Bawling scores brace as Reds beat Lewes 3-1

Crawley Town won their sixth pre-season game through two first half goals by Bobson Bawling and a late third by Billy Clifford.
Bobson Bawling. Crawley Town FC. Picture by Phil Westlake SUS-160718-113619001Bobson Bawling. Crawley Town FC. Picture by Phil Westlake SUS-160718-113619001
Bobson Bawling. Crawley Town FC. Picture by Phil Westlake SUS-160718-113619001

Reds dominated most of the game and the result never looked in doubt.

Lewes made it 2-1 with 18 minutes to go when Dan Perry pounced upon some slack defending.

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Clifford restored the two-goal margin when he seized on a mistake to make it 3-1 in the 87th minute.

Fans’ favourite Matt Harrold started his first game of pre-season and captained the side.

He played as the lone striker for the first half in a 4-2-3-1 formation which was similar to the one which played against Worthing last week.

Ex-Chelsea central defender Danny Pappoe, who was a youngster at the Blues under Crawley boss Dermot Drummy, was one of two trialists who played in the first half.

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The other was former Liverpool and Sporting Lisbon midfielder Yalany Baio.

Crawley took the lead in only the second minute when Alper Tursun played the ball forward, Harrold crossed it to Bawling to tap-in.

Bawling scored his second goal of the night in the 19th minute when he put away sweetly from just inside the area, having been played through from the right by Tursun.

Addison Garnett had to leave the field early on 25 minutes with an injury and was replaced by club captain Jimmy Smith, who took the skipper’s armband.

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Smith went into midfield while Josh Yorwerth, who had started in the unusual role of midfield, dropped back into central defence.

Yorwerth forced a fine diving save by Lewes keeper Chris Winterton when he got forward and headed Smith’s cross from a Billy Clifford free-kick on target.

Winterton was soon in action again with a timely block to deny Tursun from close-range, having been set up from a run into the box and pass by Bawling.

Reds made just one substitution at half-time with striker James Collins replacing Harrold.

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Reds’ keeper Mitch Beeney pulled off a brilliant point-blank save to deny Perry from pulling a goal back in the 62nd minute with a fine header from Josh Jones’ corner kick.

Yorwerth tested the home keeper again when he headed Clifford’s cross on target but Winterton was up to the task.

Lewes pulled a goal back in the 72nd minute when Dan Perry kept his composure and slotted in from the right hand side of the box.

Just before the whistle Collins set up Josh Payne for a final shot which was saved by Winterton.

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Clifford added a third goal with three minutes left when he took advantage of a poor back pass by substitute Jordan Badger and found the back of the net.

REDS: Beeney (GK); Tajbakhsh, Pappoe (Trialist), Garnett (Smith 25, Payne 71), Arthur; Baio (Trialist), Yorwerth; Tursun, Clifford, Bawling; Harrold (Collins 46)

SUBS: Mersin, Young, Baldewijn, Smith, Blackman, McNerney

LEWES: Winterton, Trialist, Trialist, Hammond, Freeman, Trialist (Badger 80), Vickers (Coppola 46), Cotton, Perry, Laing (Greenfield 71), Jones

SUBS: Asamoah, Reynolds, Dramis, Gore, Stroomberg

REFEREE: Carl Brook

ATTENDANCE: 353

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