Attacking four, Gladwin crucial, smart changes - six things we learned from Crawley Town's win over Rochdale:
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First half goals from Dom Telford and Dion Conroy ensured the three points in front of a record home crowd.
But what did we learn from the win? Here are six things we noticed.
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Hide AdAttacking Four: Scott Lindsey has named the same attacking four for three successive games with James Tilley, Dom Telford, Ashley Nadesan and Aramide Oteh all getting a run of games together as an attacking unit. With 9 games to go until the season is over, having a group of players working together consistently is perfect for Crawley’s survival bid.
Gladwin Crucial: Captain and January signing, Ben Gladwin started only his second game after coming back from injury but his impact is noticeable already. Throughout the match he broke down Rochdale attacks and was source for a lot of Crawley’s counters. Reds fans will hope he can retain his fitness for the remainder of the season to help them stay in League Two.
Lynch still fighting on: Joel Lynch was substituted for illness on Tuesday night but started and played the full match, getting a clean sheet to top it off. The desire to play through illness on Tuesday was shown again on Saturday as he was a key part of a Crawley defence which fought valiantly to get their first home clean sheet for over 3 months.
SEE ALSO Crawley Town player ratings: Four players score 8/10 as Reds pick up vital three points against Rochdale in front of record home crowd | Scott Lindsey hails ‘outstanding’ Crawley Town performance after Rochdale win | James Tilley: Crawley Town need more clean sheets between now and the end of the season
Tilley commanding the press: James Tilley was awarded with the man of the match after the win and it was thoroughly deserved as his work rate until he was brought off was nothing short of tremendous. He was constantly leading the press from Crawley’s forwards, forcing errors and countless mis-hit clearances. It is not realistic to expect Crawley to play this way all the time, but it certainly proved effective on Saturday.
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Hide AdLindsey making smart changes: Scott Lindsey used up four of his five possible substitutes against Rochdale at times when they were needed to close out the game. Anthony Grant came on for his debut, forcing a change of formation to make Rochdale play wider at a time when they were starting to create more chances. The Crawley gaffer then made a triple-sub as Tom Fellows, Rafiq Khaleel and Travis Johnson all came on to prevent Rochdale capitalising on the fatigue of certain players. Overall, Lindsey’s decisions on the touchline on Saturday afternoon were second to none
Fast counters are the way to go: Time and time again in the match, Crawley won the ball back and within 10 seconds had a shooting or crossing chance. The speed of the counter attack was crucial in catching Rochdale off guard and, on another day, would have resulted in a far more impressive scoreline than 2-0, which flattered Rochdale in the end.