Crawley boss Cioffi beaming after Crawley’s battling win

Posted Sunday, August 25, 2019 by PA

Gabriele Cioffi was all smiles after watching his Crawley side twice fight from a goal behind to take all three points against Leyton Orient in a 3-2 win.

A Nathan Ferguson strike was sandwiched between a Josh Wright stunner and a penalty from Lee Angol, but substitute Ollie Palmer stepped off the bench to score twice in three minutes and turn the game around.

“It was a high-intensity game and we still have a lot of stuff to work on, but we are going in the right direction,” Cioffi said.

“It’s also about mentality and when you have the right mentality, that is important.”

The Red Devils boss admitted goal-hero Palmer was desperate to get on the pitch back at one of his former stamping grounds.

“I knew that he used to play here but when he did get on, he showed a great attitude.

“He made a terrific impact which is what you want from a substitute, but all the players and substitutes played their part today.

“Everyone did their job and we showed the right resilience.

“We have been very solid and we always believe in ourselves, right through every game until the end. I think that’s something the supporters appreciate and you never see our squad give up until the final whistle blows.

“Whether you are playing 90, 95 or 98 minutes, we have to show that desire, passion and belief.”

Leyton Orient interim coach Ross Embleton said: “We are still finding out as a team what the league is all about, but I said to the lads ‘you have to learn from your mistakes, you correct them, you develop a ruthlessness, particularly in our own box’.

“We’ve kept a couple of clean sheets already and apart from the three goals, I don’t think there was a particular amount they created or where (goalkeeper) Dean Brill was called upon in comparison to their goalkeeper, so for me it came down to those individual moments.

“There was a bit of misfortune for us with their second one where it hits Josh Coulson, but the frustration was that we had four or five opportunities to block it or clear it and unfortunately we conceded.

“With the third one, the striker gets in on the far post when he should have been tracked and marked appropriately which is very frustrating for me.

“Overall I’m very disappointed that we’ve dominated the game, as such, but given three goals away. But when you score two goals at home you shouldn’t be losing a game of football like that.”