Crawley Town player ratings: Midfielder gets a 9 as Reds draw with Terriers

It was a reserved start for Crawley who allowed Huddersfield to dominate possession and play through the midfield but crucial challenges from Reds backline meant that the Terriers were restricted off opportunities at goal in the opening stages.

Crawley soon began to string passes together and grew into the game but were yet to challenge Jacob Chapman in the Huddersfield goal. However at the opposite end, Connal Trueman was forced to produce a brilliant point-blank save to deny Ben Wiles from close range.

A hectic five minutes ensued at the end of the first half which ended with Rushian Hepburn-Murphy finding the far corner of the net with a curled effort to put the hosts ahead. After Toby Mullarkey and Callum Marshall clashed off the ball, emotions flared with challenges flying in, but Ronan Darcy skipped past these and played it outwide to Hepburn-Murphy who jumped over a challenge before he smashed it into the back of the net.

The second half started evenly with both sides exchanging blows and the only thing that separated the two sides was a goal.

That soon changed in the 59th minute when inevitably from a corner, Rhys Healey tucked his header into the near post and past Trueman to equalise.

Five minutes later, Crawley had taken the lead once again courtesy of Max Anderson who finished off a well-worked move and then Herbie Kane immediately replied with a smart left-footed finish into the bottom corner.

Pressure mounted onto Crawley as Huddersfield pressed for the winner but Reds held firmly onto their one point which was a fair result in the end.

Here are our player ratings:

Connal Trueman-8 I’m glad I got to see Trueman this time around as I missed out when he came on his previous loan. He had an unsettled start resulting in a misplaced pass which gave the visitors a potential opportunity but then grew into the game and commanded his box. He produced a brilliant point-blank save to deny Ben Wiles from close range.

Toby Mullarkey-7 Everytime I see him play, he has a good game and once again that is the case. His all-round performance is so good. After Red’s FA Cup win he mentioned how he enjoyed captaining the side and took on this responsibility from the 76th minute to the final whistle.

Charlie Barker-7 It is clear to see Barker’s lack of League One experience but he was defensively solid and read the game well from the left hand side to prevent Huddersfields attacks before they happened.

Joy Mukena-7 With lots of noise from the outside questioning his performances, he has managed to stay calm and collected in the centre of defence. He also produced some key challenges to deny Huddersfield dangerous opportunities.

Harry Forster-7 Started the game extremely well and made a daring forward run in the opening exchanges but didn’t get lots of opportunities to show what he can do.

Bradley Ibrahim-9 A very good performance which replicated a typical Jay Williams one. He did all the dirty work that was needed in the middle of the pitch and helped kickstart Crawley’s attacks.

Max Anderson-8 Scored a wonderful goal when he slotted it past Jacob Chapman after a well-worked Crawley move. He is like the engine for Reds and did not stop pressing until the final whistle.

Panutche Camara-7 He ends up in all parts of the pitch and challenges anything he can get his hands on but he didn’t get many chances going forward. A good display by the midfielder before he was substituted in the 71st minute.

Ronan Darcy ©-8 Similarly to Camara, he was energetic all over the pitch and helped create the two Crawley goals. Both times he applied the final ball through before each of the moves was finished off by the respective goalscorers. A good display by the captain before he was replaced in the 76th minute.

Will Swan-5 If not utilised to his strengths, it will seem like he is not on the pitch and today was one of those days for the forward. I did not even notice he had been on the pitch until he came out for the second half. However you can not knock his work rate to try and win the ball back. Replaced in the 63rd minute.

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy-9 Returned to the starting 11 and repaid the trust his manager put into him by scoring a brilliant goal. After jumping over a challenge he wonderfully curled his effort into the far corner to put Crawley ahead. As well as this he was a constant outlet for Reds and didn’t neglect his defensive duties either before being replaced in the 71st minute.

Subsitiutes

Tola Showunmi-7 Struggled to make a huge impact when he came on in the 63rd minute and also picked up a yellow card. Held up ball well

Kelly-6 Struggled to make a massive impact when he entered the field as he didn’t get too long on the pitch.

Fish-6 Made some pressing runs but was not found by his teammates. Came on in the 72nd minute

Holohan.-7 Looked to find a winner for Crawley late on but was tackled at the last moment which ended his daring run.