Scott Lindsey feels there is a real togetherness in his Crawley squad after they moved into the play-off places in Sky Bet League Two with a 3-1 win over Tranmere at Prenton Park.
The Reds were in front in the second minute when Jeremy Kelly steered the ball home from 10 yards from the first real attack of the game.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 10th minute when Jay Williams reacted quickest to force the ball over the line after Tranmere failed to clear from a corner.
Rovers did reduce the arrears in the 21st minute when Luke Norris connected with a Rob Apter cross to flick the ball home and give the home fans hope.
Nigel Adkins’ side began the second half brightly, with Apter twice having chances to equalise, while referee Stephen Parkinson waved away strong appeals for penalties on two occasions as Tranmere threw everything at their opponents.
But with 11 minutes remaining Danilo Orsi fired home his 18th goal of the season to make the game safe for Crawley, who are now unbeaten in their last four games.
Lindsey said: “I’m really pleased with that performance and I think we played really well as a team.
“My players were outstanding and I could feel it in the hotel this morning (Saturday) that there is a real togetherness and belief that we can win games at home or away.
“We scored two early goals and perhaps we sat back a little bit after the second goal and invited a little bit of pressure on ourselves but we spoke at half-time and made sure we got a little higher up the pitch.
“We were a little more aggressive with our starting positions in the second half and I felt it was a really comprehensive performance from everyone in the team.
“I’m delighted that our fans have gone back down the road with all three points and we’re pleased to be where we are in the table but there are still eight games left and there’s a long way to go and we’ll keep our feet on the ground.”
Tranmere boss Adkins said: “It was a hard one to take as we started really poorly having started as good as anyone since November.
“The two goals we gave away were both from set pieces with a long-range shot coming from a long throw and the second one coming from a corner to put us 2-0 down after 10 minutes.
“But great credit to the players who responded really well in challenging conditions and we got ourselves back into the game against a good possession-based side.
“We did get back into the game with a good goal from Luke Norris and at 2-1 it’s game back on again.
“We started the second half well and had good chances but for me a critical moment in the game is that we should have had two penalties and those were two key moments that didn’t go our way.”
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
Messi 'will be our No.10 in 2026', hopes Inter Miami chief Mas
Inter Miami fully expect Lionel Messi to remain at the club beyond his current contract ahead of the 2026 MLS season.
Those were the words of Miami's club managing owner, Jorge Mas, who was speaking to the media following Gerardo Martino's resignation earlier on Friday.
Messi joined the MLS side in July 2023 on a two-and-a-half-year contract, leading the Herons to the Supporters' Shield and Leagues Cup during his time in the United States so far.
His current deal is due to expire at the end of next year, though Mas made clear his desire to see Messi remain with the Herons at Miami Freedom Park, the club's new stadium that will open in 2026.
"He’s under contract through 2025. Leo and I will sit, and we’ll discuss the future,” Mas said.
“As I’ve said before, and I will repeat it now: I fully expect that in the opening of our new stadium in 2026 in Miami and the opening of our 2026 season, hopefully after a trophy-laden 2025 season, that Lionel Messi will be our No. 10.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
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