Crawley Town player ratings: 9 for brilliant midfielder but 6s across the board for defenders as Reds lose to ruthless Reading
Crawley Town were punished by a ruthless Reading as they lost 4-1 at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Rob Elliot was forced into a couple of changes with Jay Williams and Josh Flint suspended.
Reading when ahead on 21 minutes when Amadou Mbengue scored after Reds failed to clear a free kick. Harry Forster equalised with a deflected shot on the edge of the area before Lewis Wing hit a 30-yard stunner to give the home side the edge at half time.
Reds dminated the early part of the second half and Darcy was denied by David Buttuon and a goal line clearance. But Reading were ruthless and goals from Charlie Savage and Sam Smith gave them a 4-1 victory
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Here are our player ratings:
Jojo Wollacott 7 - Good saves early in first half from Smith and Akande. Looked solid. No chance from Lewis Wing’s stunning strike.
Toby Mullarkey 6 - Looked to attack as well as defend. Played striker onside that led to third goal. Some sloppy passing.
Charlie Barker 6 - Played at the centre of the back three. Did well in only his second League One start but poor control led to fourth goal.
Joy Mukena 6 - Caught out a number of times in first half by Akande. Looked off the pace but a much better second half. Replaced by Tanimu
Bradley Ibrahim 7 - Stepped into Williams role well. Battled hard but part of midfield who allowed Reading too much space at times - especially for the second goal
Max Anderson 7 - Good cut back for the opener and always looked for an opening when on the ball. Created some good chances in the second half. Booked. Replaced by Camara
Jeremy Kelly 7 - Played centrally and comfortable on the ball but gave away possession a couple of times. Moved out wide after Forster went off. His wild shot in dying minutes summed up his and Crawley’s day.
Ronan Darcy 9 - Ran the show once again. Always looked the most likely to create a chance and it was almost a surprise he was not involved in first goal. Denied by a brilliant save and a goal line clearance in the second half. Never stopped running or fighting
Harry Forster 7 - Good goal and worked his socks off on left attacking and defending. Should have done better with a chance in the second half before he was replayed by Hepburn-Murphy
Will Swan 6 - Good chances early on in each half and forced good saves from David Button. He worked hard but no end product. Replaced by Showunmi
Junior Quitirna 7 - Should have scored in first half after great work by Darcy but shot was blocked on line when it looked easier to score. Struggled to get on top of Garcia and held on to the ball for too long at times. Had a lot of efforts on goal. Poor deliveries on set pieces. Replaced by Holohan
Subs:
Russian Hepburn-Murphy n/a. Replaced Forster
Panutche Camara n/a - replaced Anderson. Booked
Tanimu n/a - replaced Mukena
Holohan n/a - replace Quitrina
Showunmi n/a - replaced Swan