Crawley started the game well and could have taken the lead through Isaac Hutchinson. Will Ferry kept the ball in play on the left wing before finding the Derby loanee on the edge of the box. Hutchinson lined up an effort but failed to get enough power behind his shot to beat Danny Rogers in the Oldham goal.
Oldham responded with some chances of their own as Davis Keillor-Dunn twice forced a save from Glenn Morris. The striker was finding plenty of space on the edge of the Crawley area but failed to beat the Cat from distance with two tame efforts.
Hutchinson then had an even better chance to give Crawley the lead just moments later. Tom Nichols expertly dispossessed an Oldham midfielder of the ball and set out towards goal. Hutchinson had made a surging run which Nichols found with a great pass, but the midfielder snatched at his shot, and as a result, the ball cleared the Oldham goal by some distance.
Despite Crawley’s early pressure, the home side took the lead in the 26th minute through Jack Stobbs. The Reds were caught short at the back in a three versus two situation as Harry Vaughan found Stobbs, who cooly slotted past Morris.
Just two minutes later, Oldham had a second. In a similar fashion to the first goal, Keillor-Dunn found himself with only Morris to beat. The striker wasted no time in bending an effort beyond Morris to score Oldham’s second goal of the afternoon.
Crawley managed to pull one back before the break, although it did come in a bizarre fashion. Rogers had the ball at his feet inside his own penalty area but found himself in a right pickle and soon had the ball taken off of him by Nadesan. The striker slid the ball to George Francomb, who tapped into an empty net.
The Reds were not done there and secured an equalising goal with just moments to go in the first half. It was a glorious move from the Red Devils, who embarked on a fast free-flowing move towards the Oldham goal. The ball found its way to Nadesan on the wing, who wasted no time in firing a glorious ball across the box for James Tilley to smash home. A brilliant half of football at Boundary Park.
The Reds continued their dominant pressure into the early stages of the second half as Tilley almost scored his second and Crawley’s third with a curling effort from range.
Once again, Oldham responded to Crawley’s pressure to retake the lead in the 59th minute. Jordan Clarke picked the ball up 25-yards out from the Crawley goal and unleashed a rocket into the top corner. Morris looked to get a glove to the full-back's effort but didn’t stand much of a chance against a strike of that quality.
Naturally, the Reds came back down to the other end of the pitch and stuck the ball in the back of the Oldham net. After a flurry of corners, the ball broke loose inside the Oldham penalty area for Aramide Oteh, who had only entered the field of play moments before. The striker wasted no time in tapping to ball into an empty Oldham net.
The Reds pushed and pushed but failed to find a way through Rogers and the Oldham defence, and the scores remained level. With that point, Crawley matched last season's tally of 61 points.
Thank you all for your fantastic support this season!
REDS XI: Morris, Davies (64’), Craig, Francillette, Francomb, Ferry, Hessenthaler, Hutchinson, Tilley (Kastrati 87’), Nichols, Nadesan
