AFC Wimbledon 0, Crawley Town 1: Reds pull themselves out of the relegation zone with first away win of the season

The Reds are up to third-from-bottom, a point clear of place-below Hartlepool United with two games in hand, following their 1-0 victory at AFC Wimbledon.

Crawley were in front after Nadesan converted at the back post early on, and it stayed that way until the end thanks to an excellent defensive display.

The game started fast, with Nadesan firing an ambitious volley over early on, before scoring the opener moments later.

James Tilley chased a forward ball over the top, and had time to slide a dangerous pass across goal to Nadesan, who couldn’t miss. His sixth goal of the season, gave the Reds a deserved lead in the sixth minute.

Ethan Chislett curled a free-kick over, and Kasey McAteer couldn’t keep his effort down as the Dons grew into the match, but Crawley went into half-time with the advantage.

In the second half, Mazeed Ogungbo was played in by a brilliant dummy by Aramide Oteh. He checked inside but his low drive was blocked before Nik Tzanev had to deal with it.

Nadesan picked out Dom Telford with a good cross, but Telford was unable to adjust his body in time, heading over.

Wimbledon tried to hit Crawley on the counter, but Sam Pearson’s cross evaded all of his teammates, as the Reds controlled the start of the second half.

Wimbledon started to come on strong as Saiko Janneh lifted a great cross into Ali Al-Hamadi, but the forward couldn’t finish, heading the ball well wide. Al-Hamadi had another headed chance moments later, this time heading onto the roof of the net.

The Reds had the chance to seal it when Raf Khaleel dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box.

Crawley defended ruggedly as the Wombles threw everything at them, and were able to secure a massive away win as they continue to fight for their Football League status.

Crawley Town: Addai, Johnson, Conroy, Tilley (Roles 66), Powell, Nadesan, Mutch (Khaleel 73), Francillette (Lynch 62), Telford (Gladwin 65), Ogungbo, Oteh.

Attendance: 7,300 (365 away)