'We're in a good state of mind' - Assistant boss Lee Bradbury and midfielder Tyler Frost on Crawley Town's win over Spurs under-23s

Assistant manager Lee Bradbury made it clear Crawley Town are in a 'good state of mind', off the back of a strong pre-season in which they have only conceded three goals, but stressed that it was important the Reds get off to a good start in their season opener at Hartlepool United this Saturday.
Crawley Town assistant manager Lee Bradbury. Picture by Pete Norton/Getty ImagesCrawley Town assistant manager Lee Bradbury. Picture by Pete Norton/Getty Images
Crawley Town assistant manager Lee Bradbury. Picture by Pete Norton/Getty Images

Reds defeat Tottenham Hotspur under-23s in their final home pre-season game, with good headers from Ashley Nadesan and Davide Rodari cancelling out Dilan Markanday’s close range finish.

The game saw an excellent man of the match performance from Tyler Frost, who was a constant threat down the left wing.

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Archie Davies also starred at right back with some good overlapping runs.

Spurs started the game well with some slick passing and looked to move the Reds defence into spaces. In glimpses Spurs showed their class with clever footwork and good interchanges.

However, Crawley defended well and looked to attack with speed on the break

Bradbury said: "(It was) a tough game as you’d expect. They moved the ball really well, and they really tested us out of possession. They’ve got a lot of very good players.

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“We dealt with it well and we had a lot of opportunities today. We looked strong and caused them a lot of problems, and we made good decisions today.”

Not everything went to plan though. Jack Powell’s back pass fell short of keeper Glenn Morris allowing Markanday to tap into an empty net.

Bradbury added: “We’re disappointed in the manner of the goal but these things happen. We just need to make better decisions around the box.”

Midfielder Frost put in a star performance on the left wing and looked to really take on his man and put in some tempting crosses gaining an assist for Nadesan’s goal.

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Bradbury said: "He’s got a really good balance about him, when he’s driving at people.

"He’s a constant thorn in the side and this is a big season for Tyler.”

Frost himself was quick to praise the Reds' good pre-season performances and has impressed in their last two friendlies.

But the midfielder said it would all be for nothing if he doesn't replicate those displays in the league.

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“It’s capped off a great-preseason. The mood is good and we’re full of confidence right now.

“This off-season I worked hard to try and be more powerful, a bit quicker and I feel it’s coming off now.

“I’ve had a couple of good performances but it doesn’t mean much in pre-season, I’ve got to carry it into the season.

“I feel I’m giving the team help where I need to help and I’m in a much better head space now.

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"I’m doing my best to make the gaffer (John Yems) select me and that’s all I can do.

At the moment I feel full of confidence and I’m enjoying my football and trying to improve on last season, that’s all I can do”.

Looking ahead to the new season which starts next Saturday away to newly promoted Hartlepool, Bradbury added:

“This is a good pre-season finish and we want to go into the season in this frame of mind.

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“We’ve scored a lot of goals and I think we’ve conceded three. The lads have really bought into what we’re trying to do.

“We’re in a good state of mind at the moment and it’s a really good mood after the pre-season we’ve had.

“We need to get a good start. It will be tough away to Hartlepool. We need to go there and try and get the win”.

The Reds have one final pre-season test. They travel to Combined Counties Premier Division South outftit Beckenham Town on Tuesday (7pm).

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