Liverpool star back, importance of Tsaroulla and Tilley time: 6 things we learnt from Matthew Etherington’s first game in charge of the Crawley Town

Goals from Nick Tsaroulla and Jack Powell gained a vital win for Reds as we saw many changes to the Reds side in the former West Ham stars first game. Here are six things we learned from the win.

James Balagizi is the missing link in Crawley’s attack

Tom Nichols was missing from the Crawley squad but fortunately the Liverpool loanee James Balagizi made his long-awaited return after getting injured in early October. Despite being subbed off in the 52nd minute, the youngster impressed in his first game back as he created Crawley’s best chance of the first half, setting up James Tilley who had his shot blocked. It will be interesting to see who Etherington plays when both Nichols and Balagizi are available.

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Etherington is not afraid to make changes

Matthew Etherington had all eyes on him against Swindon and he managed to do well under pressure, securing a two-nil victory in his first game. He took Balagizi off for Tom Fellows early in the second half, to change the tempo of the game as Swindon were in the ascendancy. Aramide Oteh was later brought on for Dom Telford and both these substitutes helped change the energy up front for Crawley, with Oteh’s relentless directly leading to Crawley’s second goal.

James Tilley may see more game time under Etherington

Teddy Jenks unfortunately went off injured in the sixth minute of the game with James Tilley chosen to replace him in the midfield. The former Albion man was a big attacking presence for Crawley as he nearly scored a minute after coming on. His dynamism in the midfield helped drive Crawley forward in the latter stages leading up to the side’s opener. With Jenks out, Tilley will be playing for a permanent spot in the starting eleven and he certainly did what was required in the second half.

Crawley need Jenks to control the midfield

Despite Tilley doing well in Jenks’ absence, Crawley certainly were not performing well in the midfield as the loss of Jenks left a gap with Tilley attacking more. Swindon took advantage of this, often finding a spare man in the midfield allowing them to counter attack with ease at times. Crawley will count themselves lucky that Swindon failed to register a single shot on target but Etherington will need to make sure his team has a bigger presence in the midfield going forward.

Tsaroulla is Crawley’s most important player going forward

Nick Tsaroulla impressed yet again for Crawley, playing high up in almost a left-wing position when Crawley had possession. He scored Crawley’s first of the night as the ball fell to his feet outside the box and his fierce strike got a lucky deflection, helping it beat Brynn in Swindon’s goal. He was awarded man of the match and without him, Crawley would be missing something special as his wide runs were the most successful way of stretching the Swindon back line.

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Telford in danger of losing his spot

Dominic Telford was subbed off for Oteh with the score at 0-0 and his replacement certainly helped improve Crawley up front. The forward struggled to hold the ball up throughout the first half and was well managed by the Swindon defence. In Etherington’s first game as manager this was a chance for all the players to prove they belong in the starting eleven and Telford’s performance may lead to Etherington rethinking his attack.