‘I am just going to play the way I play’ - Crawley Town's new signing on adapting from US to English football

Jeremy Kelly on his first start for Crawley Town on Tuesday night against Walsall at the Broadfield Stadium. Picture: Eva Gilbert

Kelly made his starting debut in the 1-1 draw with Walsall last week and received a standing ovation from the Broadfield crowd when he was substituted after 70 minutes.

Crawley went behind after Jack Earing was fouled by Jay Williams, as Isaac Hutchinson calmly slotted the ball past Corey Addai before Liam Kelly equalised in the second half, as he hammered the ball into the roof of the net.

Crawley had chances to complete the comeback but could not put the ball in the back of the net with Harry Forster’s late effort the closest they had come.

Crawley Town boss Scott Lindsey said on Jeremy Kelly: "You’ll see goals from him, he’s an athlete, a very good runner."

Many fans would not know where he had come from, but many would be surprised that he had played in the MLS.

He said: “I’ve been in the US since I was 10 years old, went to university for four years. I played in the MLS for two years, then played in the second division (USL) for two years.

“I’ve got a British passport; my dad is from Sussex, so I decided to come over here and just give it a shot and see what it’s like.

“English football is kind of the mecca of football, so you want to see what it's like.”

So far it has been a very good start to life in England for Kelly, who has already found himself starting games for Crawley, which makes it even more impressive as he has never played English football before and has not played for a few months due to the American off-season.

On the differences between football in England and America, Kelly said: “Its a bit of everything.

“The pitch, it’s a bit more direct, you got to figure out how to play with your teammates, every team plays a bit differently.

“It’s physical, its up and down, back and forth, takes a bit of getting use to but I just got to play my game and figure out how to adapt.”

English football has been labelled by many as the most physical and demanding in the world, but that has not impacted Kelly when he was playing for the Reds last night.

He said: “I think the second division in America is still pretty physical, you got some athletic lad, but every single game here means something, which is a little different to the US.

“It doesn’t matter if you played well or if you pass it around, you need to win.

“The atmosphere is good, there’s completely different atmosphere to over in the US so that adds a bit of pressure. It’s not so different, a game of football is a game of football, so I am just going to play the way I play.”

Adapting to the football in England should be a lot easier for Kelly with the amount of fixtures Crawley have coming up, with them facing relegation-threatened Forest Green Rovers this Saturday before travelling up to Wimbledon next Tuesday.

Kelly said: “I’d prefer to be thrown in the deep end; you have to get used to it.

“The Tuesday and Saturday games; everyone in the squad will be required to help, and all the boys have been good they've already gotten 75% of the season through so they are pretty match fit, and it shows.

“But it’s not easy, especially how tense these games are, every point makes a difference.”