DUFF: WE HAVE TO SHOW FIGHT
CHELTENHAM manager Michael Duff was left “frustrated” after a late goal by substitute Jordan Maguire-Drew gave Crawley all three points which saw them slip from top spot.
Duff admitted his Robins were “not good enough” as they went down to their first defeat in four games.
Maguire-Drew settled the issue nine minutes after replacing James Tilley by scoring via a post after a pass from forward Tom Nichols.
Duff felt the display was well below par and said: “It was a fair result probably – we were not great today.
“We had a good chance at the end, but we didn’t look like us and were wide open.
“We didn’t fight, didn’t win the ball and I’m frustrated.”
Duff rejected any suggestion that his men are feeling the pressure, and added: “I think we’ve taken 19 points from ten games, so if that is feeling the pressure I’ll take that in the next five games..”
Alfie May showed good control midway through the half when he had a closerange shot saved by veteran goalkeeper Glenn Morris.
A ball by Ben Tozer put the Crawley defence under pressure and Callum Wright shot wide from a good position.
Cheltenham had an escape after 34 minutes when Sean Long gave the ball away and Ashley Nadesan wastefully put the ball over after rounding on-loan Josh Griffiths.
The hosts also had a let-off in first-half stoppage-time, Nichols deflecting a cross by Chris Hussey on to his own bar. Another slack back pass by Long gave striker Nichols
an opportunity shortly after the break, but the former Cheltenham loanee shot straight at Griffiths.
Nichols later had a shot saved before an attempted chip by Liam Sercombe came back off the bar.
Former Leyton Orient man Maguire-Drew clinched victory with his first Crawley goal after 77 minutes, scoring with a well-taken shot in via a post.
Crawley head coach John Yems had urged his side not to “lay down” in their final five games, and he was delighted with the way they responded after making it two wins in the space of four days. The Reds followed up their 2-0 success at Bradford with another hard-working display, and Yems said: “We won’t give up on anything.
“I want to see work rate and consistency and we’ll see where it takes us.
“We could have scored another four or five on another day and every player stuck at it.”
Yems stated at the beginning of the season that ensuring survival for next term would be no mean achievement, but they are currently three points off the play-offs. He added: “We will keep on playing in our last four and see where it takes us. A lot of people want to see Crawley do well – you’ll get a good honest performance.”