We need to “raise the level” - Crawley Town fans react to Cambridge United defeat

Numerous Reds fans shared their frustration after a disheartening performance at the Abbey Stadium as Crawley fell behind after just eleven minutes.

Just three minutes later, Jake Hessenthaler's first goal for Crawley Town saw the Reds draw level, after a beautiful passage of play was rounded off by the 26-year-old, who calmly slotted the ball past the Cambridge keeper. It was a moment praised by the fans across social media as “liquid football” topped by a classy finish from a player of real “quality”.

Crawley remained level until just before the break, when a screamer from Kyle Knoyle put Mark Bonner’s side ahead at the interval much to the frustration of the Red's faithful.

Regardless of the result, it was the second half performance that concerned fans. The Reds struggling to overturn the deficit, conceding another goal late on to round off a disheartening afternoon of football.

Amongst others fans, Michael Fox (@mjfjo) stated that the side “looked sluggish”. His tweet concluded with his disappointment at the side's lack of creative output. For large parts of the match, he explained, there was “no threat at all”.

His opinion was matched by Josh Falkner (@FalknerJosh) who tweeted about the sides’ ever present passive play: “[We] should be fresh after our run-out Tuesday. [There was] no threat at all after a decent start.”

However, Crawley have the chance to move on quickly from this loss. Back-to-back home matches against Leyton Orient (Tuesday) and Harrogate Town (Saturday) are vital if the Club's league season is to get back on track after their impressive FA Cup run.

Ben Harwood tweeted: "No 2nd balls fell for us, missed Tom Nichols in the hole Behind striker as he had to do a job up top. Boys still worked hard and dig deep against a good Cambridge side. No time to dwell, onto Tuesday," while @NorthfieldJack said: "They deserved that , we were rather poor Move on and try and bounce back with ideally 6 , but at a minimum 4 points from the upcoming back to back home games."

As the fans made clear, next week's football is of huge significance for Crawley Town, who will be looking to take maximum points from their next two matches. Positive results will be vital if the West-Sussex side are to sustain a push towards the play-off places.

SEE ALSO Crawley Town midfielder joins Southend United | Crawley Town's dream defence - as picked by the fans | Post-debut vow from Hastings' new Football League star