Crawley Town 1-1 Wycombe Wanderers: FLW reports as Mike Dodds' reign starts with a draw | OneFootball

Action from Broadfield Stadium as relegation threatened Crawley Town took on promotion hopefuls Wycombe Wanderers.

Wycombe Wanderers were held by Crawley Town at Broadfield Stadium, letting an important two points slip in the race for promotion with a 1-1 draw.

Crawley struck first via Will Swan, who lashed an excellent curling effort past Will Norris to give the lowly hosts the lead after just five minutes.

Wycombe responded 15 minutes later through Daniel Udoh, who tricked his way past the Crawley defence and into the box and fired past Jojo Wollacott. This remained the case for the rest of the first-half, as the teams headed into the break level.

Neither side found a breakthrough in the second-half, which resulted in the Chairboys dropping an important two points to Wrexham in the promotion race.

Crawley Town 1–1 Wycombe Wanderers

Udoh had the first chance of the game after mere minutes. A fortunate bounce allowed the striker to shoot, but Jojo Wollacott got down low to deny the Nigerian.

The hosts took the lead with their first attack of the afternoon. A neat lay-off found Swan in plenty of space and the number nine curled a beautiful effort into the top left corner.

Wollacott then produced yet another fine save to deny Fred Onyedinma from close range. A looping header from a corner was clawed away by the Crawley shot-stopper in a magnificent reaching save.

Wanderers did equalise not long later, which was the least they deserved from what had been an excellent first-half showing apart from the goal. Udoh latched onto Skura's long ball forward, turned his man and shot past Wollacott to bring the game level.

The next 20 minutes before half-time were poor in comparison to the first 20. The game became quite bitty, as neither side was really in control. Referee, Farai Hallam was having what can only be described as an appalling showing, making plenty of wrong decisions for both sides.

The teams came in level at the break, as neither side could find that all-important breakthrough which would get them into the lead of the match.

The controversial decisions continued into the second-half, as both sets of fans felt aggrieved at numerous decisions from Hallam. It seemed the referee was giving a poor decision to rectify his previous poor decision.

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy had a great chance to restore his side's lead. A cut-back from Tyreece John-Jules found the attacker who scuffed his shot, which allowed Norris to tip the slow shot past his post.

Sonny Bradley should've done better when his free header was smashed high and wide from a cross that was neatly worked by Cameron Humphreys.

In stoppage time, Wycombe had a golden chance to win the game when Gideon Kodua's incisive pass found Beryly Lubala in the box. He smashed the ball across the face of goal, but it was just behind the arriving Onyedinma.

That would prove to be the final chance of the match, as the referee brought the contest to a close. Wycombe stayed second in League One with Crawley rising to 21st, three points from safety.

Crawley Town

J. Wollacott - 7

B. Radcliffe - 6

D. Conroy - 7

C. Barker - 6

H. Forster - 6

W. Swan - 7 (L. Fraser 46'(6))

M. Anderson - 6 (A. Adeyemo 77'(6))

B. Ibrahim - 6

K. Doyle - 7 (A. Quitrna 84'(6))

R. Hepburn-Murphy - 7 (R. Feely 91'(6))

T. John-Jules - 7 (T. Showumni 84'(6))

Unused substitutes: G. Holohan

Wycombe Wanderers

W. Norris - 6

D. Harvie - 6

S. Bradley - 6

J. Low - 6

D. Skura - 7

J. Scowen - 6

L. Leahy - 6 (X. Simon 85' (7))

C. Humphreys - 6 (B. Lubala 76' (6))

F. Onyedinma - 6

G. McCleary - 6 (G. Kodua 85' (6))

D. Udoh - 8 (S. Vokes 90' (6))

Unused substitutes: F. Ravizzoli, T. Bakinson, C. Taylor

Match attendance

There were 4330 fans present at Broadfield Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Rob Elliot happy with Crawley Town's well-earned point

Speaking to the press after the match, Crawley boss Rob Elliot said: “We are all about results at this stage, and we are looking for wins, but I’m happy with this point.

“There are a few issues in the squad with injuries, but we are overcoming them.

“We were against a quality side and they scared us a couple of times as well as being difficult to break down.”

Mike Dodds disappointed not to secure first Wycombe win

Wycombe head coach Mike Dodds is still waiting for his first victory in charge of the Chairboys, and post-Crawley draw he said: “There is a level of disappointment as we know what the objective is, but this might be a big point come the end of the season.

“We could have had more control in the game as it was fast and frantic, but Crawley is never an easy place to come. Wrexham won there with a last-minute goal and Birmingham’s winner was a late one as well.