John Yems upset by refereeing as Crawley go down at Cheltenham

Posted Sunday, October 11, 2020 by PA

Crawley boss John Yems was not impressed with the officiating as his side slipped to a 2-0 Sky Bet League Two defeat to Cheltenham.

A Dannie Bulman own goal put the Robins in front before half-time.

Andy Williams added a second three minutes after the break to seal Cheltenham’s third win in succession.

Yems was also upset his side produced little attacking threat at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium.

“I am disappointed with the goals we conceded and the officials,” Yems said. “We had to play 12 men. The referee (Trevor Kettle) was so incompetent it was unbelievable.

“We stuck at it, we worked hard, but we didn’t create enough chances or worry their keeper.

“It was men against boys at times, but we knew what was coming and our little lot grew up a little bit, or if they haven’t, they will do soon.”

Cheltenham have scored seven and not conceded during their three-game winning run and Michael Duff’s side have kept six clean sheets in eight matches in all competitions this term.

“I was really pleased with that (clean sheet) because I thought we were excellent today, with and without the ball,” former centre-half Duff said.

“The only thing, if you are going to put any sort of slant on the performance, is that we should have scored more goals.

“I’ve just told them that because games won’t always be this comfortable.

“We should have put the game out of sight, but it shows how many chances we are creating, which is a good thing.

“The thing I really liked was the last 10 minutes and the detail in the defending, the desire across the team to keep a clean sheet.

“That shows we have learned from the Morecambe defeat (on the opening day) and you can’t switch off.

“We played some good football and created plenty of chances, but I am a bit different and like watching defending and the detail within that was really good.”

Last season’s beaten play-off semi-finalists will go top of the table if they defeat Grimsby at home on Tuesday in Duff’s 100th match in charge.

“It’s a nice little milestone for me, but getting up near 500 is the aim, as it was as a player,” Duff said.