The Reds fell to defeat at Aldershot Town this afternoon in their final pre-season fixture. Crawley fell behind in the opening minute, but Ashley Nadesan levelled things up before half-time. Trialist A put Crawley ahead early in the second half, but the Shots responded with two second-half goals to take victory at the EBB Stadium.
Within 40 seconds of the first whistle, Crawley were behind. Glenn Morris played a short pass to Dion Conroy, who was caught in possession by Jayden Harris, who tapped into an empty net.
The Reds did begin to improve as the game went on as Betsy’s side controlled the majority of possession for the opening twenty minutes. Jake Hessenthaler headed wide Crawley’s best chance of the opening exchanges.
The home side still looked promising coming forward, and Morris was forced into a smart save after Jayden Harris burst through Crawley’s back line. James Tilley came back down the other end and forced a similar stop from the Aldershot goalkeeper.
The Red drew level moments later through Ashley Nadesan. The ball broke loose after Travis Johnson attempted a cross, which resulted in Dom Telford striking an effort at goal, which Nadesan intercepted. The striker showed great composure and curled an effort into the back of the net with his back to goal.
Crawley started the second half much better than they did the first. It took the Red Devils only six minutes to take the lead of the fixture as Trialist A smashed home an effort from the edge of the box. It was a lovely move forward from Betsy’s side as Trialist A received the ball after a lovely passage of play inside the Shots’ half.
The Reds looked to be in control after taking the lead but found themselves back at square one again as Inih Effiong curled a delightful effort into the top corner from the edge of the box. A loose pass from the Crawley back line was intercepted by Effiong, who wasted no time in curling a perfectly weighted effort over Morris into the top corner.
Both sides made a series of changes, and only Morris, Johnson and Conroy remained from the Reds’ starting XI. The much-changed Crawley side looked to be holding out for a draw, but the Shots went ahead in the 87th minute after another sloppy mistake from Crawley. The ball was nicked off of a Crawley player, and with Morris out of position, the Aldershot man had an easy task of sliding the ball home.
That result wraps up Crawley’s pre-season as they travel to Carlisle for the opening fixture of the Sky Bet League Two season.
STARTING XI: Morris, Tilley, Omole, Conroy, Francomb, Johnson, Powell, Hessenthaler, Nichols, Nadesan, Telford
