Crawley Town boss Kevin Betsy on Fulham victory and Liverpool loanee club has 'no right to be signing'

Skipper Tom Nichols and James Balagizi sored the goals that ensured the club’s name will be in the hat for the third round draw.

The win sparked pandemonium at the end of the game when hundreds of fans ran on to the pitch to celebrate.

But the coolest and calmest man in the whole stadium was Betsy – who started his professional and playing career at Fulham – who had nothing but praise for his team.

"I think our game plan was bang on today and the players applied it to the letter and when you do that more often than not, you will win games.

“The performance and the input from the players physically was outstanding. Fulham are a good side, they have got some amazing players who have played hundreds of Premier League games and we reduced them to minimal chances. When I saw the team sheet, I thought ‘oh my god’, I expected them to field more u23 players .

“But it was a good night for us.”

Reds have endured a tough start to the league season, losing four of their first five games. But Betsy is sure his side can carry this form on going forward.

He said: “ We believe in the players we have. We have eight senior players out injured, we having a difficult patch in the league but we have done well in the cup beating League 1 Bristol Rovers and now Fulham tonight.

“We know the level we can get to, we have made a lot of new signings it’s just a case of gelling and we are looking forward to having a really good season.”

And one of the stars of the show was Liverpool loanee Balagizi. The 18-year-old scored his third goal of the season to seal the win and showed his class throughout the 90 minutes.

"I have known him a long time,” said Betsy.

"It’s good when your connections enable you to bring a player like him to the football club. We have no right really to be signing a player of his quality but the relationship we have and the trust that Liverpool have in us as coaches to give the players to us and allow them to flourish and progress speaks volumes for what we can do for young players.

“He has got three goals now and it’s not even his best position.”

Betsy was asked how he could remain so cool after such a big victory. “You have to stay on a level with everything you are doing,” he said.

"We lost 2-0 here on Saturday and it’s tough when you lose but it’s not screaming or shouting.

“We know where we went wrong, we learn and then we move onto the next.

" And after this it’s the same. We have a game Saturday, we are happy tonight, we review, we’ll have a good day tomorrow, it will give us more energy going to the training ground. But you have to stay on a level.

“You have to show some emotion, but the players know they have to be humble. We have to celebrate big nights like this but we have a big game Saturday.”

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