Crawley Town Column: Cometh the hour, cometh the man
“Cometh the hour, cometh the man” Captain Jay Williams bullet header saved the day for the Red Devils on Saturday at home to Chesterfield.
Reds had gone 455 minutes of football without scoring a goal. So you can imagine the jubilation inside the Broadfield Stadium last Saturday when the clocked ticked over to the 95th minute and Jay Williams rose like a salmon to smash the ball home. It will hopefully be a pivotal moment in our relegation battle to avoid the drop. The Spireites had been good value for their lead in the first half as Crawley struggled to get going. It was a totally different looking home side in the second half as Reds finally got into gear. Ronan Darcy hit the post in the late stages of the game before hero Jay Williams denied Chesterfield a fourth win in six with an excellent finish.
It was a week that produced back to back points for Scott Lindsey’s side, after the Reds had achieved a very impressive 0-0 draw at the gaffers old club MK Dons last Tuesday evening. It was a game where both goalkeepers came out on top, and a statement that Crawley can mix it with the big hitters in this league. The most impressive stat of the night was the numbers in the away end. Three hundred and thirty eight travelling supporters had made the midweek pilgrimage to the land of plastic cows. A very healthy contingency and a sign that despite our lowly league position, our numbers on the road especially continue to grow.
Next up is a trip to one of the coldest grounds in the country due to its high lying geographical altitude. Boundary Park is the second highest stadium in the Country. It stands at 526 feet above sea level. Only West Brom’s, Hawthorns Stadium is higher. So pack your Crawley Town bobble hats and scarfs Reds fans and let’s take a sizeable number to Greater Manchester for what is going to once again be a huge battle in our quest to retain our football league status. Nobody saw the struggles coming this season, but with every game since the January window we seem to be improving. The Jay Williams goal on Saturday against Chesterfield may well turn out to be the one that reignites the belief that the only professional football club in West Sussex is staying in the 92 club for a sixteenth season at least.