Crawley Town 1 Walsall 1: Liam Kelly rescues point for Reds

Ex-Crawley loanee Isaac Hutchinson tucked away a Walsall penalty in the first half after Jack Earing was fouled by Jay Williams – before Kelly smashed the ball into the roof of the net for the equaliser midway through the second half.

Both teams had chances late in the game, with Harry Forster and Laurence Maguire coming closest for the Reds.

The best chances in the first 15 minutes of the game had come from both Crawley’s and Walsall’s No8s, with Klaidi Lolos’ long shot going wide of the post before at the other end, Hutchinson had a long-range effort on target, which Corey Addai made a good save to keep out.

Crawley had a lot of possession but struggled to get through Walsall’s defence, and when Ronan Darcy found himself in the Walsall area, he could not find a player in red for a tap in, to the frustration of the Crawley fans.

The Reds were sloppy at times in the first half, and Walsall won a penalty when Williams fouled Earing with a clumsy challenge. Hutchinson stepped up and slotted it away, with Addai sent the wrong way.

Walsall pushed for a second before the break, with Hutchinson being thwarted by Addai as the Reds keeper palmed the ball away from the goal and out for a corner.

In the second half, Crawley started a lot better as Liam Kelly curved in a delightful ball which was just cleared for a corner. Lolos had a chance from the corner but could not make a good connection with the ball.

Williams almost redeemed himself after the foul for the penalty but could not get on the end of Kelly’s free kick.

Crawley kept going and eventually found an equaliser through Kelly, who received the ball from Danilo Orsi and hammered it into the roof of the net, giving keeper Jackson Smith no chance.

Substitute Jack Roles went close to giving Crawley the lead, but his effort from just outside the box was dragged wide.

Maguire went closest for Crawley in the later stages of the game with a bullet header straight at Smith – it had too much power for the keeper to catch and was almost turned in by a player in red before the ball was cleared by the relieved Walsall defence.

The away team started to come alive late on with Ross Tierney’s shot sliced wide – before at the other end, Forster’s shot flew millimetres past the post.

It is now one point in five games for the Reds, who at least ended their losing streak with this draw. They hope to get back to winning ways against relegation-threatened Forest Green Rovers this Saturday at Broadfield Stadium.