Crawley’s character cheers Scott Lindsey as they come from two goals down to win

By Sports Desk September 23, 2023

Scott Lindsey praised the character shown by his Crawley side as they hit back from 2-0 down to beat Grimsby with a last-gasp winner.

Former Mariners striker Danilo Orsi settled the scores against his former club at Blundell Park deep into added time as Crawley made it three straight victories with this 3-2 success.

A frantic 12-minute spell in the first half set the tone as goals from Gavan Holohan and Abo Eisa put Grimsby in full control, only for Liam Kelly and Ronan Darcy to hit straight back for Crawley.

Orsi swept home the winner in the sixth minute of added time, lifting Crawley to fourth in Sky Bet League Two.

Lindsey said: “It was a great three points, and we are pleased with that, but we are always looking at our performance levels.

“We prepared for a team to play against us in an aggressive manner. Grimsby did that with an aggressive press and nothing was different from us doing our preparation.

“Their first goal was offside. For the second we have to do better. We had to make better decisions [after going 2-0 down] and try (to) play through their press better, which we did.

“You can’t go two down at a place like this, but we showed some great character to get back and win the game. That was down to our group and togetherness.”

Grimsby manager Paul Hurst added: “I don’t think as though we deserved it, but we have to take it on the chin. It can be a cruel game sometimes.

“For long enough both teams were trying to win the game, then it became apparent they were slowing it down as best they could.

“I think Crawley were ready to take a point from the game. For them to get that goal at the end is hard to take, especially with us going 2-0 up.

“For us to be pegged back to 2-2 so quickly was very frustrating, but then both sides had spells and chances. I thought we had the better of it.

“We had another good chance at the end and missing that summed it up.”

Holohan grabbed the opening goal in the 23rd minute as he reacted quickest after Eisa struck the post with a misguided cross.

Eisa made it 2-0 when he cut inside from the left and finished neatly for his fifth goal this season.

However, by the 35th minute, Crawley were back on level terms after two quickfire goals from Kelly – who sent a stunner into the top corner from 25 yards – and Darcy on the angle from 12 yards.

Adam Campbell and Darcy missed chances after the restart before Orsi dramatically snatched three points for Crawley at the end.

Related items

  • Harwood-Bellis and Hall included in Carsley's final England squad Harwood-Bellis and Hall included in Carsley's final England squad

    England interim boss Lee Carsley has named the final Three Lions squad of his tenure before Thomas Tuchel takes the reins at the start of next year. 

    Carsley handed first senior call-ups to Southampton's Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Newcastle's Lewis Hall for their Nations League fixtures against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.

    Harwood-Bellis has played in all the Saints' Premier League fixtures so far this season, and is someone Carsley knows well.

    The defender made 21 appearances under Carsley with England's Under-21's side, more than any other player during his time in charge.

    Hall has also been in fine form. His 11 successful crosses and 15 chances created are totals only bettered by Anthony Gordon (15 and 20) in the Premier League for Newcastle.

    The only other uncapped player in the squad is Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, while there is no place for Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers.

    Cole Palmer has also been handed a place in the 26-man squad despite missing Chelsea training this week after picking up a knock against Manchester United at the weekend.

    Kobbie Mainoo misses out through injury along with Manchester City's John Stones. Nick Pope was also dropped from the squad, with Aaron Ramsdale coming in. 

    England face Group B2 leaders Greece in Athens on November 14 before rounding off their Nations League campaign at Wembley against Ireland three days later.

    England squad in full: 

    Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton); Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Southampton); Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Curtis Jones (Liverpool); Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham).

  • Mbappe left out of France squad as 'one-off' Mbappe left out of France squad as 'one-off'

    Kylian Mbappe has been left out of France's squad for their upcoming Nations League matches, with Didier Deschamps saying it is a "one-off decision".

    Mbappe played the full 90 minutes in Real Madrid's 3-1 defeat to Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, and Deschamps did not say if the forward was injured.

    The France captain also missed Les Bleus' last two matches, being rested despite his return to fitness in time for the October international break, with Mbappe coming under scrutiny for his absence.

    The 25-year-old has struggled for form as of late, and although he has scored eight goals in 15 appearances since joining Madrid, he has hit the back of the net just once in his last six outings.

    "I've had discussions with him, it is a decision that I took for this block of matches only," Deschamps told a press conference on Thursday. "Kylian wanted to come."

    Meanwhile, Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier has received his first call-up, replacing Alphonse Areola in the squad. There are also recalls for Adrien Rabiot and N'Golo Kante as the injured Aurelien Tchouameni misses out. 

    France face Israel in the first of their two games on November 14 before finishing their Nations League Group A2 campaign against Italy three days later. 

    France squad in full:

    Lucas Chevalier (Lille), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens), Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio), N'Golo Kante (Al-Ittihad), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (Marseille), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG), Bradley Barcola (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter).

  • Kompany unbothered by modest scoreline as Bayern beat Benfica Kompany unbothered by modest scoreline as Bayern beat Benfica

    Vincent Kompany was pleased with the way Bayern Munich attacked at home to Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, despite only winning 1-0.

    The victory ended a run of back-to-back defeats for the German team in the competition, leaving them 17th in the league with six points from four matches. 

    "It's important for us to win a game this way. In the past, we always scored three, four or five goals, but today we stayed calm," Kompany told the official club website.

    "We had 24 shots on goal and the opposition had one. Not every finish was dangerous, but we controlled the game. There are games in which the last pass just isn't as precise as necessary.

    "We know we can decide matches within the first five minutes if we're on good form. That didn't happen today. But in the end, it's the Champions League. It was a good game and a good win."

    Midfielder Jamal Musiala scored the only goal of the game in the 67th minute, turning home Harry Kane's knockdown after Leroy Sane had played the ball across the box.

    Sane is yet to start a game in any competition for Bayern this season, coming on in the 56th minute on Wednesday, but his contribution was not lost on Kompany.

    "Obviously, I'm really happy to have the quality of Leroy Sane and Michael Olise in the same position - not to forget Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry. You can say Leroy turned this game around today," he said.

    The goalscorer Musiala, meanwhile, was pleased after scoring his fifth goal in all competitions for the club this season.

    “We had good moments, but the opposition played and defended well. Of course, there are still things we can improve, but it's important to have won the three points," he said.

    "I don't know what's going on with me scoring headers at the moment. The ball dropped nicely for me a few times and I just keep trying to get into good positions I can score easy goals from.

    "We all knew we had to win tonight and we did a good job. We had a tough time settling into the game, but we can't win by four or five goals every time. Sometimes a 1-0 win has to be enough.”

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.