County humiliated in the heat

Report from Mark Vickery

Venue: Broadfield Stadium

Crawley Town 4 (Tsaroulla 5, Campbell 54, 67, Gladwin 79)

Newport County 1 (Bogle 10)

Attendance: 2,663

Match Rating: ***

Form:

Newport County LWWLWWLD

Crawley Town WLDWLLDW

PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS

Blistering hot day. County need to manage conditions well and take responsibility with the ball. Crawley have prowess in possession so key County press in the right areas and conserve energy.

CONDITIONS

Hot, sunny with light breeze. Pitch in quick and in excellent condition.

SUMMING UP OUR PERFORMANCE IN ONE STATEMENT

Laboured error ridden performance and choked on chances.

TURNING POINT

Second Crawley goal gave them another leg up..

THE MATCH

County were forced in one change with Wildig suffering from a knock and he was replaced by Waite with the retaining their 4–2–3–1 formation. Crawley played 3–4–3 and made the more assured start with some neat passing movements to test wide areas with Darcy offering width right side. County were happy to sit back and use the presence of Bogle up front to make the ball stick but Crawley were effective picking holes with Campbell and Gladwin intelligent with their link play. Crawley took the lead on 5 minutes when Crawley switched play well from right to left with Gladwin allowed too much freedom to cut inside and find Campbell near the edge of the area. He threaded a pass left side of the area for Tsaroulla who chanced his arm with a first time effort from 16 yards which appeared to deceive Townsend and drop into left corner. Crawley were boosted by the goal with County still in their shell and the best they could offer was some direct play with Bogle offering strength the fend off centre backs Wright and Ransom but the cohesion in play was lacking. Crawley to work switches to the right side at will with Tsaroulla seeing plenty of the ball. On 8 minutes, County had another warning when Tsaroulla was able to manufacture space from a tight position near the byline and clip a deep cross which Ransom poked wide of the left post from an acute angle. County responded with a better move, moments later when a more direct decisive move through the middle saw Bogle took the ball down well and his shot on the turn from 25 yards was too hot for Addai to handle but he was able to smother the rebound with Waite lurking. County were back in the game on 10 minutes when a neat move through the middle invited Morris to shoot and despite the effort being blocked, Bogle anticipated well to slot low into the right corner beyond Addai. Crawley continued to probe away with moves right side which forced Evans deeper and Maguire instigated some good moves left side forcing McCloughlin back. County struggled to build momentum with Crawley setting their stall out to attack from deep with Bogle left isolated and unable to retain the ball. There was a drinks break half way through the first half but Crawley remained in control of the game with Gladwin pulling the strings in midfield. The game degenerated being interrupted by several fouls and Orsi received some attention following a late aerial challenge. On 35 minutes, Crawley threatened again when with a move through the middle and Kelly in acres of space drilled a shot from inside the ”d” which Townsend claimed well. County had a better spell as half time approached with some better intentions to attack with moves either side of the box. On 40 minutes, a patient move right side by County saw them put five passes together deep inside the Crawley half and Waite drove towards the byline but the cross lacked bite allowing Addai an easy claim. Despite having more of the ball, County were let down by poor decision making allowing Crawley to mount attacks from deep. Seven minutes of second half injury time were played with County asking some more questions penetrating left side but they struggled to make an impact in the final third.

Crawley made a change at half with right sided centre back Ransom being replaced by Johnson. Crawley remained in control and issued another warning on 53 minutes when a quick move right side stretched County with Gladwin finding space between McCloughlin and Delaney. He took care with the ball and cut inside but the low shot from 12 yards was well blocked by Clark. Crawley kept chipping away right side and got their reward with Campbell again given the freedom of the park to pick a pass right side with a precise pass to find the feet of Darcy. He ghosted inside leaving McCoughlin static and blasted a low shot from 12 yards which Townsend could only parry to straight into the path of Campbell who was left untracked. He showed no mercy blasting low past Townsend from 10 yards. County made a double substitution on 58 minutes with Waite and Morris sacrificed for Bondswell and Thomas. County continued to make mistakes with some tired passes which put them on the back-foot and lost momentum. County had a half chance on 60 minutes, out of the blue when they had forced Crawley to defend deeper and Lewis whipped a decent cross from the right side which Delaney met well in the air but headed over from 10 yards. Crawley were asking questions again on 62 minutes when Tsaroulla whipped in a decisive cross left side but Orsi could only head over from 12 yards from a difficult header. County responded with a good move on the break moments later with Evans slipping a low pass for Thomas to forge through the middle. He carried his run goalside but his choked blasting a tameless effort from distance which the keeper claimed easily. On 65 minutes, Crawley had Campbell booked following a clumsy challenge on Evans as he threatened to break from deep. County made efforts to attack the left side with Bondswell and Lewis pushing up higher. On 67 minutes, County had an excellent opportunity to punish Crawley following a break left side but an untidy pass was snatched away by Crawley with Williams quick to switch play from right to left to Campbell. He made the most of the space darting past Bennett and place a precise effort into the top right corner from 20 yards beyond the grasp of Townsend. County should really have been back in the game on 72 minutes when they broke dynamically with Evans finding Bogle. He jinked inside and his effort from 14 yards was parried by the keeper. Bondswell had a chance to bury the effort but some naivety saw him to set up Bogle to score but he was adjudged offside. County made another double change on 75 minutes with Charsley and McCloughlin replaced by Wood and Payne. With County pushed on they were caught out ruthlessly on 79 minutes, again losing the ball cheaply in a decent position with Bennett put in an uncompromising position. Kelly won the ball ahead of Bennett and Gladwin was left with time to pick his spot from inside the “d” curling low into right corner with Townsend again rooted to the spot. Crawley made a triple change on 83 minutes with Lolos replacing Campbell and Forster on for Maguire and Khaleel replacing Darcy. County made another change with Drysdale make a welcome return after injury to replace Clarke. On 86 minutes, County had another decent chance from a cross left side with Bondswell overlapping well to receive a pass from Lewis. His cross into the area pinpointed the late run of Bogle but he headed just over from 10 yards under pressure from Forster. Crawley made another change soon after in midfield with Roles on for Gladwin. In the 7 minutes of injury time played County huffed and puffed and were denied on 90+5 minutes following a decent move right side instigated by Payne. He started the move just inside the Crawley half combining well with Thomas right side of the area to cut back a decent low cross but Wood could only stab his effort from 10 yards straight at the keeper. Deep in injury time, an altercation between Bogle and Williams saw them both booked but the game ended with hosts well deserving of their victory.

Townsend (5) — forced to hurry kicks but generally got it safe. At fault with the first goal and should have got the save pushed away leading up to the second goal. Well beaten on shots from distance.

McCloughlin (5) — not seeing enough tackles coming in from, didn’t offer enough teeth and bite when back against the wall. Rarely got over the half way line and was replaced early.

Lewis (5) — got forced back into his shell for large spells first half and another one who didn’t win enough 50–50s but ended up ball watching. didn’t ask enough questions to test the right centre back

Delaney (6) — was comfortable enough in the aerial duals but looked leggy when ran at and missed to many tackles unsettled with clearances. looked the most capable from set pieces

Clarke (6) — won his headers well and mopped up danger in behind clearing effectively. Was slow to react on the first half and close down some of the shots edge of the area.

Charsley (6) — quiet game did his best stifle but was fire fighting on times. Another one who appeared to suffer in the conditions getting bogged down and lost his markers.

Waite (5) — started brightly and did his best to support with runs right side and get close to Bogle. Missed out too many challenges with weak challenges and replaced early

Morris (6) — not sure why he was replaced early. Wasn’t firing on all cylinders but did his best to cover and stifle and used ball intelligently, unlucky with a couple of shots blocked in around the box

Bennett (5) — lost too many 50–50s. was well off the pace in mind and thought giving up on too many second balls. Struggled in the conditions and should have been replaced.

Evans (6) — ended up dropping deep covering defensively left side first half when he should have been on the front-foot. Pushed up higher later in the game but kept at arm’s length.

Bogle (6) — did his best to provide an outlet, took his chanced well and was unlucky with a couple of situations he may have had a hat trick. Faded late on but had to stay on due to limitations on the bench.

SWOT ANALYSIS (Crawley Town)

Strengths — they were comfortable in possession and efficient with their use of the ball limiting touches which kept County busy. Took chances well with some prowess on shots from distance.

Weaknesses — small side and never looked convincing defending crosses. Keeper spilled several shots better sides would have punished.

Opportunities — maintained 3–4–3 but made a change at half time to improve balance right side. never really changed tact but played a bit more direct late in game when game was safe.

Threats — Tsaroulla gave an outlet left side and Darcy was clever with link play right side. Gladwin offered variety with passes and Campbell was clinical finishing.

OFFICIALS

S Tallis (6) — missed a lot of the off balls antics especially on Bogle and failed to book some of the crude late challenges. Got key decisions right

MAN OF THE MATCH

Adam Campbell — despite being small in stature, it didn’t matter as he punished County throughout being hard to pick up. Took his chances clinically and was equally adept with some neat passes

IF YOU WERE GRAHAM COUGHLAN WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

County have been below the standards they set last season in the majority of the away games conceding 3, 4, 0 and 4 goals several from distance. It is clear the four at the backformation is not resilient enough and quality is lacking in the team defensively to hold out against sides like Crawley who can pass proficiently and pick holes between the full back and centre back. County need to revert to 3–5–2 in such games but in truth today they looked flat and laboured from the offset with poor decision making and they looked tired in body and mind. The conditions made it very difficult to chase down a deficit but they need to be coming onto the pitch fresh as daisies and it didn’t look that way today and to impair things further the changes also backfired. It was far too easy for Crawley to pick County off and they were always at their most vulnerable when they lost possession inside the Crawley half, often when Bogle was being too left isolated in the first place. The full backs also played poorly today and were very inverted, even with Crawley clearly struggling to defend their right side. Despite County having three able left sided players on the pitch second half, they only started to lay a glove on them in the latter stages of the game. Next up is Barrow at home and a chance to put a few wrongs right. Barrow have been an effective unit this season playing 4–3–3 based on a solid centre back pairing who are strong in aerial duals and they have brought in former County loan striker Jamie Proctor up top who his intelligent with his link play edge of the area. County will need ensure they track runners and mark much better in this one with Telford and Newby able in their support. Barrow do have some vulnerability defending wide areas and can be outworked if County put their mind to it.