No one will want to play the never-say-die battlers of Crawley Town in the FA Cup - opinion

Crawley Town won their place in the draw for the Second Round of the FA Cup in what may well have been the most astonishing match they have ever played.
Jordan TunnicliffeJordan Tunnicliffe
Jordan Tunnicliffe

They eliminated National League leaders Torquay United 6-5 after extra time in a match that took nearly three hours to complete. They lost keeper Tom McGill, suffering from severe concussion, which led to 39 year old Stuart Nelson making his debut barely 24 48 hours after signing for the club.

Read More
Crawley Town fans react to incredible FA Cup game

The match saw three penalties scored; a hat trick for Tom Nichols (a great response to the seven times he was fouled); another goal for Max Watters suggesting his best role could be as an impact sub and an equaliser by Jordan Tunnicliffe in normal time that was nevertheless timed at 111 minutes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The excitement and the disbelief the match brought shrouded an uneven display by the Reds. The Gulls proved to be as competent and as resourceful as one would expect of a team managed by Gary Johnson and for much of the game their superiority was embarrassing. Not one of our defenders could be satisfied with their performance.

This Crawley squad, however, does not give up whilst there is the ghost of a chance of recovery and nobody let himself down by not putting in the hard graft. Their competence, especially in passing, could be questioned but their spirit and work rate could not.

That is the basis of building a good side and the coaches will surely hone their players into the real deal.

The last time these two teams met in the FA Cup it presaged the unforgettable Reds trip to face Manchester United. This was only the First Round but it is certain whoever they face at the next hurdle will be nervous at the prospect of playing the never-say-die battlers of Crawley Town.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Crawley’s improvement in form took a knock as they went down by a single goal in midweek, scored by former Reds favourite Mat Sadler for Walsall. They struggled to unlock the home side’s defence and it was easy to see they are League Two’s draw specialists. The strikers lacked the nous to find a way through although at times the home penalty area looked like a pre-Covid tube station platform.

Tyler Frost and Tom Nichols both struck the woodwork but Max Watters looked out of sorts. Oddly he has scored six goals when playing less than a full game but has failed to find the net when playing 90 minutes. At the Banks’s Stadium he didn’t manage a single goal attempt.

In defence Reds were strong at full back but the central defenders were inconsistent and disappointingly allowed Sadler to drive the winner past substitute keeper Tom McGill.