Early goal gives Championship side Ipswich Town 1-0 win
Reds were beaten 1-0 by Championship side Ipswich Town in their latest pre-season test at East Court, East Grinstead on Tuesday.
An early goal from Grant Ward was the difference but there was much to encourage Head Coach Harry Kewell in Crawley’s performance.
With Jimmy Smith, Ashley Nathaniel-George and Brian Galach ruled out by injury, Head Coach Harry Kewell again took the chance to look at eight trialists with three in the first-half team – Matt Young and Chris Whelpdale have already figured in pre-season and the other trialist was former Colchester United striker Tarryn Allarakhia.
Ipswich’s bench included two ex-Reds – Jordan Roberts and Gwion Edwards, who joined earlier on Tuesday in a reported £700k move from Peterborough United.
The Championship side went ahead in the fourth minute when a clever ball inside Lewes Young released Grant Ward who steered a low shot past Glenn Morris from six yards.
Reds responded well and the front pairing of Ollie Palmer and Reece Grego-Cox both impressed. Grego-Cox fired straight at Dean Gerken from Young’s cross while Ipswich threatened a second when Freddie Sears fired over from Andre Dozzell’s cross before Sears drilled his shot wide of the post after beating the offside trap.
Josh Payne’s cross just eluded Palmer on the stretch. At the other end Josh Doherty got back on the line to clear away Martyn Waghorn’s effort.
At the break Reds made several changes with trialists Matt Briggs, David Sessay, Jamie Turley, Rob Milsom and Kyllian Mammou entering the fray.
Reds again saw plenty of the ball in the second half and although Dean Gerken wasn’t tested too often the movement of the home side often stretched the Ipswich defence.
Mammou teed up Dominic Poleon just after he came on midway through the half and the striker drove his shot just wide from 20 yards.
Roberts and Edwards had both come on at this stage to warm applause from both sets of fans and the game ended with both sides no doubt happy with a solid workout.
Reds: Morris, Young, Connolly, Young, Doherty, Payne, Bulman, Whelpdale, Allarakhia, Grego-Cox, Palmer.
Second half subs: Mersin, McNerney, Francomb, Randall, Camara, Briggs, Sessay, Milsom, Turley (45). Poleon, Mammou (67).
Attendance: 475
Picture: Ollie Palmer at full stretch in the first half. Photo by James Boardman
