Same old script as Latics lose

Photo: Alan Howarth

RUNNING BATTLE: Conor Wilkinson tries to beat a Crawley rival.

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Crawley 2, Athletic 0

IZALE McLeod showed a true striker's craft as Athletic were again found wanting in both penalty areas, on another day of falling short of League One's charter mark for effectiveness.

Crawley's 20-goal forward has done the rounds in the lower divisions and has picked up a trick or two.

Netting a classic forward's strike for his relegation-haunted side, the 30 year old's old-fashioned display was the difference between the teams.

McLeod harried and hassled on the edge of the game's laws, unsettling with his physical presence and making the sort of clever runs that help to win games like this.

His glancing header was a fifth goal in six games, right at the most opportune moment of the season for interim manager Dean Saunders.

Athletic, without injured top scorer Jonathan Forte, had two teenagers up front who barely had a sniff. The latest in a string of poor results against sides near the bottom of the division was characterised by an inability to pose anything other than the same elementary questions in attack.

McLeod and Richard Wood pounced in the first half and Mike Jones – energetic to the last – at least forced veteran goalkeeper Brian Jensen into a flying save shortly before the interval.

By that time Dean Holden's side were two goals down. They almost halved the deficit when Rhys Turner smashed a shot into the turf early in the second half, taking enough pace off it to allow Jensen to tip over the top. That was all Athletic could craft in terms of real scoring opportunities against two flat banks of four deep-lying opponents.

Everything was in front of Crawley, with no penetrating runs to pull defenders out of position.

Even a change in formation to 4-3-3 failed to have the desired effect. Holden was cast in a helpless role, shuffling the deckchairs on a ship seemingly all-set already for a relaxing summer cruise.

In the end it was far too easy for Crawley to see out the game.

After Dean Morgan had stretched Joel Coleman to the limit five minutes in, the opening goal came on the quarter-hour. A wave of attack brought a cross from Gavin Tomlin and a smart glancing header from 12 yards by McLeod.

Playing catch-up already, Athletic had a couple of half-attempts from Conor Wilkinson and Kelly blocked in the box and after Joseph Mills fired over from 20 yards out as the ball bounced awkwardly, the home side doubled their lead as Lee Fowler fired in a free-kick from a yard outside the right edge of the area and centre-back Wood found space to lash home a volley.

Twice in the opening minutes of the second half Athletic showed willing to make runs in behind Crawley's back line. Wilkinson fired over the top after 62 minutes and Jones hit one down Jensen's throat. Lewis Young saw his low effort stopped by Coleman's feet after more canny hold-up play from McLeod and by added time, Athletic's frustrated players were left gesticulating and arguing with one another.

Athletic's record against the current bottom six reads: two wins, three draws and seven defeats. No prizes for spotting in which games this season's challenge has petered out.