Crawley Town manager Kevin Betsy reflects on AFC Wimbledon loss

Goals from Nathan Young-Coombes and Ethan Chislett sunk the Red Devils with Tony Craig’s second yellow in the 55th minute being an additional blow for the team who are still looking for their first league win of the season.

Following the match Betsy said: “The players that we select for the game on Tuesday, they need to put a performance in because they didn’t put a performance in in the first-half. They let our supporters down and they let themselves down.

"We were pressing really high, we were aggressive, but when we won the ball back we gave the ball away straight back and you can’t get any momentum in the game.

"We were just too loose and we lacked quality in our forward passing and that is individual quality. We work with them everyday to try and make them better and make better decisions, but when they come onto the grass they have to take responsibility.”

During the game some Crawley fans voiced their frustration with the team’s performance.

The manager said: “It’s still very early in the season, let’s not get carried away. We understand the frustration, we fully accept the responsibility, but it's a new team, a new squad gelling together, it takes time.

“I think being the manager of a football club you’re the first person that people look at and I am big enough, I am strong enough, been in football a long time. I know the expectations of the supporters, but I know the level of the group and there are certain moments in what we have done this season so far, we have played some really good football.

“We have been extremely unlucky with injuries and that has been a factor. This game was probably one game too many for some of the players to start again.”

Betsy has also called for the fans and the club to stick together.

He said: “They [the fans] have shown up so much in the last three or four games and they have seen some really good performances from the group. Obviously they are going to be disappointed to lose 2-0 to Wimbledon but as I said before, you are down to 10 men and you lose the game 2-0. We are playing 35-40 minutes with 10 men and you didn't concede a goal in the second half. That shows an element of character.

“No one wants a performance like what we had in the first half, that is not acceptable. What they did in the second half and the last 35 minutes, okay, fair play to the lads.

"We worked with good organisation, worked really hard individually and they could have nicked a goal at some stage in the game to bring it back.”