Laurence Maguire pinpoints 'crucial' moment in Crawley's win over MK Dons

Goals from Liam Kelly, Jay Williams and Ronan Darcy saw the Reds clinch a stunning victory in front of a sell-out crowd at the Broadfield Stadium. They are now just 90 minutes away from their first ever trip to Wembley – where they would either face Doncaster Rovers or Crewe Alexandra.

On another day, Scott Lindsey’s side could have scored more goals. But equally – MK Dons nearly took the lead within the first four minutes.

Max Dean rounded Corey Addai – and looked destined to score – but Will Wright heroically cleared the ball of the line. A minute later and Kelly had put Crawley ahead.

"That’s football,” Maguire, 27, said. “Moments in games are crucial.

"It was brilliant from Will to get back on the line and clear it and stop the goal. We go up the other end and score a really good goal with Liam Kelly. The big moments went for us today.”

Maguire – the brother of Manchester United defender Harry – said there was a ‘buzz’ in the dressing room after the match, which could ‘not really’ have gone any better.

He added: “It’s a great result, obviously. We knew it was going to be a tough game. To get the three goal lead is a big positive for us but it’s only half-time.

"We set out to press, to win the ball back high up the pitch. We did that and the game plan went really well. We scored three really good goals.

"There’s a buzz about the place but we’ve got to keep our feet on the ground and get ready now for Saturday.

"When you’ve won 3-0 you feel you’re one step there but it’s only half-time. We have got a big game Saturday now away at MK.”

MK Dons were lacklustre on Tuesday night and looked a beaten side after the third goal went in for Crawley.

But Maguire said Crawley successfully nullified their threats – and will look to do so, again, at the weekend.

"They [MK Dons] have had a really good season,” the defender said. “They are a really good team. They play like us – want to keep the ball, possession based.

"We’ve done a lot of work this week on how we want to stop them. I felt that worked well, especially in the first-half. Second half is a little bit different as you are holding onto the lead, I felt we dropped off a little bit at times.

“The third goal was massive going into the second leg.

“The game plan will be exactly the same [in the second leg]. It will be recovery tomorrow and then we will be back on the training pitch Thursday. The gaffer is front foot, possession based and we won’t change anything for anyone.”