First half goals from Tom James and Bobby Kamwa were enough to give Rovers their first away win of the season at Crawley Town.
Steve Evans made just one change from the side that were winners against Newport County just seven days earlier, with Richie Smallwood replacing the injured Keenan Gough. Smallwood also skippered the side.
There were no clear cut goalscoring opportunities in the opening ten minutes and but Rovers gradually asserted themselves on proceedings and went close through Kamwa, who saw a shot blocked before home keeper Nicholas Michalskimade a fine double save to deny Tommy Leigh and Ben Purrington.
The home side struggled against a Rovers side who imposed themselves on the game and it came as little surprise when they scored the opening goal with 23 minutes on the clock. A free kick, awarded after a foul on Fabrizio Cavegn, saw James step up to rifle home a 25 yard free kick that clipped the underside of the bar on its way into the net. It was the former Orient defender’s first goal for the club.
The home side thought they had won a penalty 15 minutes later when Pemi Aderojo went down under a challenge from Kofi Balmer, but referee Leigh Doughty waved away appeals for a spot kick.
Four minutes before half time Kamwa scored a brilliant second goal for his side. Balmer found the former Newport man down the right and his first touch took him past his marker and then he drilling a shot across goal and into the bottom corner of the net past a bemused Michalski.
There were no goals after the break, but Rovers remained the dominant side and Crawley failed to create anything of note, much to the frustration of their supporters.
Clinton Mola shot wide of the target, while a Smallwood effort was deflected behind for a corner and Balmer and Shaq Forde (twice) went close to adding a third Rovers goal.
There was just one moment of danger for Rovers with 11 minutes of the game remaining when a header, flicked on from a corner, beat Brad Young but Leigh was on hand to clear off the line.
All in all, a dominant and thoroughly professional performance from Rovers to record a second successive league victory with two home games to following in the week ahead.
WHAT WAS SAID
‘I think that’s their best performance under Paul and me since we arrived at the football club because from minute one to the last minute, it was totally, totally dominant, and the disappointing thing is we don’t get the fourth or fifth, the sixth, because that’s what the performance deserved. That’s nothing against the Crawley lads; they’re a really good side. They just couldn’t get into the rhythm today because we dominated the ball and we dominated the areas of the pitch.
‘I must admit, you probably saw me off my seat only three times today, because I was fairly relaxed and supporters are probably looking around. As I said to the chairman, I didn’t want to make a substitution today, and the reason being that the players were in total command of the game.
‘You can see today, we’re warming up, and the fans are singing Bobby Kamwa’s name; the fans love him, don’t they? You’re going to love a player like Bobby. He frustrated me in the second half, if I’m being honest, because we probably got him on 15 or 20 one on ones, and the final end product of that wasn’t the way Bobby would want it to be and the way I’d want it to be. We love the little fella. I love him as a character, I love him as a player, and I worked so hard to get him in this summer. It was a bit of a persuasion to do because there was so much interest, but he’s loving every minute of it.’ Rovers Manager Steve Evans
‘It was a good game, you know. Before the game, the boys knew it’d be a tough game, but we stuck to the task, so yeah, three points. Honestly, Tom James’ free kick was a bad boy free kick. That was bad boy. I was just thinking, let me get there for a rebound or whatever, but no, he’s a top lad. He’s both footed, so credit to him.
‘My finish, well, I am a man full of surprises, you know. It was a good first touch. I had to anticipate the ball from Kofi, because the gaffer told me plain side, there would be a chance there. Luckily, it fell for me there, and I shook it away. It was a good connection. As soon as it left my foot, I knew I’d have a chance. I’m just buzzing, buzzing that I could get another one, so hopefully many more.
You know the Gaffer, and, obviously, the squad that we have feels like we’re a squad of Avengers, I call it, because there’s weapons in every position. So, you’ve got to be ready and obviously, I know that the boys that were on the bench, whenever they’ll be needed, they’ll be ready. So, it’s good for everyone. The competition was good.’ Rovers Goalscorer Bobby Kamwa
‘I thought it was 100% a clear foul and we should have been awarded a penalty. It’s not an excuse but we can’t have another game like that and can’t rely on penalty shouts.
‘It was a game when we still need to be better for 88 minutes and I take responsibility for that. The boys are holding themselves accountable. We won’t come out like that again. We can’t have another game like that; we have to move the ball quicker. We had an off day, but there were a lot of mistakes in how the game was refereed. Crawley Town boss Colin Kazim-Richards
