Crawley Town 1-4 Accrington Stanley: Sidemen star watches on as Reds are knocked out of the FA Cup

Crawley were five games unbeaten under Young but a Shaun Whalley hat-trick alongside Ethan Hamilton’s screamer for League One Accrington Stanley defeated the Red Devils in the first round.

Whalley scored the first of his three goals for Stanley in only the first minute of play after Ellery Balcombe’s save put the ball on a plate for the 35-year-old. Following a header into the bottom right corner before half-time, the former Luton Town man completed his hat-trick with a simple finish through on goal in the second half.

Jake Hessenthaler equalised for Crawley in the 18th minute after his header met with Jack Powell’s corner. Hessenthaler’s goal was Crawley’s only shot on goal for the first half which was quickly addressed by the double substitution of Joel Lynch and Aramide Oteh replacing Jack Powell and Travis Johnson at half-time.

Young had won every match he’d managed at Crawley’s Broadfield Stadium this season before facing Stanley. With the club yet to decide on Kevin Betsy’s permanent successor as first team manager, the former Crawley Town player himself couldn’t stop shaking his head at his sides display.

YouTube stars Tobi and Manny Brown alongside their brother Jed all failed to feature in Crawley’s matchday squad. The trio were invited to train with the first team on Tuesday and were rumoured to be on the bench against Stanley. Whilst drawing millions of eyes to the club due to their huge social media following, the Reds opted out of their official inclusion as the brothers watched on from the stands.

George Francomb started and finished his second game since returning from injury. The Crawley captain was vital in last week’s 1-1 draw away to Bradford City but failed to keep his side in the FA Cup this weekend.

Crawley will face Burnley away next Tuesday in the Carabao Cup Third Round. In the last round, the Reds knocked Premier League side Fulham out of the competition thanks to goals from Tom Nichols and James Balagizi.

Crawley: Balcombe, Francomb, Craig, Ransom, Hessenthaler, Johnson (Oteh 45), Powell (Lynch 45), Davis (Chukwuemeka 78), Fellows, Nadesan (Telford 55), Nichols

Unused subs: Wells, Tsaroulla, Jenks, Addai, Robson

Accrington Stanley: Savin, Fernandes, Coyle (Martin 51), Rodgers, Clark, Pritchard (Longelo 77), Conneely, Hamilton, McConville, Whalley, Leigh (Delfouneso 85)

Unused subs: Jensen, Nolan, Perritt, O'Brien, Adekoya, Pickles

Match attendance: 2,770 (149 away fans)