Match Report
League Two
Crawley Town F.C
Tom Nichols 34, 46
Stevenage F.C
Arthur Read 80, Scott Cuthbert 90+2
Stevenage 'dodge a bullet' to claim dramatic draw at Crawley Town
Scott Cuthbert grabbed a point for Stevenage at Crawley Town with a late goal. - Credit: DANNY LOO PHOTOGRAPHY
Stevenage rescued a point in dramatic fashion at Crawley Town but manager Paul Tisdale admitted they had "dodged a bullet".
Two goals from Tom Nichols, the second in the opening minute of the second half, had given the hosts a 2-0 lead in the League Two match but after Arthur Read had pulled one back with 10 minutes to go, skipper Scott Cuthbert bundled in a long free-kick into the box to claim a 2-2 draw.
And despite the Boro boss's assessment overall, he felt the comeback could be a crucial factor in the remainder of the season for his side.
Tisdale said: ""We’ve needed that kind of positivity, that kind of fillip to come back from two goals behind.
"I know it is only an away draw but it feels really good.
"That will be good for us.
"There are lots of lessons for us as a team. We need to play with a determination and a will to win and that needs to be reflected in the way we perform.
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"There are a number of ways to do that but we just didn’t do that for the first hour of the game.
"We were caught between two schools; we weren’t one thing or another. We were a bit grey.
"You can’t play professional sport like that. You have to commit to one and play with a lot more determination and aggression.
"We’ve dodged a bullet but I am delighted to have got back into the game, delighted for the boys and the supporters."
Arthur Read began the comeback for Stevenage at Crawley Town. - Credit: DANNY LOO PHOTOGRAPHY
The manager though admitted the game could have been out of sight in the opening hour.
He said: "To get two goals you have to score one and we got a rhythm about us to go and get that first goal.
"It was a really terrific last 15 minutes with two really good goals and I’m really proud of the boys to get us back into the game.
"You always look at the goals conceded with a pessimistic view because you feel disappointed.
"I would say I was pleased to be only two goals down going into that final period because they could have easily got a third.
"They were the better side for the first hour, no doubt about that, and they had their chances but didn’t take them.
"And then they leave the door open and you only need one."
