Reds host Forest Green Rovers in the first game of the year at The People’s Pension Stadium. Town will look to stretch their unbeaten run to four games as they face another promotion hopeful in Rovers. Mark Cooper's squad currently sit fifth in the table, a point ahead of our previous opponents Colchester.
SCENE SETTER:
The Reds gained another point on the road on New Year’s Day as they battled hard in Essex. Colchester who sit inside the play-off places would have been looking to start the New Year off with another three points to solidify there playoff chances. They looked on course to do so as Frank Nouble drove home from the edge of the area in the 64th minute. However Town were resilient and found an equaliser just minutes later in the 72nd. Ashley Nadesen fired a ball across the box which wasn’t properly dealt with by Luke Prosser and Ollie Palmer was there to level for the Reds.
Despite sitting fifth in the table Forest Green only have two wins in ten games. They looked to correct their bad run of form on New Year’s Day but second place Exeter proved to much for the promotion hopefuls. Nigel Atangana netted for the visitors early on and Rovers were unable to find a reply. Town will look to capitalise on Rovers bad run of form and look to secure their first three points of the year.
TEAM NEWS:
Yems will continue to be without forward Reece Grego Cox who remains injured for the Reds.
VIEW FROM THE CAMP:
JY - "We're looking forward to being back at home and having the chance to put on a performance in front of a home crowd.
"We've had two tough away games in Grimsby and Colchester and have another tough one tomorrow agasint Forest Green and then Bradford the week after! I trust the boys though, and we proved that we can mix it against the big boys against Northampton and if we replicate a similar performance, we'll give ourselves a good chance of picking up some points.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS:
Crawley have a reasonably good record against Saturday's opponents, winning seven and drawing four of the previous 18 meetings in non-league and, since 2017, in the EFL.
Reds lost the early season encounter with our visitors 3-1, and at our last home match against the men in green, Forest Green again ran out 2-1 winners in April at The People's Pension Stadium, despite Reds going in front through Dannie Bulman's long-range strike.
Last September in what was Gabriele Cioffi’s first away match in charge, Reuben Reid scored the only goal of the game in a match which also saw Joe McNerney sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card.
During the 2017-18 campaign Forest Green won 2-0 at the New Lawn when Christian Doidge and Reid secured the win inside the opening half an hour to halt our post-Christmas surge up the table. Thomas Verheydt had scored the Reds goal in a 1-1 draw in the return fixture at the Broadfield Stadium, equalising after Doidge’s opener.
The good news is that Reid or Doidge are no longer at Forest Green.
We had some tasty fixtures with Forest Green in our non-league days. In August 2010, just three weeks into our title-winning season, Matt Tubbs scored a penalty in a 1-0 win at home. However, that wasn’t the real story as the second half saw a whopping four red cards – two for each side – in a 14-minute spell before Tubbs struck.
The first came for Rovers’ Sean Bartlett for a second booking, then Kyle McFadzean suffered the same fate seven minutes later. Two minutes after that, Reds' goalkeeper Michel Kuipers was dismissed following an incident in the penalty area. Nick Jordan saved the subsequent spot-kick and, following the re-start, George Caines saw red for a last man challenge in the area and Tubbs struck the winner.
In the corresponding fixture in Gloucestershire three days into 2011, Matt Tubbs bagged a brace after Craig McAllister’s opener as Reds recorded a 3-0 win on the march to the Conference title on a snowy afternoon at the New Lawn.
IN CHARGE:
TICKETS & HOW TO BUY:
Ticket information for tomorrow's clash can be found by clicking here
HOW THEY BET:
A home win is marked as 7/4 a draw 9/4 and and away win 6/4
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