Sticks in the Craw

After 56 minutes of heavy pressure and opportunities the Greens broke the deadlock, courtesy once again of Ryan Brunt, who headed home a Gregg Wylde cross at the far post. The involvement of two players who manager Derek Adams knew were key to his side’s dominance in the game came as no surprise.

“Gregg’s been a big player for us this season,” said Derek. “He’s set up another goal for Ryan Brunt, a well taken header, and he’s created other chances. He’s getting in the position to score goals, and he’s got another assist today. 

“It was a fantastic header. We just needed more at that time to get the next goal to make it 2-0, and that would’ve finished the game off.”

A number of chances to add to the scoresheet were spurned before and after that goal, and the Greens were made to rue those misses as Shamir Fenelon turned home a late equaliser from a free-kick conceded just outside the Argyle box.

“We conceded a goal with five minutes to go,” said Adams, “out of poor play from ourselves. We gave away a needless free kick in a wide area. 

“We shouldn’t have conceded the way we conceded at the end. We didn’t look under threat throughout the 90 minutes.

“Of course we’re disappointed. I don’t think we deserved to lose the match – it feels like a loss. We totally dominated from start to finish, and they didn’t trouble us at all. 

“Overall we had enough possession and we’ve had enough opportunities to win the game. We’ve got to score goals, and we haven’t done that today. We’ve thrown away two points today.”

So whilst the action on the pitch suggested a Pilgrims win and the end result feels like a defeat, Argyle in fact recorded a fourth away draw of the season. With visits to Yeovil Town and Barnet upcoming, Derek knows that continuing to gather points on the road is key to maintaining the club’s lofty promotion ambitions.

“We’re obviously very disappointed coming away with just a point,” said Adams, “because [with] our play and possession and the opportunities on the day, we deserved to come away with three points. 

“We’ve got the best away record in the league, and we want to try and win as many games as we possibly can. Today we’ve taken a point, but that shows how far we’ve come. Crawley were a League One club last season and we got into the play-offs, and we’re looking to move on this season.”