Match preview: Albion take on Crawley in the Carabao Cup

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We take on the Red Devils at the Amex on Tuesday evening.

2024-08-27T11:00+01:00

Crawley have won two of their opening three league games of the season. 📷 by James Boardman.

Albion take on Crawley Town at the Amex on Tuesday night in the first competitive meeting between Sussex’s biggest two clubs since 1992.

The opposition

Crawley returned to League One after an absence of nine years in May when they won promotion via the play-offs. Having beaten MK Dons 8-1 on aggregate in the semi-final – the biggest winning margin in play-off history – they defeated Crewe 2-0 on the club’s first appearance at Wembley Stadium thanks to goals from Danilo Orsi and Liam Kelly.

Manager Scott Lindsey was faced with a major rebuilding job in the summer when eight of his Wembley starters were among those who left the club. A total of 17 new players have arrived including defender Charlie Barker, whose dad Richie played for Albion during the Withdean era, and midfielder Panutche Camara, who is back for a second spell at the Broadfield Stadium having played for Plymouth, Charlton and Ipswich since leaving in 2020.

Season so far

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy played for Scott Lindsey at previous club Swindon Town. 📷 by James Boardman.

The Reds began the campaign with back-to-back League One wins. On the opening day, goals from Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, a summer recruit from Lindsay’s old club Swindon, and Junior Quitirna, who arrived from Fleetwood Town, sealed a 2-1 win over Blackpool.

Crawley then beat Swindon 4-2 to advance to the second round of the Carabao Cup before a late goal from Ade Adeyamo sealed a 1-0 win at Cambridge United.

Crawley then shared four goals with our under-21s in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, before picking up an extra point by winning the penalty shootout. They lost for the first time this season on Saturday, when an own goal by defender Joy Mukena condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at Wigan Athletic.

In the opposition dugout

Crawley Town manager Scott Lindsey. 📷 by James Boardman.

Scott Lindsey joined Crawley in January 2023 from Swindon and achieved his first objective which was to stop the club from sliding back into non-league. They finished 22nd and after an overhaul of the squad last summer he guided Crawley to promotion in his first full season in charge. Lindsay has an impressive win ratio of 43% from his 83 games in charge.

Prior to managing Swindon, he held various coaching positions in the EFL and non-league football, including a spell as manager of Chatham Town. The 52-year-old’s playing career was mostly spent in the higher echelons of non-league, although he did play – like his father Keith – for Gillingham.

We’ve met before

The clubs played each other regularly in pre-season games before Albion’s promotion to the Premier League but the only competitive meeting took place in the third round of the FA Cup in January 1992.

Crawley had reached that stage for the first time in their history and their side included a couple of ex-Brighton players in defender Tony Vessey and winger Tony Towner. Albion were in the middle of an ultimately unsuccessful relegation battle from the old second division but they won handsomely 5-0 that day in front of a crowd of more than 18,000.