Crawley Town 3 Grimsby Town 2
Jordan Roberts scored twice including one direct from a corner as Crawley came out on top at the Checkatrade Stadium in a five-goal thriller against Grimsby to halt their nine-match winless run.
Crawley reacted superbly in the second half after seeing James Collins’ first half opener had been cancelled out just before the break by Omar Bogle.
in the congested League 2 table. It was Grimsby’s first away defeat in eight League outings but they played their part in a thrilling tussle in front of a 2315 crowd.th minute the home side deserved the three points which pushed them into 15thRoberts scored on 56 and 76 minutes and although Bogle got his second of the game in the 90
Tuesday’s postponed trip to Yeovil Town was described a blessing in disguise by Head Coach Dermott Drummy, as it gave his side a welcome rest following a recently busy schedule – and the gaffer was right.
Mark Connolly recovered from concussion against Mansfield to play his part in a solid defensive display alongside Josh Yorwerth, who made his first start since the game at Portsmouth on September 3, and did well against the lively Bogle.
Josh Payne impressed as he made his first start for over two months and the midfielder nearly sealed victory in stoppage time when his shot hit the bar.
Three minutes in and Crawley were the first to threaten on goal. Billy Clifford volleyed a pass in behind for Roberts on the left. Clifford then made his way into the box and met his teammate’s cross on his head, but his effort went just wide.
Sixty seconds later Clifford went close again. His drilled shot from 15 yards was blocked and the ball fell to Collins, but Reds’ top scorer could only find the side netting from a tight angle.
The visitors then had a sight of goal themselves. Barnsley loanee Kayden Jackson jinked inside off the right flank past Connolly before firing a shot from 20 yards low to Glenn Morris’s right which the keeper saved well.
Grimsby’s danger man Bogle had been involved in several tussles with the Crawley back four early on, and got his first sight of goal after 15 minutes when he fired over from just inside the box after a fortunate rebound.
The home side’s passing began to improve, most notably when they strung a series of short passes down the left side with Roberts, Clifford and Yussuf involved before the latter fired towards goal but his effort was beaten away by Mariners’ keeper James McKeown. The clearance was helped on by a Grimsby defender and Bogle drifted in behind Yorwerth, but the Welshman picked up a booking for dragging his man down.
Lewis Young then collected Crawley’s second yellow of the game 25 minutes for a late challenge on Jackson. The resulting free kick was met by defender Danny Collins from close range, who should have done better as his header flew over.
As one Collins missed a chance, five minutes later the other in red took his.
The front man showed great composure as he faked to shoot on his left side before moving the ball inside, and firing home his ninth goal of the season inside the near post. on the left side on the penalty box. CollinsYussuf was released down the right side and the winger carried the ball 15 yards before checking in on his left foot, skipping past two defenders in the process and then picking out a great pass for
James Collins celebrates his ninth goal of the season
Drummy’s men looked to be going into the break ahead, but an in-form Bogle notched the leveller for his side in stoppage time. The ball played in from the right by Tom Bolarinwa took a deflection, leaving Yorwerth grounded and allowing Bogle to rise and guide a header inside the left corner.
At the start of the second half home skipper Jimmy Smith had a half volley blocked on the edge of the area before Bolarinwa tried an audacious strike from 30 yards that went closer than most anticipated.
Reds restored their advantage 11 minutes into the second half with a superbly worked goal. Clifford received the ball in the centre of the park and looked up and curled a great ball down the right for Collins, who carried it towards the by-line before cutting it back expertly for Roberts, who guided the ball deftly with the outside of his left boot into the far corner for his first League goal for the club.
Collins was in the mood and almost doubled his tally when his shot from a corner was saved well before the striker had another bite at the cherry, but McKeown was on hand to complete a fine double stop.
Reds and the crowd were visibly buoyed by the second goal and were controlling the game. With 20 minutes left Yussuf made way for Enzio Boldewijn and two minutes later Clifford was also withdrawn, with Kaby Djalo his replacement.
had other ideas and he took the keeper by surprise and curled a right-wing corner in at the unguarded near post to make it 3-1.RobertsCrawley made their pressure count when they doubled their advantage in the most unusual but spectacular fashion with ten minutes to go. With everyone anticipating a cross,
rifled home a screamer from 25 yards into the top corner.BogleReds had to endure a nervous five minutes of added time when Grimsby’s star man
Payne almost restored the two-goal advantage when he smashed a shot from inside the box against the bar while at the other end Morris did well to block a shot from the unmarked Bogle but Crawley held on to seal a deserved win.