Lindsey Proud Despite Crawley’s Defeat to Championship Side Swansea
Crawley Town manager Scott Lindsey expressed pride in his side despite their 3-1 defeat to Championship opponents Swansea City in the EFL Cup.
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The difference in quality was evident early on when Josh Tymon delivered a perfect low cross for Kristian Ronald to tap in at the back post just four minutes into the game. It took 63 more minutes of play for Swansea to double their lead through Bobby Wales, who capitalised on a defensive error with a smart strike into the bottom corner.
Crawley fought back, and Kabongo Tshimanga managed to halve the deficit but hopes of a comeback were ended when substitute Gavan Holohan was sent off late in the match.
Swansea sealed their victory with a late volley from Ethan Galbraith, but Lindsey saw plenty of positives to take from his team's performance.
"I thought we had a really good go at it," said the 53-year-old.
"I thought we were excellent in moments of the game. Obviously, we came up against a team that plays in a higher division than us. I thought we were good but probably lacked a bit of confidence, likely due to the last two results.
"We didn't have a lot of belief in the first half. I told the players at half-time to play and enjoy it, and try to play with more belief. We didn't really believe in how we pressed or played, but I saw it better in the second half.
"I thought we scored a good goal and maybe, before the sending off, we could have scored another and gone to penalties."
As Crawley pushed forward in the final 10 minutes to find an equaliser, Gavan Holohan was shown a red card for a strong tackle on Goncalo Franco, effectively ending any hopes of a comeback.
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On the referee's decision to send off the midfielder, Lindsey said, "I've watched it back. I spent nearly two hours on a Zoom call with the EFL and the FA. We're not allowed to say anything negative about the referee, so I'll best not speak."
Despite the setback, Lindsey remained proud of his side and believes the match was a valuable test.
"I'm proud of the players; every one of them put a shift in. It was hard work. The subs who came on made an impact, which I'm pleased about. I actually enjoyed the game. We gave a good account of ourselves against a Championship side.
"I know they made some changes from their team on Saturday, but it was still a strong team. I wanted to test ourselves against a good team. It was a good challenge for us. We came up short, but we gave a good account of ourselves."