Salford’s late double stuns Crawley Town

An unusual double from Adebayo Oluwu, one in each end, saw the score 1-1 at half time. Matt Butcher put the Ammies ahead, but Harry Forster and Jay Williams put Crawley back ahead 3-2.

But late goals from substitutes Josh Austerfield and Kallum Cesay gave Salford all three points and leave Crawley still 19th, and only one point ahead of the relegation zone.

Crawley started the day in 19th position on 17 points, with Salford in 12th on 26 points.

The game started brightly for both sides, Crawley having a corner after two minutes, and Jorge Grant for Salford shooting wide of the left post.

Forster had another shot for the Reds, saved well by Matthew Young in the Ammies goal but palmed into the path of Harry McKirdy, but he blasted over under pressure from behind.

Salford continued to shoot from long range, Kelly N’Mai hit his shot straight at Jojo Wollacott, and both Matt Butcher and Jorge Grant fired wide.

However, Crawley took the lead on 33 minutes when Reece Brown floated in a free kick, and it fell to Williams at the back post, and his shot took a deflection off Oluwu and into the Salford net.

Salford pressed more, searching for an equaliser before half time, Luke Garbutt’s shot across goal well saved by Wollacott. However, just as the game entered injury time, Oluwu scored in the right goal after he was found in a bit of space inside the Crawley area by Butcher.

Neither side made any changes at the start of second half, and just a minute into the second half, Crawley were awarded a penalty, after Forster was fouled in the area by N’Mai. However, McKirdy missed his second penalty of the season as his shot was saved by Young in the bottom left corner.

This seemed to spur Salford into action, as Daniel Udoh had his shot well saved by Wollacott as he closed down the angle.

Grant had yet another shot, this time blocked for a corner. Salford continued to pressure, and on 53 minutes, they were awarded a free kick for some shirt pulling by Kabby Tshimanga. Grant took the free kick, it looped over the Crawley wall, and hit Butcher’s shin, and the ball then trickled in off the post with Wollacott wrongfooted.

However, the lead didn’t last that long, as Geraldo Bajrami was fouled on the left wing, by the penalty box. Forster fired the ball in at the near post to make it 2-2 after 57 minutes.

Both sides made changes midway through the second half and the game settled down a little. However, on 72 minutes, Williams scored – definitely his this time – after he was found by Jack Roles at the far post, making it 3-2 to the visitors.

Just as it looked like Crawley were going to hold out for a precious win, Kadeem Harris found substitute Josh Austerfield with a diving header to make it 3-3 on 85 minutes.

From the resulting kick-off, the Reds lost possession and Austerfield turned provider this time, as he slipped the ball through to fellow substitute Kallum Cesay to slot the ball home a minute later. Despite there being five minutes of added time, Crawley couldn’t find an equaliser that they perhaps deserved.

Here are the Crawley Town player ratings:

Jojo Wollacott – 7 – Made a few good saves and not much he could do with any of the goals.

Josh Flint - 7 – Made some good runs forward, and some last-ditch tackles.

Jay Williams - 8 – Captain’s performance from Jay. Not even a clash of heads and a nasty cut could stop him from scoring.

Geraldo Bajrami - 7 – The heart of the back three and looked calm and assured going forward.

Ade Adeyemo – 7 – Some good runs down the right-hand side, cutting into the middle constantly. Replaced by Dion Pereira on 64 minutes.

Reece Brown - 7 – Worked well with Watson in the midfield, dropping into the role Jay Williams normally plays.

Louis Watson – 7 -Worked well with Brown in midfield, pushing forward to support the front three.

Harry Forster - 8 – Had a great game, causing issues down the left flank all game, was fouled for the penalty and he found the net from a free kick.

Harry McKirdy – 6 – Quiet game for McKirdy today, one effort he fired over the bar, and then had his penalty saved easily by Matthew Young. Replaced by Jack Roles on 64 minutes.

Kabby Tshimanga – 7 – Another game where Kabby hasn’t had an effort, but his work rate off the ball, as well as holding the ball up well, was important in the game.

Louis Flower - 7 – Led the line well up front, without having a shot on goal. Replaced by Kaheim Dixon on 64 minutes

Subs

Kaheim Dixon – 7 - Replaced Ade Adeyemo on 64 minutes. Didn’t really impact the game when he came on.

Dion Pereira – 7 - Replaced Louis Flower on 64 minutes. Didn’t really do much when he came on.

Jack Roles – 7 - Replaced Harry McKirdy on 64 minutes, Found Jay Williams with a cross to put Crawley 3-2 ahead.

Unused subs: Harvey Davies, Joy Mukena, Jude Robertson.

Crawley now have 10 days until their next game – at Bromley on Tuesday, December 9.