Crawley Town boss Scott Lindsey highlights ‘outstanding’ players in Bristol Rovers win
It was an electric atmosphere at Broadfield Stadium for Lindsey’s first game back as Crawley boss, with Kamari Doyle giving his manager and fans he perfect start after he placed the ball in the back of the net 19 minutes into the first half.
The Reds had plenty of good chances to double their lead, but Pirates keeper Jed Ward made numerous saves to keep the gap at just one goal.
Despite this, the Rovers attack failed to get past the Crawley defence, leaving the Sussex side with their first clean sheet since the end of January.
Someone that stood out to Lindsey was skipper Charlie Barker, who had another tremendous performance in the Reds back line.
The 22-year-old defender made 12 clearances against the Rovers attack, and won eight of his 11 Aerial duels, having limited what the away team could create in the box.
On the captain, Lindsey said: “I think obviously the games have made him improve. He’s played a lot of football, so he’s improved regarding that, but his character is amazing.
“That’s why he’s captain, just because of his character and how he is around the place and in the dressing room.
“He headed every ball today, didn’t he? Certainly, at the end there with the last two minutes, just everything that came forward he won. Big centre-half went up front, and Charlie won every header against him.
“I thought he was outstanding today, great character, brilliant person to have around the place. I just love Charlie, I think he’s amazing.”
Two other players which stood out to Lindsey were Liam Fraser and Kamari Doyle, both playing important roles.
Doyle grabbed the only goal of the game, and was dangerous throughout with his driving runs and creativity.
At the other end of the midfield, Fraser swept up everything in front of the defence, and kept the ball well, helping Crawley move it up the pitch.
Lindsey revealed that those two players were key players when choosing his first team, as the manager wanted to make a ‘Scott Lindsey’ team.
On their performances, Lindsey said: “Brilliant, the pair of them were outstanding. I thought they were amazing, I really did.
“I sat down the night before and looked at the team and really wanted to pick a team that I felt could play the way that I wanted to look. Them two players fitted in perfectly.
“I thought the team were brilliant today. I think it looked really close to a Scott Lindsey team already and the fact that I’ve been in the building 48 hours, I think that it’s a credit to the players to take on the information and go out and do it.”
