United and Town have shared three meetings previous, resulting in a win, loss and a draw and six goals shared between them, so as the statistics prove things are pretty much even between us. Below give you the reports from our recent games against Crawley Town.
22 December 2012 - Crawley Town 0 Sheffield United 2
Tony McMahon blasted home free-kicks in either half to lead Sheffield United back to the top of npower League One with a comfortable 2-0 victory at Crawley. Blades broke the deadlock in the 29h minute when Joe Walsh was penalised for a foul on Shaun Miller and defender McMahon drilled home a 30-yard free-kick to notch his first goal for the Blades. The visitors doubled their advantage in identical fashion after 71 minutes when McMahon curled in a free-kick from 30 yards after Walsh had brought down Blades substitute Joe Ironside.
The Blades, who have only conceded eight goals away from home in the league this season, were solid throughout at the back and midfielder Kevin McDonald came close to adding a third late on when his shot was saved by Crawley goalkeeper Paul Jones. On a heavy pitch striker Dave Kitson had gone close for United early on with a deflected shot over the crossbar following McDonald's pass.
Crawley rarely threatened although United goalkeeper George Long went down smartly at the feet of defender Mat Sadler after he had cut into the area. A chip by Crawley midfielder Nicky Adams was held by Long shortly after the break and at the other end Jones parried a goalbound drive from Blades striker Nick Blackman.
9 April 2013 - Sheffield United 0 Crawley Town 2 (By; The Argus (Brighton))
Second half goals from Billy Clarke and Paul Hayes earned Crawley one of the most famous wins in the club's history at Sheffield United. Clarke silenced a crowd of 18,680 at Bramall Lane by giving Reds the lead in the 77th minute after being set up by substitute Paul Hayes. Hayes then doubled the advantage six minutes from the end to put a huge dent in the Blades' automatic promotion hopes. The result was only Crawley's second win in their last nine games and lifted them to 11th in League One.
Reds made a strong start and were arguably the better side in the first period without really troubling United keeper George Long until the stroke of half-time. Sergio Torres, making only his fifth league start of the season, shot just wide from 20 yards and Billy Clarke also went close from the edge of the box as Reds showed no signs of nerves. United had failed to score in their last three home games and you could see why as they struggled to break Crawley down.
Matt Hill should have done better when he put a free header over from a corner while a 30-yard free kick from Danny Higginbotham was comfortably saved by Paul Jones. After being spectators for much of the first half both goalkeepers made superb saves to keep it goalless in the closing stages of the opening 45 minutes. Paul Jones got his fingertips to a shot from Ryan Flynn at full stretch to turn it onto the post while at the other end Long did superbly to keep out a header from Clarke at point blank range.
Reds were saved by the woodwork three minutes after the restart when a well-struck 25 yard volley from Jamie Murphy came back off an upright with Paul Jones well beaten. Blades boss Danny Wilson brought on Chris Porter in place of the ineffective Jonathan Forte but the striker was guilty of missing a good chance when he headed wide from a Dave Kitson cross. Reds were continued to look dangerous on the counter attack with Long having to save from Torres and Adams firing over the bar from long range.
The visitors took the lead in the 77th minute as substitute Hayes pounced on a slip by Neill Collins. Hayes laid the ball back to Clarke in acres of space to fire his 13th goal of the season under Long from ten yards. The home fans made their displeasure clear at falling behind and things got even worse seven minutes later as Hayes pounced on a mistake from Harry Maguire to make it 2 0.
4 October 2013 - Sheffield United 1 Crawley Town 1 (By; Sheffield Star)
It wasn't the win he craved but Sheffield United manager David Weir still felt compelled to praise his players' character following last night's draw with Crawley Town. The South Yorkshire club appeared to be approaching a crossroad in its season when Jamie Proctor edged the visitors in front during the early skirmishes of what proved a fractious opening period. But a superbly executed goal from Marlon King, his first since arriving at Bramall Lane, averted the threat of a seventh consecutive League One defeat and possibly bought the former Scotland international some breathing space in the process.
Acknowledging "frank words" had been exchanged in United's dressing room during the interval, Weir said: "We had a discussion and there were two ways it could have gone. "But the group pulled together and responded in exactly the right way. It would have been easy for the lads, at that stage, just to lay down but I thought that was a big moment in respect that they stood-up to the fight. "The boys showed out there that they would not accept a loss. We want to play football here but when you have that attitude and application as well, you can go a long, long way."
Weir admitted United had been "really poor" before the break but the quality of King's finish, especially when placed into context, was superb. The Jamaica international was calmness personified as, after being released by Febian Brandy's pass, he fended-off his marker before sweeping an angled shot beyond the advancing Paul Jones. Having heard an earlier attempt by his team mate greeted by sarcastic cheers from a section of the home crowd, King had enough time to consider the possible consequences of failure.
But, demonstrating exactly why Weir offered him a route back into the English game following his departure from Birmingham City two months ago, the experienced centre-forward applied the finishing touches to a move which exposed the potential within United's ranks. "I'm not going to justify the first-half," Weir said. "Because it wasn't good enough and that was the focus of what was brought up (in the dressing room). "But we changed the dynamic, adapted and adjusted. "The way we created the goal and the way it was taken was great. "We aren't happy to draw at home, don't get me wrong, but hopefully that is a step forward."
Having delivered markedly improved displays against much-fancied Preston North End and Wolverhampton Wanderers in recent weeks, United who host Hartlepool in the JP Trophy on Tuesday evening, appeared intent on taking a giant leap back when Proctor, unmarked at the far post, was allowed to turn home Andy Drury's 10th minute cross from close range. Mat Sadler should have doubled Town's lead soon after but wildly miscued before Neill Collins glanced wide from a corner and Jones gathered Brandy's low drive.
Tony McMahon saw a fierce effort rebound back off a post as United, who replaced the injured Florent Cuvelier with Conor Coady, found their rhythm but, just as they sensed the contest was set to end in bitter disappointment, King took full advantage of a move instigated by the substitute and continued by Brandy. With the 33-year-old among three members of Weir's squad selected for international duty next weekend, his intervention underlined the risks United's will face if Sunday's meeting with Coventry City goes ahead as scheduled.
Town manager Richie Barker, whose side are now unbeaten in six, had mixed feelings about the final outcome. "It shows how far we have come when we come away from a ground like this and are disappointed not to take more," he said. "But we reminded the lads at the break that no two halves of football are ever the same and, credit to Sheffield United, they pressed us much harder and much further up the pitch from then on." Meanwhile United, who handed new signing Simon Lappin a full-debut following his month long move from Cardiff City, extended Harry Bunn's youth loan from Manchester City ahead of kick-off before allowing Chris Porter to join Chesterfield on a temporary basis.
Results
| Date | Match | Result | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 2012 | Crawley Town v Sheffield United | W | 0-2 | League One |
| 09 Apr 2013 | Sheffield United v Crawley Town | L | 0-2 | League One |
| 04 Oct 2013 | Sheffield United v Crawley Town | D | 1-1 | League One |