Crawley 1-1 Chesterfield: Charlie Barker hails Reds' belief after dramatic late point

Captain Jay Williams scored a header with the last touch of the game to cancel out Liam Mandeville’s 39th minute opener for the Spireites.

The result keeps the Reds in 21st place in League Two but marks another good result against a side chasing promotion, four days after a draw at MK Dons.

Barker said: “It was great to see how many people were still there at the end. I think it was because they could smell it as well.

“All the pressure was piled on - we were creating chances. I think we hit the post about ten minutes before [the goal]. I think they felt that something was going to come.

“It's great to give the fans something to cheer about like that. We haven't given them enough this season in general. We just want to give them as many moments as we can to enjoy coming and keep coming.”

Barker gave his assessment of the Reds’ performance and, similarly to his manager Scott Lindsey, noted the difference between the two halves of football.

He said: “I don't think the first half was very pretty, didn't really get it down, didn't really play. Still had a couple of half-decent chances, obviously they scored a good goal defensively for the goal.

“I can't really remember it, but I think the cut was open, it was a bit open at the back, so you need to see that back. It went a pretty first half, and I think second half we came out really front foot, put them on the back foot straight away.

“Loads of balls in the box, made them defend a lot, and then just kept fighting to the end. And then Jay takes the massive chance we get at the end.”

The Reds created more chances in the second half and were able to make them count come the final whistle.

Barker said: “That was part of the message: What have we got to lose? There's no point playing backwards - go play forwards, go be brave, go get on it, go make things happen. And then when you get in the final third, someone show us a bit of magic.

“We said it might not come after five minutes, you've got to fight for the whole half, and we did. You've got to keep batting down the door, and in the end, if you do it well enough, something will drop for you.”

The late goal prevented the Reds going five games without a goal, but it was another game in which goalkeeper Jacob Chapman and his defence kept the opposition at bay.

“[We] can't hide from it - scoring goals has been a bit of a problem lately,” Barker said. “But I think we've defended fairly well in recent weeks. We've had three or four clean sheets, conceded one at Crewe here, one today.

“As long as we're doing our job at the back, keeping the ball at the net, we've definitely got enough quality in the team that goals will come. And then when those goals come, we'll start winning games.”

Chesterfield’s goal was a frustrating one to concede, with the ball taking a deflection off Jonny Russell, but Barker wasn’t keen to dwell on it.

“We've got to keep getting better,” he said. “Everyone's got to keep doing their job, but us defenders, at this stage we're in, it's got to be simplified.

“We keep the ball out the net, let the boys go take the glory, do the magic, and win us games of football. It was tough to take going one behind, but it's going to happen.

“We've got to be good enough and resilient enough to come back and fight and stay in games. I think that's what we did.”

The Reds are on the road next weekend when they travel to take on 15th-placed Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park.