Crawley's slump continues with 4-2 defeat against Crewe

Late goals from Courtney Baker-Richardson and Elliott Nevitt saw Crewe Alexandra come from behind to defeat Crawley Town 4-2 – leaving the Reds still looking for their first win in October.
By Tom Cunningham
Published 21st Oct 2023, 17:09 BST
Updated 22nd Oct 2023, 10:07 BST
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The hosts were hoping to end a run of four games without victory but have now failed to defeat The Railwaymen in their last six attempts – despite taking the lead twice in the game.

Crawley Town faced the tough task of overcoming Crewe Alexandra for the first time since 2018 and it quickly became apparent just how big a challenge the hosts had in front of them. Jack Powell’s early set piece found the head of Rio Adebisi, who forced Corey Addai into action for the first time inside five minutes.

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It was not the visitors who took the lead, however. Instead, Crawley soon went up the other end to find an opening goal against the run of play through Klaidi Lolos. The forward wheeled away in celebration in the 15th minute, after superbly finding the bottom right-hand corner with a low, side-footed effort from the edge of the area.

Late goals from Courtney Baker-Richardson and Elliott Nevitt saw Crewe Alexandra come from behind to defeat Crawley Town 4-2 – leaving the Reds still looking for their first win in October. Photo: Natalie Mayhew, ButterflyFootieLate goals from Courtney Baker-Richardson and Elliott Nevitt saw Crewe Alexandra come from behind to defeat Crawley Town 4-2 – leaving the Reds still looking for their first win in October. Photo: Natalie Mayhew, ButterflyFootie
Late goals from Courtney Baker-Richardson and Elliott Nevitt saw Crewe Alexandra come from behind to defeat Crawley Town 4-2 – leaving the Reds still looking for their first win in October. Photo: Natalie Mayhew, ButterflyFootie

The Red Devils couldn’t hold Crewe off for long, though, and the visitors quickly mounted a response, when Shilow Tracey found himself one-on-one with Addai, before coolly slotting beyond the goalkeeper’s outstretched leg just five minutes after Crawley had taken the lead.

The goals did not stop there, either. This time, eight minutes after Tracey’s equaliser, it was Ronan Darcy with the golden touch for Crawley. The midfielder one-upped Lolos’ earlier goal by striking from an even further distance, slamming an effort against the left-hand post and beyond a desperately diving Harvey Davies to restore his side’s lead ahead of the break.

In contrast to the opening period, it was Scott Lindsey’s side who were unlucky to concede against the run of play. They were especially unfortunate, given that Dion Conroy was the goal scorer for Crewe. The Crawley man could do nothing, as Adebisi evaded several challenges, before slamming the ball agonisingly against the defender, and into the back of the net to level things up just before the hour mark.

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The Red Devils’ fortunes didn’t improve from there, as the visitors completed their turnaround in the 75th minute, courtesy of Baker-Richardson, who was perfectly-placed to enjoy a simple tap-in after Zac Williams’ pinpoint pass across the face of goal.

The hosts were hoping to end a run of four games without victory but have now failed to defeat The Railwaymen in their last six attempts – despite taking the lead twice in the game. Photo: Natalie Mayhew, ButterflyFootieThe hosts were hoping to end a run of four games without victory but have now failed to defeat The Railwaymen in their last six attempts – despite taking the lead twice in the game. Photo: Natalie Mayhew, ButterflyFootie
The hosts were hoping to end a run of four games without victory but have now failed to defeat The Railwaymen in their last six attempts – despite taking the lead twice in the game. Photo: Natalie Mayhew, ButterflyFootie

Nevitt then sealed all three points from the bench in stoppage time, rounding Addai for a simple strike, extending Crawley’s frustrating run without victory to five games in all competitions in the process. The result leaves Scott Lindsey’s side 12th in the League Two table.

Crewe, meanwhile, move into third place in the league.

Crawley Town XI: Addai; Wright; Conroy; Maguire; Darcy (Roles 88’); Kelly (Khaleel 88’); Williams; Henry (Gordon 60’); Tsaroulla; Orsi; Lolos

Unused subs: Ashby-Hammond; Forster; Johnson; Simon-Swyer

Crewe Alexandra: Davies; O'Riordan; Williams; Offord; Adebisi; Tabiner; Powell; White (Demetriou 60’); Long (Nevitt 70’); Baker-Richardson; Tracey (Rowe 82’)

Unused subs: Cooney; Booth; Colkett; Holíček