A Liam-Kelly inspired Crawley managed to come from behind to draw 1-1 with Walsall.
Isaac Hutchinson tucked away a penalty in the first half after Jack Earing was fouled by Jay Williams, before Liam Kelly smashed the ball into the roof of the net to equalise for the Reds in the second half.
Both teams had chances late in the game, with Harry Forster and Laurence Maguire coming closest for the Reds.
The best chances in the first 15 minutes of the game had come from both Crawley’s and Walsall’s number 8’s, with Klaidi Lolos’ long shot going just wide of the post before at the other end, Isaac Hutchinson also hit a long-range effort on target, as Corey Addai made a good save to keep it out.
Crawley had a lot of possession but struggled to get through Walsall’s defence, but eventually Ronan Darcy found himself in the Walsall area, but he could not find a player in red for a tap in, to the frustration of the Crawley fans.
The Reds would rue the early missed pressure, and it would get worse as Walsall won a penalty as Jay Williams fouled Jack Earing with a seemingly innocuous challenge. Hutchinson stepped up and slotted it away, with Addai being sent the wrong way.
Walsall pushed for a second before the break, with Hutchinson again being prevented by Addai, as the Reds keeper palmed the ball away from goal as it eventually went out for a corner.
Into the second half, Crawley started a lot better, as Liam Kelly curved in a delightful ball, just cleared out for a corner before Lolos had a chance from the resulting corner but could not make a decent connection with the ball.
Crawley kept on going and eventually found an equaliser through Kelly on 64 minutes. Kelly, who received the ball from Danilo Orsi, hammered it into the roof of the net, which left keeper Jackson Smith no chance, after some neat interplay on the edge of the Walsall box.
Substitute Jack Roles then came close to giving Crawley the lead, but his effort just outside the box was dragged just wide.
Laurence Maguire had come the closest for Crawley in the last stages of the game, with a bullet header straight at Smith, but it had too much power for the keeper to catch and was almost turned in by a player in red before the ball was cleared by the relieved Walsall defence.
The away team started to come alive late on with Ross Tierney whose shot was sliced wide before at the other end, Harry Forster’s shot flew millimetres past the post, and the Reds were made to settle for a point.
Crawley are back at home again this Saturday hosting Forest Green Rovers at Broadfield Stadium.
REDS XI: Addai, Wright, Conroy (c), Maguire, Tsaroulla (Gordon 80'), J.Kelly (Forster 69'), Williams (Olagunju 80') L.Kelly, Darcy (Campbell 69'), Lolos, Orsi
Attendance: 2,458 (174 away)
