Alix Dorrington introduces Crawley Town.
This evening United travel south to take on Steve Evans' Crawley Town. The Sussex club will be looking to get back to winning ways following a 2-0 loss at Northwich last Saturday, whilst United look to cement second place.
Trouble surfaced at Crawley last season when overspending saw the club spiral into £1.4m worth of debt. As if to emphasise their predicament, the annual player budget was also exceeded, meaning a three-point deduction sanctioned by Conference officials. Therefore, by early June the Majeed Family obtained a court order enabling the club to enter administration.
The search for new owners began but, with no bidders stepping forward the club were given a deadline of 10 August, two days before the season started, to come up with a package suiting creditors, otherwise the club would fold. Town looked doomed after administrators informed them an initial offer to clear debts had been refused but, luckily, with hours to spare, the Majeed's managed to reach a preliminary deal with all parties, meaning Town's season could commence.
Nevertheless, although receiving approval for the agreement at the end of August, new owners have still not been found. London-based Britannia Sports were close to sealing a takeover prior to our fixture earlier in the year, however, with no guarantee that monetary commitments could be met, the arrangement collapsed. Therefore Town still find themselves in financial limbo, despite the CVA.
Top part-time team
Turning the clock back and lightening the mood, we find that previous manager Francis Vines' arrival in January 2003 coincided with an upsurge in on-the-pitch fortunes. The Red Devils ended that season strongly, finishing seventh in the Doctor Martens Premier Division and winning the League and Sussex Senior Cups. 2003/04 saw them signing off a 20-season stay in that division by clinching the championship by a clear twelve points and adding their second successive League Cup. The club drew praise in their first Conference season, ending up the country's top part-time team. They remained in the hunt for a play-off place until the spring, eventually finishing twelfth after an excellent home record of thirteen wins and four draws.
In 2005/06 the club went full-time, giving notice of their ambition by claiming the record signing of Daryl Clare from Boston, as well as ex-U's Richard Hodgson (pictured) and Lee Blackburn.
A slow start saw them wait seven games for a win, whilst just two victories were recorded by early October. A first away win came at Scarborough, however three consecutive defeats followed, leaving Town 20th. An unbeaten December saw them move clear, before a winless January pushed them back into the drop zone, despite a run of five goals in as many games by Clare.
A solitary victory in February and March coincided with the aforementioned financial woes, resulting in a flurry of players, including Clare, leaving the club to balance the books. Bizarrely though, a new team spirit surfaced and, Town strung together an amazing sequence of seven victories and two draws in nine games, including a 1-0 win over The U's, to secure Conference status.
Patched Together
News surfaced in June 2006 that staff had been without pay for six weeks and, with the entire squad placed on the transfer-list due to administration, 25 players were subsequently released. In addition six players, including Danny Ekoku and Sacha Opinel, departed after being captured by other clubs, with Hollins himself up for grabs. Only five players reported for pre-season due to the transfer embargo but, thankfully, an influx of trialists meant a side could be patched together. Nevertheless, with the aforementioned deal brokered just before the opener with Rushden & Diamonds, Town were given the go-ahead to sign new players and retain the current squad. Strikers Ben Strevens and ex-U Scott Rendell were quickly snapped up, along with defenders Scott Hiley and Michael Bostwick, whilst midfielders Gary Mills and Dannie Bulman also joined the Broadfield Stadium carousel.
Town started this season with a six point deduction, and have since recorded a mixed bag of results, including excellent wins against Farsley (4-1 and 5-1) Woking (5-3) & most notably Droylsden, demolishing the Mancunian strugglers 5-0 in the league and 8-0 in the FA Trophy. A loss against Northwich (1-0), a surprise home defeat by Altrincham (1-0) and destruction at the hands of champions elect, Aldershot (6-2) in the Setanta Shield means a season of mid-table obscurity for the Sussex side.
Going into their clash with the U's, they've recorded just one win in nine, with several draws and a spate of disappointing but hardly unsurprising defeats against the play-off pack. The U's will have to be on the top of their game however, as despite their league position, only three sides have left The Broadfield Stadium with a full complement of points.
Previous Meetings
Matches between The U's and Crawley span five decades and, although only seven games are recorded between us, United have emerged victorious on four occasions, meaning we just pip our Sussex challengers for overall honours. The Red Devils have scooped a solitary victory, with the two remaining games resulting in a draw.
United travelled to The Broadfield Stadium on 30 August 1969 for our first ever encounter and, with the newly promoted Reds finding Southern League Premier Division life difficult, it was no surprise that The U's ran out 2-0 winners. Roly Horrey opened the scoring for Bill Leivers' men, with an own goal sealing Crawley's fate.
The return match on 7 February 1970 saw Town arrive for a return leg that was slightly more comprehensive than its predecessor. Goals from Brian Grant, Robin Hardy, George Harris, John McKinven, Colin Meldrum and a hat-trick from Paul Gilchrist wrapped up an astounding 8-0 triumph. This proved to be the springboard for United's romp to the Championship by late April, and a climb into The Football League.
There was a 35 year wait for Crawley to try to avenge that humiliating defeat, and an October 2005 Abbey clash. Just three minutes past when Jamie Cade slotted home after some slack Cambridge defending but, revenge wasn't a dish Ritchie Hanlon saw fit to be on the menu, and promptly delivered a perfect 32nd minute cross for David Chick to head home.
Hanlon himself completed the turnaround with a low drive from 22-yards, and that's how it stayed [report].
The following March mid-table United travelled to The Broadfield Stadium unbeaten in four games, whilst Town were looking to stretch their four-point gap to the relegation zone. Thankfully for manager John Hollins they did exactly that; Chris Giles sealing a 1-0 win in a match which saw United's Rob Wolleaston sent-off.
Last season saw The U's defeated 2-1 at The Abbey in October, and drop to within just one point of the bottom four, whilst Town clawed back more of their ten-point pre-season administrational deduction thanks to an impressive fourth away win. United's Marcus Richardson signed for Crawley just before they hosted the return game in March and, although Robbie Simpson gave Jimmy Quinn's men a 1-0 half-time lead, the curse of the former striker befell The U's as Richardson popped up in injury time to head home the equaliser.
Earlier this season, The U's dispatched Crawley 2-1 in what can only be described as a controversial encounter [report]. After starting brightly, the U's conceded a free-kick, which was floated into the penalty area towards Guy Madjo, who tumbled to the ground, apparently without being touched. The seemingly infamous Ms. Raynor blew up and pointed to the spot, allowing Madjo to dispatch his penalty to the right of a helpless Danny Potter.
However, this galvanised The U's and a four minute double salvo after half time swung the game back into Cambridge's favour. Leo Fortune-West angled home the equaliser from a Scott Rendell flick-on and just minutes later Rob Wolleaston drove in the second to give Cambridge the lead. A nervy second half was played out with just enough time for Crawley's Dannie Bulman to get sent off for opening his mouth one too many times, and the U's claimed their second 2-1 victory against the Red Devils in three years.
Alix Dorrington
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