Cioffi proud as strong finish sees Crawley through

Crawley head coach Gabriele Cioffi was full of praise for his side’s strong finish as they halted a run of five successive FA Cup first-round exits with a 4-1 home win over Scunthorpe.

A tense finish looked on the cards after Ryan Colclough cancelled out Ashley Nadesan’s first-half goal for Crawley.

But the Reds scored three times in the final 14 minutes, Reece Grego-Cox bagging two and substitute Ashley Nathaniel-George the other, as Cioffi’s men clinched only their second win since the middle of September.

Italian Cioffi admitted luck was with Crawley and said: “I am happy for the boys because we have had a tough October.

“We had a bit of luck but we are not a work in progress any more.

“After they equalised, our reaction was very good. We enjoyed the momentum and we must be the team the supporters can be proud of.”

Crawley had lost seven of their previous nine games in all competitions and Cioffi is hoping scoring four for the first time this season can act as a springboard.

He added: “I think this performance was coming. We were positive – we wanted the result and achieved it.”

Scunthorpe boss Paul Hirst said he felt confident his men would have earned a replay had Alex Gilliead not wasted a glorious opening in the 90th minute with the Iron 2-1 down.

Gilliead blazed over with the goal at his mercy and Hirst said: “I thought he would square it.

“The keeper wasn’t forced to save and it is a moment that you have to take advantage of. We could have got a replay.”

Hirst believed the scoreline flattered Crawley and added: “It wasn’t a 4-1 game; we didn’t really get a hammering. The scoreline grates on me.

“But we are making it harder than it should be. In the first half we didn’t play well enough.

“Afterwards we looked a better side, being on the front foot, and had a great chance to make it 2-2 but lacked quality.”

Hirst revealed Levi Sutton faces three weeks out after breaking his hand in two places in a fall on Thursday, while Harrison McGahey was forced to drop out of the squad through illness.