Crawley Town 1, MK Dons 1: Reds earn first point of the season with Dons draw

This game promised to be a cracker, and it didn’t disappoint. Crawley came out of the blocks the faster, with Ade Adeyemo down the right finding Danny Cashman, who acrobatically fired a shot towards the goal but it was saved by Craig MacGillivray.

Adeyemo was a constant threat in the first half, linking well with Charlie Barker down the right side. He managed to find Harry McKirdy who laid the ball off to Cashman, whose shot this time was blocked wide for another corner.

Ex-Crawley man Rushian Hepburn-Murphy then tested Harvey Davies with a cross which was dipping under the bar, only for Davies to tip the ball over. A few minutes later, a mistake from Barker let Alex Gilbey through on goal but he got back well to block the cross.

MK Dons came back into the game a little with some sustained pressure. Callum Paterson had his shot blocked, and as it fell to him again, his shot rebounded off the post and away from any danger.

Louie Watson, starting his first game of the season, found Adeyemo yet again, who played the ball inside to Kaheim Dixon and his shot was also well saved by MacGillivray in the MK Dons goal.

Next up it was Kabongo Tshimanga's turn to have a shot after some great work by Dixon. The Charlton loanee found Tshimanga with a chipped pass, but the striker’s effort was fired over the bar.

Dixon then won a free kick just outside the right hand corner of the box. The set-piece was superbly taken by Dion Conroy, but it was equally well saved by MacGillivray, who was by far the busiest of the two keepers.

Then with seven minutes of added on time being played, a long throw from Barker caused some problems in the MK Dons box. The ball fell to McKirdy who laid it off to Adeyemo to fire Crawley into a deserved lead, just before half-time.

The second half started in much the same vein, with Adeyemo again, being the main outlet for Crawley, crossing to find Cashman at the back post – but this time he didn’t connect with the ball.

Dixon then found McKirdy who fired his shot straight at MacGillivray who palmed it away for a corner.

Yet again, Dixon got the ball at his feet in his own half, and found McKirdy on the left hand side. The former Swindon man took it into the box, and laid it back for the onrushing Jamaican who could only fire over the bar.

The game started to get a little feisty, as expected, as Josh Flint entered the referee's book causing a few players to surround the ref. Gilbey was also booked in the melee.

MK Dons were having much of the pressure in the second half, Gethin Jones finding Luke Offord at the back post to equalise for the Dons on 71 minutes.

Both sides cancelled each other out as substitutions broke the play up a little, but it was definitely a point well-earned for Crawley Town.