Crawley claim the spoils from long trip to Morecambe

Posted Sunday, October 08, 2017 by PA

Crawley took three vital points from a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Morecambe at the Globe Arena.

The only goal of the game came in the 19th minute through Billy Clifford, who took a corner which was missed by everyone in the box and curled into the back of the Morecambe net.

The Shrimps then saw veteran striker Kevin Ellison dismissed for an off-the-ball incident in the 33rd minute that gave the home side a mountain to climb.

To give Jim Bentley's side credit, they dominated the game after the break and produced the greater opportunities.

Aaron Wildig saw a close-range effort scrambled over the bar before the same player forced Glenn Morris into a superb save low to his left with a stinging right-footed shot from the edge of the box.

Morecambe started brightly and could have taken the lead in the fifth minute when Steven Old beat his marker to meet a Michael Rose corner, but he could only head straight at Morris.

Crawley came back with Jimmy Smith and Enzio Boldewijn firing wide before Clifford broke the deadlock. The visitors were then given a boost when Ellison was sent off.

The 10 men came back with Andy Fleming doing well to get on to the end of a cross to force Morris into a save but Crawley should have added a second on the stroke of half-time.

They had a man over but Moussa Sanoh produced a poor final ball and the danger was cleared.

Despite having the man advantage Crawley were forced to defend for long periods after the break with Mark Connolly producing several superb blocks to give the Reds a much-needed boost.