Crawley have to settle for point in play-off race

Sutton 2 Crawley 2

At a packed Gander Green Lane both clubs had different missions to accomplish.  Sutton United were fighting for survival in League Two, writes Nick Park.

Crawley Town, on the other hand, targeting the play-offs.

The men from Broadfield began brightly with Danilo Orsi shooting fractionally wide from close-range.

Klaidi Lolos was another tormenting the Sutton fraternity throughout. He started by unleashing an effort which flew over the crossbar.  On another occasion he initially produced an attempt which was courageously kept out by Sutton’s goalkeeper Steve Arnold.  Seconds later he orchestrated a strike which was blocked by defenders.  Orsi was involved in the first goal when delivering a short pass on the left in the danger-zone to Liam Kelly.  From the edge of the box, Kelly curled a shot into the top right-hand corner of the net.

Following the interval Sutton were fortunate to draw level.  Charlie Lakin had a crack from the edge of the box that took a deflection, confusing Corey Addai.

Sutton soon sped into the lead after a mishap at the back between Addai and Jay Williams.  The hosts’ Harry Beautyman intercepted a rolled-out pass between the pair prior to unleashing Sanderson, who finished fiercely.

Crawley stepped up a gear and Lolos spared their blushes when he received the ball from Jeremy Kelly and surged forward before making it 2-2.

There was controversy though for Crawley with the clock ticking down.  Adam Campbell sent in a cross from the right which was met by Orsi who guided it over the line.  The visitors, for a moment, thought they had won a thriller - but the flag went up for offside.

Reds boss Scott Lindsey said: “First half there were missed opportunities to score, I think we created loads, certainly in the first 20 minutes, I think we could have been three or four up.   “I thought the first half we were okay. In the second half we weren’t.

“We played too direct, it became an end-to-end game. “We wanted to take the sting out of them and wanted to play our way and pass the ball. “We never controlled or played our style of football in the second half at all.”