Crawley Town denied 'clear penalty' at Fleetwood, but don't do enough to win game, says Scott Lindsey

Ched Evans scored the winning goal for the hosts in the 57th minute to keep the Reds in 21st place and a point above the relegation zone.

Substitute Lewis Richards came closest for the visitors when his 82nd-minute strike was tipped onto the post, but they fell to their 20th defeat of the season and their 13th away from home.

Despite failing to score for the seventh time in their last 10 matches, Lindsey felt that his side should have been awarded a second spot-kick in as many games.

Speaking to club media after the game, he said: “Disappointed with the outcome of the game. However, I think [the] first half was two teams cancelling each other out a lot. I don't think there was much in that first half.

“And then second half, I thought the goal was poor, but we limited them to very little after that and we were the team striding forward to try and get something. And we showed character - I thought we showed the same desire as we've shown in the last three games.

“Unfortunately, we didn't get that elusive goal today. There was a penalty shout on (Harry) McKirdy. [I] watched it back – it's a penalty, but we didn't do enough to win the game.”

He added: “I’m proud of the players because they showed real fight, desire to keep going. I thought we were the better team, certainly in that second half anyway.

“I thought we were the better team, and we were all out to try and get back into that game. I thought there was a real clear penalty shout that we don't get - maybe it looks different if we do get that.”

Lindsey noted how his team ‘huffed and puffed’ in search of a breakthrough, but he was disappointed with the goal they conceded.

“It was a half chance, as well,” he said. “It was a scruffy goal from them. He came inside the pitch from the right-hand-side too easily – we’ve got to defend that action better.

“But then he gets to the edge of the box, and I don’t know how he’s got his shot away but it’s crept into the bottom corner. And we’re not getting that.”

The Reds’ boss was frustrated by the sharp contrast between his side’s performances before and after the break – a trend that has plagued their season.

He said: “I just asked the players: ‘Why can’t we start the game like we did in the second half?’ And I think there’s probably an element of nerves and anxiousness of where we are in the table. I felt that the first half was a bit scruffy, untidy at times. It cancelled each other out. They had chances, we had chances – it was a nothing game in that first half. It ebbed and flowed a little bit.

“But that second half, it was one-way traffic for me. They had a couple of breakaways where we’re throwing bodies forward, but we were the team looking to score and get back into that game – and not to be today.

“I think it’s similar character, similar performance from the last three games. We just didn’t get the goal like we have done in [two of] the last three games. We’re hurting a little bit in there, and I’ve got to pick the players up, get them down the road and get ready for another big one next week.”

Lindsey added: “They (Fleetwood) could potentially get into the play-offs still, so it’s not an easy game that. The pitch isn’t great. We get (Geraldo) Bajrami after 10 minutes coming off the pitch, which knocks us.

“We have to change the personnel about a little bit which wasn’t easy. There’s lots of factors why we didn’t start as bright as we saw in the second half, but I still think we were the better team in the game.”

The Reds welcome Gillingham to the Broadfield Stadium next Saturday.