'I think it’s a really good point' - Crawley Town manager Kevin Betsy on draw at Salford City

Tom Nichols and Ludwig Francillette both equalised for the Reds either side of half-time to earn their third draw of the season. Despite remaining winless in the league’s opening seven games, the club have now gone four games unbeaten in all competitions.

“I think it’s a really good point,” said Crawley’s manager, Kevin Betsy. “Considering Salford’s record at home this season, the players showed a real strength of character and resilience.”

Crawley went behind against the Ammies in the third minute through Salford’s Callum Hendry. With a mountain to climb early on, Betsy said, “We don’t want to have to come back but it shows a real togetherness within the group, a real never say die attitude. We showed it against Portsmouth and many other times. But you can’t start a game of football like that.

“We aren’t delighted with the point because we want to win games, but those attributes are going to be needed until the end of the season.”

The Red have suffered from set plays this season.

In the narrow score lines separating them from a better result, the opposition have usually been able to capitalise on a corner or free kick. Salford’s Ryan Watson made sure to repeat that trend after a short corner caught the Crawley defence out of position in the 56th minute.

“People are assigned jobs and roles which must be followed,” said Betsy on conceding from a set peace once again. “They have to apply themselves better because that second goal was schoolboy defending. We worked really hard on set plays and our game plan was spot on, but you can’t concede soft goals like that.”

Salford are fourth in League Two and have been chasing down promotion since the start of the campaign. On facing a strong opposition, Betsy said, “We had a lot to do tactically to nullify their threats. They had some good chances but we did it very well.”

Deadline day gave us a further two additions to Crawley’s ever going squad list. Tom Fellows and Caleb Chukwuemeka only signed on Friday but both managed to feature this weekend.

“Tom Fellows was outstanding for his first game and Caleb gave us a real threat in the final third,”said Betsy.

151 Crawley fans made the trip to Manchester against Salford. When it came to their undoubtedly strong performance, Betsy said, “They were amazing. Thank you so much for the support and for every travelling supporter. They pushed us on to get an equalizer in the first half and helped us see out the game late on. We’re fully appreciative of their support.”

For the first time in four weeks, Crawley now have a full seven-day rest before facing Gillingham at home. On the importance of that game, Francillette said, “We need three points and a clean sheet. We’ve done alright in the cup games so far, but we need to put it right in the league now.”

See more Crawley Town news here.