Thoughts of a lifelong fan: Finally - Crawley Town get a result we deserve

Ryan Loft, according to the club website, was the only forward in the starting XI and for the duration of the first half I was beginning to wonder where the goals were going to come from.

Jo Jo Wollacott in goal played well throughout all 117 minutes, but it was a save from a Bristol Rovers defender that should have finally broken the deadlock on 33 minutes when Jack Sparkes was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box.

He was immediately sent off, and a penalty was awarded which Loft, having hit the stanchion numerous times in training, according to Scott Lindsey, saw his well-struck effort come back off the keeper’s right-hand post.

Every Crawley fan must have thought the worst at that point, but to the credit of the players they finally edged ahead in the ninth minute of ten added on when Scott Malone saw his shot from out on the left deflected over the goalkeeper by Gas defender Kilgour and finally drop into the net at the far post.

There will have been a sizeable portion of the home support who missed the vital breakthrough as they sought to quench their thirst even before the additional time had started, with some missing a good 25 minutes of the action, but each to their own.

The reason for the ten minutes of additional time being an injury to Geraldo Bajrami and one of the irrigation points in the south-west corner of the ground sending a fountain of water high into the air, which the pitch did not really need.

Harry Forster came on for Geraldo at the start of the second half and immediately made an impact with his energetic style of play and he scored the second goal in the 52nd minute, when he calmy slotted home from a pinpoint Malone cross.

From then on it was a question of how many we could score and Malone in the 69th minute and Louis Flower in the 83rd minute, with what for me was the goal of the game, sent the majority of the 3,416 spectators home in a great mood.

Tom Lockyer of Bristol Rovers deserves a mention here to put all our anxieties about league status and results into perspective. In December 2023 Tom suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for Luton Town against Bournemouth in the Premier League. At the age of just 30 he is back playing the game he loves. Well done, Tom.

Unfortunately, the win did not move us out of the relegation zone but hopefully will have put us in a great frame of mind for Saturday’s FA Cup First Round game at Boreham Wood.

They will offer a stern test as they sit fourth in the National League but lost on Saturday to Forest Green in a game which saw their unbeaten league run come to an end after 14 games. Get there if you can Red Devils, and let’s get behind the lads as they seek to rekindle our love of the FA Cup.

Better the Devil, my fourth book about the most important of the least important things in my life, is now on sale through all good booksellers at £12.99, but if you would like a copy, I can supply them at £10 each – or £17.50 with Tinpot and Proud, the third of my books. Get in touch via Facebook or find me at a game. All proceeds are going to the Crawley Town Football Club Community Foundation.

It’s 8am Sunday, or is it 9am, article finished before church and an afternoon trip to see my granddaughter Beth, play in the Women’s FA Cup for Sutton United away to Brentford. I love my life!