Ashley Nadesan hails Crawley Town striker partner Tom Nichols after pair put on dominant display in win vs Mansfield

Crawley Town went 2-0 up inside 14 minutes, thanks to goals from both Nadesan and Nichols, but Mansfield were level before half-time.

The game was won just after half-time, with Nadesan scoring again in brilliant fashion.

After the game, Nadesan had a lot to say about his strike partner and how good they are on the pitch together.

He said: “Whenever he [Nichols] gets the ball, I’m on the shoulder and he knows that, and he sticks me in. We do it in training all the time.

“We score loads in training, and we know exactly how to play with each other”

The goals scored today by both players put them joint-top of Crawley’s 2022-23 goalscorer’s chart with four goals each. It has, so far, been a great season for two players who have been so crucial to Crawley for many years now.

Nadesan continued: “We’ve been with each other a couple of seasons now, and he is more of a ‘come to feet’ sort of player and I am more of a ‘get in behind; sort of guy, so we suit each other really well.

“As soon as he gets the ball I’m spinning in behind and he knows where I am all the time.”

When asked though if there is an element of friendly competition between the pair, he was quick to rub it off claiming: “We just want to do well for each other.”

That very same mentality shows why the pair are not only top of the goals list, but top of the assists charts too – Nadesan with four assists and Nichols with six.

Crawley have now won their last three games in all competitions. That success is somewhat due to the team’s hard work in training under interim manager Lewis Young.

After the game today, Nadesan had a lot of praise for the interim boss and the way he has managed the team since taking the position two weeks ago.

Nadesan added: “We work on fast starts, and early on in the season we weren’t getting off to the best of starts, we were always on the back foot.

“But Young has imbedded into us that we need to get off to fast starts and put them on the back foot and the training this week was unreal.”

Young will surely hope to be appointed on a permanent basis soon, and Nadesan and the rest of the side appear to want him to become manager too.

The striker said: “All the lads are thriving under him. I think he is a great manager.

“We all believe in him, and he believes in us. Everyone is playing for him, and we all want him to be manager.”

The win over Mansfield moved Crawley out of the League Two relegation zone and into 21st place. Their next game comes on Tuesday away to Colchester United.