It was a season of real disappointment for Crawley Town as they teetered with relegation from start to finish.
They did however manage to scape across the finish line and avoid back-to-back relegations, breathing a huge sigh of relief last Saturday as they secured League Two football for next season and preserved their EFL status for a 16th successive season.
In a season full of struggles there were some standout performers and moments of brilliance that should be recognised, so without further ado let’s dive into Crawley Town’s 25/26 End Of Season Awards:
The Crawley captain was the Reds most consistent player amidst a season in which there were significant changes to the starting eleven each week, and he was certainly one of the first names on the team sheet.
The 25 year old played a pivotal role in helping the Reds survive the drop with his commanding performances at the heart of the Crawley midfield.
A player who always wore his heart of his sleeve, often seeing him putting in crunching tackles and heading everything that came his way.
He showed much higher levels of maturity that were sometimes lacking during his first stint with the club.
Williams inherited the armband mid way through the season in which he stepped up to the mark in crucial moments – a true leader.
The young Northern Irishman was signed in January from Glentoran, with 21 year old featuring 19 times and making 12 starts since joining.
The left-back/wing-back was also called up to Northern Ireland’s U21s in March to play in their Euro Qualification Group Stage matches in which he started in both games.
Not one of the most technically gifted players but someone who gives his all for the badge.
He is a hard runner, who will run up and down the left flank all day long with his long legs.
A player who gets forward well, creating the overlap in attack, but also recovers well to perform his defensive duties.
With some nurturing of his talent he will come on leaps and bounds in a Crawley shirt with his standout attribute being his deliveries from dead balls and his aerial abilities.
Russell can be pictured celebrating right on top of the Crawley dugout alongside Williams as the Reds celebrated survival with the fans on the final day of the season – a player to definitely keep your eye on next season.
Never mind the timing of the goal and the bedlam that followed but the sheer quality and execution of the finish from the Crawley right-back.
A 90+8′ minute equaliser sent the Broadfield Stadium into absolute pandemonium as Gordon curled one into the top left corner with Swindon keeper Connor Ripley a bystander who could only watch as it rippled the back of the net.
Crawley Town winger, Harry Forster got to the byline before pulling it back, which saw a race develop between Gordon and Robins attacker Junior Hoilett to see who would pinch the ball first.
Against all odds Gordon got there before his man and on his weaker left foot was able to guide the ball into the back of the net from just inside the 18 yard box.
It would have been criminal to write this article and not have Chapman included in any capacity, so here is an award that has his name written all over it.
No Crawley Town fan will disagree that the shot stopper who was brought in on loan from Huddersfield Town in January has provided the biggest impact to Crawley’s squad, with one supporter even saying that they would “sell a kidney” to sign him permanently.
He single-handedly earned Crawley a handful of crucial points from the 20 matches he featured for the Reds with some incredibly mind-blowing saves, which ultimately was a big factor in why Crawley stayed up.
The Aussie’s distribution was also on point with the ability and versatility to play out the back comfortably, while also being able to find players with longer distance kicks.
They say ‘never fall in love with a loan player’ but I think it was virtually impossible for any Crawley fan not to fall in love with Chapman.
Duncan Fennemore says:
Agree completely with Jay and Chapman. Not at all convinced that Jonny will ever be good enough.
Asa Finch says:
Bit of a rash player for sure but he’s young and I think he could be a good player for Crawley at this level