'If it was a boxing match, it would have been stopped' - Crawley Town boss on performance at Sutton United in the EFL Trophy

A much-changed Reds side – which had an average age of 22.8 – drew 0-0, then missed out on the extra bonus point after losing 5-4 on penalties, with Harry Forster slipping and missing his spot-kick.

Lindsey’s men dominated the match but were lacking in clear cut chances. The best opening came in the first 12 seconds where a well worked kick off routine resulted in Klaidi Lolos running clear but saw his lob go agonisingly wide.

The Reds are still in pole position in their group and anything but defeat against Aston Villa u21s on November 7 will see them go though.

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On the performance, Lindsey said: “Really pleased with the young side that played tonight, I thought we were outstanding. We could have been 1-0 up after 10 seconds, the kick off worked brilliantly and how it didn’t go in I don’t know. I thought we were completely dominant, controlled the game and if it was a boxing match I think it would have been stopped. But it was disappointing to lose on penalties.”

Anyone watching the game would have seen a number of different Crawley players, but they stuck to the style of play that has worked well for them in League Two so far.

Lindsey said: “The pleasing thing for me is the process of how we are doing things and how we are playing and the boys who have not played so many minutes have come on and played just like the boys who have played a lot of minutes. It was the same identity of how we have been playing, that’s really pleasing for me. We passed it really well, created chances. All that was missing was the goal.”

Kellan Gordon played his first 90 minutes since picking up an injury in August and Harry Ransom made a return from a knock as well. Lindsey also handed Ade Adeyemo his first professional start and Lindsey was pleased with how they performed. “There were certain players out there who should have looked rusty but they didn’t,” he said.

"Ade is great player and has a load of ability. He can shift it to the left and to the right. We practised penalties yesterday and he stuck it in the top corner with his left boot. He’s a really confident player and someone who is going to be really exciting to watch in the future.”

Although Lindsey wasn’t giving anything away about next week’s side to face Worthing in the Sussex Senior Cup, it is expected to be a similar starting XI that faced Sutton. And Lindsey spoke of the importance of these competitions for his squad and the club.

"We have got a good squad of players and at the moment the first team players are doing really well so there is not many changes needed,” he said. “Even with the last two results [Doncaster and Wrexham] I still think the performances have been good so there is no need for changes and these players need game time so it’s important we progress through, certainly in this competition. It’s great for the football club and the young players.

I thought it was a really competitive game against a strong side who asked a lot of questions, they played the Sutton way and it was a difficult game for us.

"I haven’t thought about what I am going to do with that [Worthing] yet but it will be another game where potentially some of these players will get some minutes.”

And without a game this Saturday, will it be a weekend off for Lindsey? Of course it won’t! “I will be watching a lot of Crewe this week and putting together a game plan for that, that will be my work for the weekend,” he said.

"The players will have Saturday and Sunday off, I think it’s important they have some time away because it’s been a tough schedule, we have played some away games where we have got through our front doors and four or five in the morning on a number of occasions.”