Reds rout has been coming, says Cioffi

CRAWLEY head coach Gabriele Cioffi was full of praise for his side’s strong finish as they halted a run of five successive first-round exits in the competition in resounding fashion against Scunthorpe.

A tense finish looked on the cards after Ryan Colclough cancelled out Ashley Nadesan’s first-half goal for Crawley.

But the Reds scored three times in the final 14 minutes, Reece Grego-Cox bagging two and substitute Ashley NathanielGeorge the other.

Italian Cioffi admitted that luck was with his side and said: “We had a bit of luck, but we are not a work in progress now.

“After they equalised, our reaction was very good. We enjoyed the momentum and we must be the team the supporters can be proud of.”

Crawley had lost seven of their previous nine games and Cioffi is hoping scoring four for the first time this season can act as a springboard.

He added: “This display was coming.”

The recalled Nadesan should have done better early on when firing over a good chance from a cross by Ashley Young.

But Crawley broke the deadlock 10 minutes before the break when Nadesan struck from close range after keeper Jake Eastwood could only parry a shot.

Former Crawley striker Jamie Proctor was off target with a header following a cross by Alex Gilliead after the break.

Crawley defender Ryan Tunnicliffe’s shot was saved, before Scunthorpe equalised in the 78th minutes when slack defending allowed skipper Andy Butler to cross for Colclough to score his first goal of the season from close range.

But the Reds hit back four minutes later when GregoCox struck home a beauty into the top corner from 25 yards.

Crawley added two further goals in injury time, Panutche Camara set up Nathaniel-George and Grego-Cox bagged his second from Young’s pass.

Scunthorpe boss Paul Hurst said: “It wasn’t a 4-1 game; we didn’t get a hammering. The scoreline grates on me. But we are making it harder than it should be, in the first half we didn’t play well.

“Afterwards we looked a better side and had a great chance to make it 2-2.”

Hurst revealed that Levi Sutton now faces three weeks out after breaking a hand in two places in a fall on Thursday.