Crawley 1s vs. Ashford 1s

After a mixed start to the season with one strong win and one poor defeat Crawley came into the game against Ashford looking to build on the positives shown in their opening day victory over Eastbourne.

It was Crawley who looked the brighter of the two sides in the earlier exchanges, with the pace of the Crawley forwards causing issues for the Ashford defence. This pressure paid off as Reece Banton fed Seb Watson, who fired an unstoppable strike into the top corner to give Crawley a deserved early lead. Much of the rest of the first half was even, with both sides creating half chances but nothing clear cut. This changed however when a Jonny Reigate flick from a short corner was saved into the path of James Murphy, who put home the rebound to give Crawley a 2-0 lead at the half time interval.

Crawley expected a renewed offensive from Ashford after the break and they were not disappointed, with Ashford increasing the tempo and intensity of their play and switching to a more concentrated press. Whilst Crawley still looked dangerous on the counter attack, with Carl Wright in particular having some eye catching runs and Kieran Fuller striking a post, it was Ashford who dominated proceedings. This made for a nervy end to the game as Crawley conceded from a well worked short corner with twenty minutes to play. However, a high work-rate from back to front, a solid goalkeeping display from Chris White and some heroic last-ditch defending were to thank in the end as Crawley held on to claim a hard-earned three points.

Crawley: White, Brightwell(c), Yousaf, J. Innes, Reigate, Wright, Radoux, Gate, Banton, Evans, Fuller, S. Innes, Watson, Murphy.

MOM: Jonny Reigate
DOD: Brendan MacCoailte