Scott Lindsey hails Crawley Town fans and Rafiq Khaleel after draw against Doncaster Rovers

The Reds somehow found themselves a goal down at half-time last night (Tuesday, March 21) after conceding from the visitors’ only shot on target seconds before the break. Crawley, on the back of two consecutive wins, had been the better side but failed to take advantage in front of goal.

Knowing that a defeat would put Crawley back to square one in their fight to avoid relegation, the players responded well in the second-half.

But it took to the 82nd minute to find an equaliser, when super sub Rafiq Khaleel scored his first senior, with an expertly-taken first-time finish after Aramide Oteh’s shot was blocked. Click here to see our player ratings.

"We are disappointed not to take all three,” Lindsey said. “We completely dominated the game.

"I think they had one shot on goal and scored. I’m disappointed with that. We had ten seconds to go to half time and we should defend the free kick better obviously.

"I thought we were really good tonight. Possession wise, we were very good with the ball and created a lot of chances.

"The positive is that it’s a point gained towards where we want to be. We dust ourselves down and get ready for a big game on Saturday against Rochdale.”

Key defender Joel Lynch was forced off early in the first half after appearing to sustain a head injury. Lindsey said the 35-year-old was being sick on the pitch and felt dizzy.

“It was a strange one,” he said. “He said he was okay to carry on but his welfare is more important. The doc will have a look at him and hopefully he’ll be okay.

“An early injury is never good. We prepared all week for this game. You don’t want to lose people.”

Kellan Gordon, who was himself only just returning from an illness, replaced Lynch and slotted in at right-back – with Travis Johnson moving to centre-half.

Lindsey said: "Kellan has been ill so we didn’t want to play him as long as we did. He come on and done alright. Travis did well after spotting in at centre half.

"That’s football, you have to make changes sometimes. Sometimes they’re earlier than you want them to be. But I thought we coped with it quite well.

"I work with these players everyday and I know how hungry they are to get out of this position. A lot of players here are happy to be on the pitch, regardless of what position they are in, to compete and get the club out of the mess we’re in. The group has got to keep working hard together.

"Sometimes in football, when you’re down the bottom end of the table, Lady Luck is not with you and you don’t get what you deserve. I don’t think we got what we deserved tonight. We should have come away with all three points.”

Lindsey’s substitutions were spot on in the game, with Tom Fellows having a big impact after replacing James Tilley before Khaleel struck the equaliser just six minutes after coming on.

The 20-year-old replaced Ben Gladwick, who impressed on his return from injury.

Lindsey said: “Glads is really important to us. I was desperate to keep him on but I knew I had to bring him off with Saturday in mind.

"He said he felt fine but I felt it was the right thing to bring him off.

"Of course Raf came in and I thought he was outstanding. I was really pleased with his performance.

“This kid is going to be a top top player. His attitude is great. He’s really professional and trains really hard. He’s done brilliant when he’s come on the pitch. He has a really bright future.”

Lindsey said Khaleel is ‘really calm on the ball’ and ‘makes good decisions’, adding: “He always pops up in forward areas. He always find himself in advanced positions and is happy to get shots away. He did that tonight and it was a great finish.”

The manager is pleased that his side are going into Saturday's home against bottom-of-the-league Rochdale with ‘a bit of form’.

But he acknowledged that Rochdale ‘of course’ won’t roll over.

“They scored four goals against Swindon on Saturday in a mad game – they are fighting for their lives, as we are,” he said.

“We’re three unbeaten and playing well so let’s look forward to it and make sure this place is rocking with fans like it was tonight.

“That’s really important to me and the players that we get fans through the door and this place rocking.

“They have been brilliant, by the way. They were singing all the way through again tonight.

“They were outstanding and I’m really proud of them as I am the players as well. They are going to need them every game. We want them to stick with us, win, lose or draw. Stick with us because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

Have you read?: Crawley Town super-sub reveals what Scott Lindsey said to him before he went on to score equaliser against Doncaster Rovers

Crawley Town 1, Doncaster Rovers 1: Super-sub Khaleel gets point for Reds - but it could have been more

Former TOWIE and Strictly Come Dancing star and Crawley Town footballers set to take on London Marathon