Billy’s the whizz for delighted Drummy
CRAWLEY TOWN head coach Dermot Drummy agreed his squad were elated after ensuring their name will be in the hat for the FA Cup second round after drawing with League One Bristol Rovers.
It was Billy Clifford’s equaliser just before half-time that helped League Two Crawley peg back Bristol Rovers following Lee Brown’s opener.
The home side finished the game with ten men when Andre Blackman was given a second yellow card midway through the second half, but it did little to dampen Drummy and his troops’ mood.
“The lads are on a high right now because they know they did well against a club who are doing well in League One,” said Drummy.
“We did well to adjust to their diamond and I know they played a high line so we prepared ourselves for that too.
“And the likes of Clifford who is just brains with football intelligence which is great and when we went out in the second-half we went at them.
“It was great support from both fans, Bristol Rovers are a big club with their fan base and even after we went down to ten men, the fans here were fantastic so well done to them too.”
Meanwhile, Rovers boss Darrell Clarke admitted he was disappointed not to have won, but credited Crawley for their defensive performances.
Clarke said: “It’s probably the only time this season we haven’t quite got it going in the final third.
“We’ve dominated a lot of territory in the game, got a lot of crosses in that box but for me the final pass wasn’t there.
“But I won’t be critical of my forward-thinking players because they've been outstanding for me this season. It’s always going to be a difficult cup tie, it always is when you’re playing away from home.”
Rovers took the lead when Hiram Boateng rolled a free-kick to Brown and he drove the ball home from 40 yards out with just 15 minutes on the clock. But on 35 minutes the hosts were level as Clifford scored his first goal for Crawley from 12 yards after some great play from Lewis Young.
Crawley ended the half on top with Dutch midfielder Enzio Boldewijn forcing Kelle Roos to save before the Bristol Rovers stopper parried a goal-bound shot from top scorer James Collins.
The home side were reduced to ten men on 69 minutes when defender Blackman picked up a second yellow for dissent, but Crawley held on for the draw.