Murphy’s hot spell

Rhys Murphy: five goals in nine appearances since joining Crawley on loan.

RHYS Murphy has found a rich vein of scoring form since leaving Athletic.

The 24 year old, a £20,000 signing from Dagenham last season, found life on the pitch an uphill struggle since moving North - but is flourishing on loan at Crawley in Sky Bet League Two.

Former Arsenal prospect Murphy scored the crucial second goal at the weekend in the Red Devils’ 2-1 win at Hartlepool, converting a Gwion Edwards pass at Victoria Park.

That strike was Murphy’s fifth in nine matches — a sequence that started with a well-taken goal in Darren Kelly’s last match in charge against Peterborough.

After managing that solitary effort in 14 outings for Athletic, Murphy has now netted three times in as many outings for Crawley.

Athletic manager David Dunn took the decision to send him down to West Sussex in order to get starts under his belt. A 93-day loan will take Murphy up to December 20, after he he will return to Oldham.