Stevenage go on their travels to West Sussex for a Sky Bet League Two clash with Kevin Betsy’s Crawley Town…
Steve Evans’ side currently sit third in Sky Bet League Two with seven wins from ten games and are just six points from the top of the table. Last Saturday, Boro put on a dominant display at The Lamex Stadium and came away from it with a 1-0 win over Harrogate Town through Dan Sweeney’s late header.
Crawley Town entered a new era over the summer with new ownership and management staff coming in. As well as this, The Red Devils signed last season’s Sky Bet League Two top scorer, Dom Telford. However, The side from West Sussex have got off to a disappointing start this campaign, picking up just one win from ten league games, sitting in 22nd place.
Crawley’s only home league victory this season came on the 13th of September as newly promoted Stockport Town arrived at The Broadfield Stadium. The Red Devils won 3-2 on the day with James Tilley, Dom Telford and Nick Tsaroulla grabbing the goals.
Kevin Betsy is currently in his first management role in senior football after being appointed Crawley manager in June 2022. He was previously in charge of Arsenal U23s for a season where his side finished third in The Premier League 2 Division One. Betsy loaned Arsenal U23 defender Mazeed Ogungbo to Crawley in the summer in order to bring a familiar face to his squad.
Boro and The Red Devils are two sides very familiar with each other, having faced each other on thirty-three occasions with Stevenage having a 48% win-rate. The first meeting between the sides dates all the way back to 1988, as a 12-year-old Stevenage Borough Football Club fell to a 1-0 defeat to Crawley Town in, what was once known as, The Knights Floodlit League.
The mid to late 2000s witnessed many non-league encounters between the two sides before Stevenage earned back-to-back promotions to League One. Crawley followed suit a year later and the clubs would meet again. Boro’s highest-scoring win against Crawley in the Football League ended 3-1 in August 2018. Alex Revell’s two late goals capped off an impressive victory away from home as Alex Reid grabbed the first goal early in the second half.
The most recent encounter between the two sides was at The Broadfield Stadium in February 2022 as Scott Cuthbert and Arthur Read’s late goals brought a two-goal deficit back to 2-2.
Crawley Town have played their football at the Broadfield Stadium since its opening in 1997. The ground holds a capacity of 6,134 with a record attendance of 5,880 being set in 2013 as Crawley hosted Reading in The FA Cup. Away fans are typically allocated The North Stand behind the goal.
Will Finnie has been appointed Match Referee for this fixture with Andrew Laver and Jack Clench as Assistants and Nicholas Cooper as the Fourth Official. Finnie has dished out twenty-five yellow cards and one red in eight games so far this campaign.
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