Only one of Crawley’s final five League Two regular-season fixtures may have ended in victory, but Lindsey’s men had flaunted their attacking prowess throughout, and there was no shortage of ruthlessness on show across 180 minutes of semi-final action with MK Dons.
Putting one foot in the Wembley showpiece on May 7 with an emphatic 3-0 win, Crawley were in no sort of merciful mood four days later and turned domination into a dismantling with a 5-1 second-leg crushing, where star striker Danilo Orsi struck a heroic hat-trick.
Jack Roles and Jay Williams also made the Stadium mk nets bulge as Crawley booked their first-ever Wembley trip, and the Red Devils are now bidding to become the first side since Coventry City in 2018 to win promotion in their first-ever playoffs campaign.
Such a feat would only be made more praiseworthy when considering that Lindsey’s team only just sneaked into the post-season conversation – holding off Barrow and Bradford City by just one point in seventh position – and the Red Devils have now struck multiple goals in seven of their last nine fourth-tier contests.
Regardless of events at Wembley, a page of history has already been written by free-scoring Crawley, whose eight goals against MK Dons represents a new record for a team in their inaugural two playoff games; in stark contrast, their visitors’ attacking prowess was virtually non-existent in the closing period of the campaign.
A paltry two goals were registered by Crewe Alexandra in their final seven regular-season fixtures, and a striking absence of offensive proficiency would seemingly dash their promotion hopes if a 2-0 first-leg loss against Doncaster was to be a harbinger of doom.
However, Lee Bell‘s men relit the blue touch paper when it mattered most, as Mickey Demetriou‘s early header and a James Maxwell own goal forced the dreaded 12-yard shootout, where Max Stryjek made himself the hero thanks to a truly unorthodox tactic.
The Crewe goalkeeper was filmed launching a water bottle belonging to Doncaster goalkeeper Thimothee Lo-Tutala – which contained his penalty notes – into the stands, before saving from Zain Westbrooke and Hakeeb Adelakun to complete a stunning Railwaymen turnaround.
As debate raged over whether Stryjek’s actions were genius or not in the spirit of the game, Bell’s men rejoiced in edging ever closer to a return to the third tier, which they achieved in their most recent playoff final in the 2011-12 season.
In fact, each of Crewe’s last three trips to Wembley have seen the Railwaymen come up trumps, and they are on a magnificent seven-game unbeaten run against Crawley – winning six of them – but their recent lack of potency arguably makes the Red Devils Sunday’s favourites.
