomings in that department.

The best shots were narrowly off-target while those that brought home keeper Ross Fitzsimons into action lacked the necessary venom.

The coaches can work on that aspect along with the passing as a good number of decent moves were wasted by a very slack effort by the last man involved.

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Of more concern was the fact that the defence without Mark Connolly and Bondz N’Gala never looked comfortable. There was also the matter of luck.

Any good fortune seemed to favour the home side and the result did not reflect the ninety minutes play. County looked very limited beyond the mercurial Enzio Boldewijn and if Harry Kewell can make anything of this season he will merit high praise.

I was left with the feeling that God must be Australian.

Oddly that’s two matches where the losers could feel justifiably hard done by.

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