Crawley Town manager Scott Lindsey has laid into his side’s defending after their defeat at Cambridge United yesterday, as reported by The Argus.
The Reds lost 3-1 at the Cledara Abbey Stadium and dropped to 21st in League Two.
‘Madness’ At The Back Costs Crawley
Lindsey did not hold back in his assessment of the defending on show from his side, also dismissing any statistics that suggest Town were firmly in the game.
“The stats would suggest that we’re in the game, we’re alright, but we’re not. We can’t defend in moments. We’re so easy to score against at the moment.”
“The first goal’s just madness really. We’ve defended set-pieces really well in the past; it was something like we’d faced 82 set-pieces against us without a goal, and then today, we just capitulated.”
After the poor defending for Shayne Lavery’s opener, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu was able to fire home from close range following yet more lacklustre defending from a set piece.
“Second goal – again a set-piece – (it) falls to the edge of the box, no one engages, easy goal.”
Just minutes later, the game was over when Kylian Kouassi scored a third for the hosts from a move that Lindsey felt left his backline isolated.
“The third goal, I see my back three defending and no one else in the picture.”
Tough Times, At The Moment
The defeat in Cambridgeshire was a third on the bounce for Lindsey’s side and a seventh in 11 League Two outings, leaving the manager in no doubt that he has to change something to get their season back on track.
“We’re not hard-working enough at the moment, which is costing us. I’ve got to change it. We’re just weak.”
“The character at the moment’s not coming through. I hear one player in the dressing room now, and I need more.”
Having suffered a heavy defeat at Notts County and a home loss to Barrow prior to yesterday’s reverse, the manager believes his team are feeling the effects of that pointless run.
“I see a team that’s lacking a bit of confidence at the moment. We think we talk a good game and prepare a good game, and then we don’t really; we pretend to deliver it at the moment. It’s really hard to take and hard to watch.”
Next up for the Reds in League Two action is a home game against league leaders Walsall at Broadfield Stadium next Saturday.
Writer’s View
Confidence is unsurprisingly low after three successive defeats, and being called weak has got to hurt the players. Lindsey will be hoping his criticism will have the desired effect, but Walsall is not the team you want to be facing when looking to avoid a fourth straight loss.
