Crawley Town’s Dion Conroy Reflects on Opening Day Defeat: “We Were Miles Off It”

Crawley Town captain Dion Conroy admitted the Reds "were miles off it" following their disappointing 3–0 defeat away to Grimsby Town on the opening day of the League Two season.

Crawley Town captain Dion Conroy speaking to the media after the game.

The Mariners started on the front foot, opening the scoring from the spot in the 10th minute before doubling their lead on the half-hour mark.

Crawley struggled to find their rhythm against a sharp and energetic Grimsby side and conceded a third midway through the second half.

"We were just miles off it - on the ball, off the ball," Conroy said.

"We didn't start great. Obviously, their first goal was never a penalty, but we can't blame that for the way we performed. We've got to learn from that performance quickly.

"We've had a good pre-season, so we can't let this affect us too much. We've just got to get back next Saturday and make it right."

Crawley were outplayed for extended periods and offered little in attack - a stark contrast to the fluid, possession-focused football usually associated with Scott Lindsey's side.

However, Conroy believes the performance was just a blip and insists they'll put it right next weekend.

"It's obviously a blip. Anyone who's seen us in pre-season knows that's nowhere near the way we play with the press. We didn't get anywhere near them, really.

"We're back to it on Monday, and we'll have to put a lot of work in - see what went wrong and what we can do to put it right next Saturday.

"We know that if we turn up, we can win any game we want in this league.Fair play to Grimsby but we were nowhere near the levels we should have been today."

Despite the opening-day disappointment, there are still 45 games left to play, and Conroy believes the Reds will be able to recover like they did in their promotion-winning season after losing 6-0 to Swindon Town five games in. 

"It's definitely not a reason to panic. The year we got promoted, we lost a number of games. It just so happens this one was the first game of the season, which isn't ideal — but that's football. You can't win them all.

"It's never an easy place to come. I've played here over the years, and their stadium, their atmosphere, it's really good.

"When they start how they started, and then get the decision they had they get their tails up and they're all over us.

"So we've got to learn from it, and learn from it quickly. Like I said, all we can do now is put it right next Saturday."