Crawley 2-1 Harrogate: Klaidi Lolos seals important win in cagey battle

In a cagey affair, the Reds took the lead after 23 minutes – with captain Gladwin finding the bottom corner from outside the box.

The Reds had chances to add to their lead but lacked some intensity and were made to pay when Jack Muldoon headed in an equaliser on the stroke of half-time.

The second half lacked quality for large periods but Crawley managed to find a winner through Lolos, who was in the right place at the right time to find the net from a corner.

The hosts couldn’t find a third goal – making the last few minutes nervy – but managed to seal their third consecutive home win.

Action recap

Crawley had the first chance of the game, but Danilo Orsi’s shot was weak as he lost his footing and Jonathon Mitchell comfortably collected.

That was the only chance in the first 15 minutes, with Crawley keeping control of the ball but Harrogate looked threatening on the counter.

Harrogate’s first chance came through Jack Muldoon, who was found at the back post with a brilliant cross from Matty Foulds, but Luca Ashby-Hammond kept out Muldoon’s well-struck volley.

Crawley Town took the lead with a brilliant long-range strike from the skipper Gladwin, whose shot with pace nestled into the bottom left-hand corner.

Orsi went close to making it two moments later, but his header struck the inside of the left post and was cleared.

Gladwin was close to getting caught out in his own box by Samuel Folarin but got away with it, with the Harrogate attacker suffering an injury and subbed off for Josh March.

Crawley were again let off after some sloppy play as Abraham Odoh found himself in a great position but got a nudge as he shot which put him off balance and led to his shot going wide.

Harrogate equalised from a corner in the sixth minute of added on time, with Anthony O’Connor heading in from a Foulds corner.

Into the second half, Harrogate looked to take the lead through nice combination play but Kayne Ramsey could not keep his strike down from close range.

Nick Tsaroulla was brought down in the box, but nothing was given by the ref – much to the fans’ frustration.

Liam Kelly turned away from his defender and played Ade Adeyemo down the line, who found Tsaroulla at the back post. His good shot was denied by a fantastic save to keep the scores level.

It would not stay level for long, as from the resulting corner, Klaidi Lolos headed in from the back post to regain the lead for Crawley.

Laurence Maguire almost extended the home team’s lead but fired just wide from a powerful shot before the Harrogate captain George Thomson headed wide from a corner at the other end.

Orsi came close to making sure of the win for Crawley, but Mitchell reacted well and tipped the ball over the bar. It didn’t matter in the end, though, as the Reds held on. They now sit in 12th position, with their next game away to high-flying Notts County.