Three first half goals from Enzio Boldewijn, Jimmy Smith and Dean Cox alongside a further three second half strikes from Panutche Camara, Matt Harrold (2) secured a 6-1 win for the Reds at East Grinstead Town on Saturday afternoon.
Kewell opted to field two separate teams for either half, in order to get vital minutes under the belts of all his players.
The first half was contested by Yusuf Mersin, Aryan Tajbakhsh, Addison Garnett, Mark Connolly, Cedric Evina, Moussa Sanoh, Jimmy Smith, Dannie Bulman, Chris Arthur, Enzio Boldewijn and Dean Cox.
Kewell’s second half side consisted of Glenn Morris, Lewis Young, Josh Lelan, Joe McNerney, Andre Blackman, Dennon Lewis, Mark Randall, Josh Payne, Jordan Roberts, Panutche Camara and Matt Harrold.
The first goal came after just 10 minutes, as Boldewijn’s powerful side foot finish rattled the underside of the bar before bouncing into the roof of the net.
However, just eight minutes later the hosts were back on level terms, when Mersin had come out to smother the onrushing Allan Tait, and the rebound fell to East Grinstead’s Marcus Elliot 25 yards out, who calm found the empty net.
As the second half wore on, the Reds continued to dominate the game, and retook the lead with two quick fire goals on the stroke of half time.
First skipper Smith guided home an excellent Cox cross from deep, before the wide man himself got on the scoresheet.
Cox chased down a short back pass and predicted the opposing goalkeeper’s movement, to smartly rebound the attempted clearance into the bottom left corner.
It wasn’t long after the restart until Crawley added another, with Harrold pressing well from the front and winning possession, before feeding Randall who teed up Camara for a simple finish six yards out.
61 minutes on the clock and it was five; Payne started the move by playing Blackman down the left who teased an inviting cross into the six-yard box, that Harrold was more than happy to poke home.
With just a few minutes remaining, Harrold doubled his tally from close range, firing low beneath the keeper to round off the afternoon's scoring at East Court.
A comfortable win and some vital match fitness is exactly what Head Coach Harry Kewell would've been after in his first game in charge of the Reds.
The pre-season schedule continues on Tuesday as we travel to Oakwood at 7pm.
Reds 1st half XI: Yusuf Mersin, Aryan Tajbakhsh, Addison Garnett, Mark Connolly, Cedric Evina, Moussa Sanoh, Jimmy Smith, Dannie Bulman, Chris Arthur, Enzio Boldewijn, Dean Cox.
Reds 2nd half XI: Glenn Morris, Lewis Young, Josh Lelan, Joe McNerney, Andre Blackman, Dennon Lewis, Mark Randall, Josh Payne, Jordan Roberts, Panutche Camara, Matt Harrold.
Wasps 1st half XI: Oshane Brown, Callum Wilson, Tariq Straker, Michael Wilson, Jahmal King, Will Thomas, Will Hoare, Dan Hogan, Allan Tait, Marcus Elliot, Alex Gaggin.
Wasps 2nd half XI: William Price, Connor Baston, Jack Griffiths, Connor Power, Jack Meeres, Connor Gales, Ade Batula, Charlie Harris, Luke Saggers, Oshaye Hutchinson, Jason Davis.
PICTURED: Jimmy Smith and Dean Cox celebrate the Reds' 2nd goal.
