Crawley Town Football Club played a behind-closed-doors friendly at Portsmouth Football Club's training facility this afternoon. The match was split into four 30-minute periods, with Crawley making eleven changes after 60 minutes. Scott Lindsey's side were only 2-1 down after 60 minutes. Harry Forster netted Crawley's only goal to round off a decent move. The league one side ran riot in the second hour, with the match finishing 9-1 in favour of the home team.
It was a bright start from the Red Devils, who looked lively in the miserable conditions. Nick Tsaroulla was once again one of Crawley's more dangerous threats, and the wing-back won Crawley a free-kick in a very dangerous area after a threatening run towards goal. Liam Kelly fired the resulting set-piece over the bar.
Pompey also looked dangerous and named a full-strength team for the start of the match. The League One side took the lead when Zak Swanson fired in from the edge of the penalty area. Corey Addai had made a decent save in the build-up to deny striker Colby Bishop, but the rebound fell kindly to Swanson on the edge of the area. The Pompey man drilled an excellent volley into the back of the net to give his side the advantage at the first of the four mini-breaks.
Crawley continued to impress going forward and were soaking up plenty of pressure from the Portsmouth attack as John Mousinho's side pushed for a second goal. Addai was again on hand to deny Bishop midway through the second thirty-minute period after the striker had powered an effort towards goal.
Scott Lindsey's side soon found themselves with a deserved goal when Harry Forster finished off a tidy move from the Red Devils. Dom Telford linked up brilliantly with Kelly in the midfield, which allowed space for Kellan Gordon to run into. The wing-back was found with an inch-perfect pass and delivered a cross into the Pompey box, which was only half-cleared into the path of Forster, who swept the ball home with a composed finish.
The Reds would have entered the halfway mark level had it not been for a last-minute penalty in favour of the home side. Connor Ogilvie was judged to have been fouled inside the Portsmouth penalty area, which allowed Bishop to get himself a goal after Addai had denied him previously on several occasions.
