Taste of the Terrace: Morais strike brings Crawley Town salvation

A basement clash in the relegation dogfight was never going to be pretty but that aspect counted for little as the points were all important.

Not only did Crawley Town take the spoils in this six-pointer but all around them their fellow strugglers crumbled.

Notts County were brushed aside at Crewe and Forest Green Rovers’ win against Macclesfield may well have been more deserved than the three points they had gained against the Reds a week previously.

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What an amazing turnaround in the space of seven days.

Some things remained familiar however. Glenn Morris was at his brilliant best and pulled off five vital saves including a brilliant double save in added-time. Ollie Palmer looked sadly out of touch again yet still delivered the crucial pass that led to the winning goal.

Palmer was hugging the left touchline when he produced a deep and precisely weighted cross to the unmarked Filipe Morais.

He struck the ball first time beyond Nathan Baxter to make up for his error the week before that allowed Forest Green Rovers to poach all three points.

The midfield saw a battle royal which neither side able to dominate and as a result goalmouth action was at a premium.

Crawley’s effort was very much a credit to the team ethic.

There was no doubting the lads’ intent to mount a serious attempt at saving their season.

They’ve tried that before without success but this time they were not hamstrung by bad luck or weird refereeing decisions.

They just managed to get the edge over a Yeovil side that is battling equally as hard to avoid the drop.

Crawley Town this season is a team that has lost its way. Underperformance has been common and our true position is, I regret to say, where we are now – just above the relegation places.

With the immediate pressure reduced we can ask again whether this victory heralds a real change of fortune.

The Easter fixtures should provide a better indication as the match at Exeter on Good Friday is winnable.

The Grecians have been inconsistent and we often raise our game against them.

The real crunch may well come on Easter Monday with the visit of Notts County.

They could be in last chance saloon by then and the Reds rarely seem to cut it when facing the Magpies.

All in all I think our campaign remains in the balance but it is a very welcome change that sees us taking on these crunch games with our spirits high.