Very loose lyric links again today, apologies to Guns ‘n’ Roses for mangling Paradise City.
It’s home game time again, and it has been a very Crawley Town week for us. There was the great away win last Saturday over Bradford City, and four nights spent in Bradford, then onto Peterborough United, where the game was off, undecided, on, and off again over the space of six hours, and the Bristol Street Motors Trophy game is now rearranged for the twenty-third of January. It also meant we were in last night’s quarter final draw where if we win, we will be at home against AFC Wimbledon. Again.
Back at home on Friday, the first order of business was to get to the stadium and get tickets for the AFC Wimbledon game next Saturday. Then we went into town and to the Museum. It was my third look at the Crawley Town exhibition there, but Helen’s first. Well over an hour later, we’d had a thorough look, and I saw things I hadn’t really noticed before such as the clip below. The exhibition is only on for another two weeks, so if you haven’t had the chance to have a look then do so whilst it is still there, it really is worth it.
Anyway, back to the current, and today’s game against Salford City. We go into the game in ninth place in the League Two table, level on points with both the MK Dons and the AFC Wimbledon Dons, but well behind on goal difference. A win for us and a failure to win by both of the Dons would see us in the play-off places, and nose bleeds all around.
Meanwhile Salford are having a similar kind of season to the one we had last year. They currently sit twelve places behind us in twenty-first and fifteen points behind us on twenty-four points, and they are only two places and six points above the relegation places. Which could make things interesting as they should be fighting for their lives, making it a difficult game for us. So, no room for any complacency. And hopefully the midweek shambles wasn’t too much of a distraction.
The transfer market has been quiet, with only changes to the goalkeeping corps. Luca Ashby-Hammond was recalled from his loan by Fulham, due to lack of playing time, and immediately loaned out to Notts County. We had secured the signing of Ryan Sandford from Dartford before the recall was enacted. But for some reason we had no keeper on the bench.
I got to the ground straight from writing group and was in through the turnstiles at two on the dot, and the first one into the east marquee.
I also found out why there are additional ticket checks to get into the marquee, as some of our more moronic support had been wandering down from the terrace to block B of the marquee to goad away fans.
There was one coach for away fans parked up when I got there, I’m assuming most of them stayed on the coach huddled together for warmth right up until two minutes before kick-off. It is a frigid day, but at least we are going ahead unlike the Wednesday night game at Peterborough. Apart from the goalmouth I’ve mentioned before, the rest of the pitch is in good condition, the only worn parts are where the linesmen run up and down and wave their white sticks about. And if we wonder why it’s so drafty in the marquee, there might be a hint and a half captured on the trees behind it.
Salford are in an all-white kit, and they enforce the change of ends before the kick-off.
The first real action of the game sees a good save from Corey Addai, and the follow up was hoofed over the KRL Logistics stand for ball loss number one of the day. Another save follows not long after. Salford have started the better, and it took us more than twenty minutes to get a decent chance, and Harry Ransom has a shot that just goes wide. There was an obvious deflection off a Salford defender, but it is given as a goal kick.
Danilo Orsi is getting the treatment from the Salford defenders, he is hauled down twice in quick succession, but nothing is given (apart from the license for the two centre backs for Salford to do whatever they want).
Up at the other end another Salford shot sees the striker try and lob Addai; he succeeds but it comes back off the bar and is cleared. Only to get another chance which they thankfully blast over the bar from over six yards out. We are really living on the edge. There are more and more Addai saves, and a Salford shot is wide, but miraculously gets given as a corner. Which is turned out for another corner, which in turn is headed wide.
Orsi is dragged down again when past the last defender and through on goal, but again there is nothing given. Salford get another corner, but they wanted a penalty as the ball hit a defender’s arm to go out for the corner. From the corner we break, have a bit of pressure around the edge of their box, but get flagged for offside. There are some ironic cheers when finally, Orsi gets a free kick for being pulled back.
Salford are attacking again straight after though and force another good save out of Addai. And our best move of the half comes from this, we work the ball well up the right-hand side and get the ball across, but Adam Campbell’s shot is just wide. It is a brief respite as we are under the cosh again, more desperate defending, some blocks and another Addai save. We have a free kick in midfield, it is worked well, but the final shot is wide. We are just not quite with it so far.
Ball two disappears over the KRL Logistics stand from yet another Salford shot. In added time (no board went up or announcement was made of how long it would be) we have a long throw, a shot, an appeal for handball on the line, another effort bounces out off a defender and Liam Kelly’s final shot is wayward. (at best).
The half time whistle goes with the score at 0-0. Absolutely no idea how. I don’t even want to look at the first half stats for that. Although if I had been Orsi, I’d have taken my shirt off and offered it to the Salford number 42, who appeared to be wanting to swap shirts all through the half.
The second half starts is the same fashion. More Salford shots. We get out first shot on target a few minutes in. a quickly taken Jack Roles free kick from his own half looks to try and catch the keeper out, but it hasn’t got the legs and falls into the waiting keeper’s hands six yards out.
After a challenge in midfield the Salford captain is down on the floor pretending to be injured as play goes on. Roles walks past the player, who kicks out at Roles and puts him on the deck. He gets back up and appeals to the ref and linesman, who apparently haven’t seen anything. It would appear that Helen Keller, Stevie Wonder, and Ray Charles are officiating today’s game.
There are substitutions made by both sides. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to change all ten outfield players and made do with two changes. It is still Salford having shots, not so many on target until one is and Addai makes another good save. The resulting corner is cleared. We don’t seem to be able to string three forward passes together, and the sideways and backwards ones aren’t too great either.
Some bad control and a poor pass sees the Salford number nine through one on one with Addai, who makes another great save, but there are three Salford players in the box, and they finally get the goal all their shots deserved, and we are losing 0-1.
We finally get another chance, but Orsi’s shot goes wide. There are six added minutes announced, the first of which is taken up by Salford making more substitutions. We get a corner, but it is played short and easily cleared, and Salford break and get another shot in. Nothing is sticking for Crawley, and Addai is called upon to make another save.
The final whistle goes, and it is a 0-1 defeat in one of our most pitiful displays of the season. Not the way to celebrate a year of Scott Lindsey being our manager. The crowd was announced as being 2,970, with 95 away fans. The sponsor’s man of the match was Corey Addai, as if it could have been anyone else. I did brave the post-match stats. Thirty-five shots Salford had, no wonder it felt like the ruddy Alamo.
It makes me wonder about the effect changing ends before the kick-off seems to have on the team. It’s like some kind of Jedi mind trick. “This is not the direction you wanted to be kicking.”
The result drops us two places in the league to eleventh, three points outside the play-off places. Salford didn’t move in the table but increased the gap to the relegation places to eight points. And as an added bonus three of their players were named to the next Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic diving squad.
Next up is the away game at AFC Wimbledon, who we lost at home to just before Christmas. And in typical fashion, Network Rail are going out of the way to make it difficult for us to get to the game, as they have closed the line between Gatwick Airport and Purley, meaning there are no direct trains from Crawley / Three Bridges to East Croydon. But we will get there somehow. And I will get the first programme of the season. I’ll probably get a few as I am going to have a piece on our season in it.
Come on you reds.