Crawley Town lost 0-1 to Crewe in their League Two opener on Friday evening. The visitors took all three points thanks to a stoppage-time goal from J. March. It was a result that kept Crewe's unbeaten start at five games intact.
The decisive moment came in the 90th minute when J. March found the net. By then Crawley had already been reduced to ten men after M. Ebiowei's second red card of the match. The home side clawed their way back into contention but could not find an equaliser.
Red cards changed the shape of this game. K. Gordon went off in the 51st minute for Crewe, and M. Demetriou was sent off twice for Crawley. By the time the third dismissal came, the match had got dragged out of position tactically. Three reds in one fixture is unusual even for cup football has its own rules, but this was a league opener.
Crawley dominated possession at 48 per cent and had more attacks, but shots accuracy tells another story. They registered three shots on target from eight attempts, while Crewe managed four on target from thirteen. The home side let the tie slip with so many chances on paper.
Crewe sit seventh with nine points from five games, while Crawley are 21st on four. The visitors extended their unbeaten run to five matches with this result. Crawley cannot afford another slip if they want to climb away from the bottom.