Scott Lindsey ‘over the moon’ as Crawley finally pick up first win

Scott Lindsey was “over the moon” after seeing Crawley edge out Harrogate to record their first win of the season.

Relegated from League One at the end of last term, the Red Devils travelled to North Yorkshire having taken just two points from their opening six matches.

But they got up and running for the campaign courtesy of a fine curling effort from the left boot of Reece Brown shortly before half-time.

And Lindsey was full of praise for his players after the final whistle.

“I thought that we were excellent in the first half and showed resilience in the second,” Lindsey said. “Sometimes you have to dig deep away from home and defend your box, which we did, and we came away with a clean sheet and three points.

“We came here with the mindset that we needed to win a game of football and I felt that we were more than capable of winning.

“I thought that we were brilliant in the first half and played some outstanding football. I thought that we looked really assured and, although they were dangerous on the counter-attack, I felt we dealt with it quite well.

“So I am absolutely delighted with the players, who were, to a man, amazing today – every one of them. I am absolutely over the moon.”

Having missed the whole of last season through injury, former Peterborough and Forest Green attacker Brown has been in and out of Crawley’s side so far this term, but he justified Lindsey’s decision to recall him on Saturday by conjuring up the game’s decisive moment.

Cutting inside from the right flank, he curled a delicate low strike across James Belshaw from the edge of the box.

Lindsey was far from surprised to see Brown deliver in such a way.

“Reece has got that in him,” the Red Devils boss added.

“We probably haven’t seen the best of him yet, but we’ve got a very good player in Reece. We probably don’t realise it yet, but I do, because I have worked with him before.

“We have to be patient because he didn’t play any football last year. So he has got a bit of rust that he needs to get off and we are seeing that now.

“He’s scored an absolute worldie and he’s got that in his locker. He is a very talented footballer and I am really pleased for him as a human being because he is a top lad.”

After seeing his side suffer a third straight defeat, Harrogate manager Simon Weaver said: “I expected more.

“I was disappointed that we didn’t lay a glove in the first half and the quality in the final third was missing on the day.”