Steve Herbert: A draw and a loss not the bounce Crawley Town were looking for

Two away games in a week certainly tested the squad and fanbase. A point at Northampton and a loss at Accrington wasn’t exactly the bounce the team were looking for.

Last Tuesday night at the Cobblers, Reds played almost the whole second half inside the Northampton half, after the hosts had been reduced to ten men. Already trailing by a goal to nil at the break, Crawley could only manage an equaliser, and try as they might the winning goal that our second half superiority deserved, just didn’t materialise. The inside of the post and a point blank save from their goalkeeper denied us victory.

On to Accrington and this time our defensive frailties were exposing us yet again. Rookie goalkeeper Izquierdo had an afternoon to forget, getting caught under the ball and literally gifting Stanley the lead.

This went from bad to worse when a ball across the area wasn’t dealt with and we found ourselves 3-1 down. We did manage to pull a goal back to set up a grandstand finish but it wasn’t to be, and we left Lancashire empty handed.

After so much positive talk and hype around the club in the summer, the season hasn’t exactly gone to plan so far. The players need to get their act together and quickly. After two disastrous seasons, we can ill afford yet another season of doom and gloom.

Colin Kazim-Richard’s is clearly a hungry coach who wants success, but right now success on the pitch is looking hard to come by.

As fans we’ve seen many a novice manager talk the talk, this time we need to see them walk the walk.

CKR needs to find his best starting eleven and fast. We might only be five league games into the season, but already we are playing catch up. Home form will be key once again, so getting it right at the Broadfield Stadium is a must, starting with three points at home to Cheltenham this weekend.