Crawley Town player ratings vs Doncaster Rovers: Superb sub nets a 9 as Reds come from behind to secure valuable point

Substitute Rafiq Khaleel rescued a point with his first senior goal for relegation-threatened Crawley Town, against Doncaster Rovers, as the Reds extended their unbeaten run to three games.
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On the back of two consecutive League Two wins, Crawley gained a valuable point thanks to Khaleel’s fine strike which went in off the post ten minutes from time.

Scott Lindsey’s side dominated the ball for large periods but the visitors took the lead on the stroke of half-time, when unmarked Caolan Lavery headed the ball past Corey Addai.

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The Reds struggled to find a way back into the game against a resilient Doncaster side, so Lindsey turned to Rafiq Khaleel 15 minutes from time.

Doncaster Rovers took the lead on the stroke of half-time when unmarked Caolan Lavery headed the ball past Corey Addai. Photo: Gareth Williams/AHPIX LTDDoncaster Rovers took the lead on the stroke of half-time when unmarked Caolan Lavery headed the ball past Corey Addai. Photo: Gareth Williams/AHPIX LTD
Doncaster Rovers took the lead on the stroke of half-time when unmarked Caolan Lavery headed the ball past Corey Addai. Photo: Gareth Williams/AHPIX LTD

It turned out to be an inspired substitution, as the 20-year-old found the net with a fine finish, in off the post, after some sustained Crawley pressure.

Crawley battled to find a winner but just fell short but it was a vital point their battle to avoid the drop.

Here are our player ratings:

Corey Addai – 5: Barely anything to do in the first-half but beaten by Donaster’s first and only effort on target. Positioning could have been better. No saves to make after the break.

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Travis Johnson – 7: Some good tackles when called upon and did well in an unfamiliar position when centre-half Lynch was forced off injured. Assured performance.

Dion Conroy – 7: Strong tackles - no nonsense defending. Showed different side to his game with good, striding run forward set up an attack. So close to levelling the scoring with a header.

Joel Lynch – N/A: Not a great deal to do early on – on his return from suspension – but took a knock to his head and didn’t look 100 per cent.. Replaced by Kellan Gordon.

Mazeed Ogungbo – 5: Decent effort forced the keeper to make a save as Crawley dominated early stages. Let the ball go over his head for opening goal – could have done more to stop Lavery from getting his head on it. Escaped with a yellow card after heavy second-half challenge. Good cross nearly led to a goal.

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Jack Powell – 7: One of Crawley’s better players. Looked confident on the ball and played some good set pieces with no one taking advantage on the other end. Superb strike from long range was heading in before a deflection took it over.

Ben Gladwin – 7: Great to have him back. Made a few important interventions and tackles in the middle. Replaced for final 20 minutes.

James Tilley – 6: The catalyst for Crawley’s upturn in form in recent weeks had a strong start to the game, causing plenty of problems for Doncaster. Hit speculative effort from tight angle wasn’t far away and he saw a good effort saved later in the first-half. Seemed to tire as the game went on and was replaced by Tom Fellows after an hour.

Aramide Oteh – 6: Some decent link-up play but lacking that killer touch he had against Harrogate in the previous game at the Broadfield Stadium. His blocked shot led to equalising goal.

Dom Telford – 5: Couldn't keep effort on target from good position. Hurt knee after heavy landing but okay to carry on. Shot early in the second half too close to the keeper. Sloppy pass. Didn’t quite fall for him. Could have held the ball up better after intercepting high up the pitch

Ashley Nadesan – 6: Looked confident in early stages. Really clever backheel to win a corner. On the receiving end of nasty challenge but thankfully okay to carry on. Found some killer passes, with a great cross to Telford nearly resulting in a goal. Didn’t make much of an impact after Crawley went behind but had great chance to win it in closing stages. Couldn’t quite keep effort down. Put ball in the net late on but offside flag was up.

Subs:

Kellan Gordon – 6: Came on for the injured Lynch in the first-half. Cross-shot only just went over the bar after good run forward. Wasteful cross on 55th minute. Always an option on the right hand side.

Tom Fellows – 6: Given half an hour to make a difference, with Crawley 1-0 down. Superb run but for some reason didn’t pull the trigger and lost the ball. Big chance. So close to winning goal in goalmouth scramble.

Rafiq Khaleel – 9: What an impact! Looked like a man possessed after his 76th minute introduction. His first senior goal was expertly taken and he led a counter attack moments later that nearly resulted in a winner. A constant threat as Crawley looked in vain for a late winner. The cameo earned him the sponsors’ man of the match award.

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