Boro finally entertained
Crawley Town on a warm early spring evening; a complete
contrast to the frost and (‘non’) frozen pitch
that caused the postponement of the original fixture.
Allan Tait made a home return following a decent performance
at Salisbury the previous Saturday, and the evening would
end with a fine performance from Tait and his teammates,
Boro comfortably beating the visitors over the 90 minutes.
A surprisingly low number
of fans travelled from West Sussex but they nearly witnessed
an early opening score for their side as a cross under
Lee Hooks bar was not cleared; the ball dropping inches
wide of the post. Boro responded with pressure down the
left flank; Matt Crabb’s left wing corner flicked
beyond all Boro bodies in the box. The opening exchanges
were an even but full bloodied affair, as befits a local
derby; with intricate exchanges often broken up by strong
challenges from both sides. On 18 minutes Paul Armstrong’s
free-kick just eluded Ben Austin running in on goal but
a moment later Darren Baker needed to be focused to cut
out a through ball to Robbie Matthews with a clear run
on goal. Jamie Cook should have done better on 22 but
his weak effort was blocked. A neat interchange of passes
on 26 minutes gave Austin too much ground to cover wide
right and a Nathan Crabb cut-back to Tait on the opposite
side was cut out with the Boro No. 10 waiting to strike.
Matt Crabb’s clever work on the bye-line resulted
in a lobbed cross along the face of the goal but no one
was at the far post to apply a finish. The Crawley bench
were in usual animated and vocal support of a ‘penalty’
claim on 31 minutes, but they appeared to be the only
individuals in the crowd or on the pitch who saw a ‘push’.
Boro responded when on 33 minutes Matt Crabb found Tait
with a chipped pass, but the Boro striker was denied the
time to steady himself and his left-foot effort was saved
by Simon Rayner. On 38 minutes Simon Weatherstone turned
and shot from the 18-yard box but dragged the effort well
wide. Austin blocked a Cook run to the ball on 41 minutes
at the near post and Chris Giles directed a towering header
past the post from the resultant corner. The match officials
finally noticed Glenn Wilson ‘holding’ at
set pieces but ‘Crabby’s’ free kick
was too flat to cause the visitors any trouble on 43.
The half ended with Nathan Crabb dragged down but again
the officials sided with the ‘Red Devils’,
0-0 at half time.
Possibly expecting another
early onslaught the Boro crowd had the 1st chance to celebrate
as ex ‘Devil’ Marc Pullan scored the opening
goal of the game. Boro were awarded a free-kick in the
opening minute of the 2nd 45 and the Matt Crabb delivery
saw the Crawley defence static as Marc Pullan stole in
to loop a header in off the far post for 1-0. A bizarre
mix-up at the heart of the visitors defence almost saw
Nathan Crabb through but the ball was eventually cleared,
Boro frustrated. Were Crawley rattled? Further evidence
appeared on 50 minutes when an un-pressured handball allowed
another kick; this time over hit beyond the far post.
Boro were dominant and Nathan’s flicked cross from
the bye-line was beyond the runners to the near post on
52 mins. The visitors finally responded when Wilson twisted,
turned and shot rather than crossing, the effort well
wide on 55 mins. Tait almost sprang the offside trap from
a Dan Brown through ball as Michael Malcolm replaced the
injured Weatherstone, but out of nothing Boro found themselves
2 up. Nathan Crabb picked himself up from a challenge
in the 18-yard box and chipped the ball over the advancing
keeper from an incredibly tight angle for 2-0. Tait fired
a stunning volley wide from an un cleared corner as Boro
applied further pressure and Austin’s cross on 63
minutes only found a Blue head, but the home side were
undoubtedly still dominant. It took a bizarre own goal
for the visitors to get a foothold in the game. On 66
minutes a low corner to the near post saw Neil Jenkins
slip and the ball balloon up and in at the far post. Now
it was the turn of the visitors to dominate, Michael Malcolm
lobbing wide when well placed on 70 minutes. The ball
fizzed across the Boro goal before a fabulous run by Matt
Crabb ended with Tait felled in the 18 yard box, the officials
inexpicably not awarding the penalty for the home side
– obvious to the Boro fans at the Mick Green end
of the ground. On 75 minutes Crawley assistant manager
Paul Rayner was sent to the stand for urging the Boro
players to speed up by entering the field of play to collect
the ball for a free kick. On 81 minutes Paul Armstrong
fired a 20-yard free-kick high and handsome before a trademark
Austin run and curling shot was wide 2 minutes later.
Wilson fired over after some neat chest control from 12
yards as the visitors started to throw everything at Boro
but finally the whistle blew for a 1st win for ‘The
Sports’ over Crawley.
The Boro fans stayed long after the final whistle to celebrate
with the jubilant players – many of whom had previously
represented Crawley Town. After recent results; let alone
the unjustified defeat at ‘The Broadfield’
over the festive season, this was an important win for
Boro as another bogey side were beaten. The Boro management
are looking for the squad to ensure that the season does
not fizzle out. Performances and results such as this
will ensure that the ‘feel good’ factor at
Priory Lane, so evident this year, continues through until
the Sussex Senior Cup Final appearance at the beginning
of May
Words - Lee Peskett
