SCENE SETTER
With three consecutive games without defeat now in the league, the Reds will travel to Cheltenham Town on Saturday afternoon to take on a side that narrowly missed out on promotion last season, at the Jonny Rocks Stadium.
FORM GUIDE
On the back of a fantastic 3-2 away victory at Boundary Park, winning away for the first time in over a year, the Reds hosted Southend United at The People’s Pension Stadium last Saturday.
Ashley Nadesan opened the scoring with a well-worked set-piece routine which saw Jake Hessenthaler pick out the sharp run of our No.10 before he slammed home on the turn. The Reds finished the first-half with a one-goal advantage but Southend United continued to build. The Shrimpers began to put us under more pressure and equalised late in the second-half through a Nathan Ralph volley, the points were shared and the Reds’ unbeaten run continued.
Tomorrow’s hosts, Cheltenham Town, have won their last three competitive clashes, defeating Plymouth Argyle 2-0 in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, after away league victories against Tranmere and Leyton Orient, scoring five and keeping two clean sheets.
On the opening day of the season, before their solid run, Cheltenham lost out narrowly to Morecambe at the Jonny Rocks Stadium, with eight shots on target and a first-half Adam May goal not enough to take a point to open the campaign. However, recent form has seen the Robins sail up to 8th, one place below Crawley.
THE HISTORY
Over the past four years, the Reds have faced the Robins on seven occasions, picking up three victories which all came within the last three ties. 1-0 has been the final result in each of these games with Ex-Red Ollie Palmer scoring the three decisive goals.
Before three consecutive 1-0 victories, an anomaly saw the Robins pick up an impressive 5-3 away victory at The People’s Pension Stadium in March 2018. The Reds trailed 5-1 before the hour mark, but late goals from Panutche Camara and Lewis Young halved the deficit before the final whistle.
THE OPPOSITION
Cheltenham Town possess a multitude of threats in each position across the pitch. Despite losing Tom Nichols after his loan spell last season, Alfie May and new man Andy Williams are likely to lead the line for the weekend’s hosts, and have caused problems along with George Lloyd in recent clashes. The Robins are also in strong defensive form, keeping three consecutive clean sheets ahead of Saturday’s game.
Captain Ben Tozer sits at the heart of the Cheltenham defence, with Charlie Raglan and William Boyle being paired alongside him in a favoured back three.
In midfield, Liam Sercombe is a man that the likes of Tom Nichols, Sam Matthews and Tony Craig will know well after his summer move from Bristol Rovers. The experienced midfielder will add creativity and intelligence to a midfield three that has included new man Finn Azaz, who has scored twice this season.
TEAM NEWS
Once again there are no new injury worries for the Reds, as it looks like we have a full squad to choose from this weekend, apart from the documented long-term injury of Reece Grego-Cox.
HOW THEY BET*
Cheltenham Town - 5 / 6
Draw - 5/2
Crawley Town - 3/1
COVERAGE
You can purchase a match pass on iFollow Crawley for £10 by clicking here. Make sure to tune in to our pre-match show, Talk Of The Town, live on YouTube, for talks with John Yems, Sam Matthews and plenty more.
