'So proud' - Crawley Town boss emphatically praises his side after defeat at MK Dons

Reds dominated the game with 58% possession and had 10 shots on goal, but only three were on target. And goals from Joe Tomlinson and Alex Gilbey – which was disputed because of a foul in the build up – punished them.

But Lindsey was pleased with the performance. “I thought we were outstanding tonight,” he said. “We played so, so well. The effort the lads put in was incredible. We have had illness throughout the camp. The coaching staff have been ill. Nick Tsaroulla was prepared to play but fell ill and didn’t travel so we had to make changes.

“But the effort they put in tonight was outstanding, the way we passed the ball, the way we pressed. We get into that final third and it’s just that last bit where we can definitely improve on.”

He added: “We weren’t aggressive enough in the last action and I want us to learn from that and we will. We are a young side, we are a new team. I am so porous of how we are, it's just that last bit to get right.

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"We got into that final area brilliantly, but sometimes we try and walk the ball over the line. I think we can pull the trigger, shoot and if the keeper spills it then someone could be there to tap it in. I think we can be more aggressive when we get in there, but getting in there is brilliant. The desire the payers showed to keep getting in there and passing the way we did was outstanding and I am so proud of the players and how we attacked this game tonight. We deserved far more than we got.”

And when asked about a possible foul in the build-up to second goal, Lindsey said: “There’s a definite foul in the build-up. It’s so clear it’s untrue and I am really angry at the officials the way that final part of the game went, there was no need for it to get like that.”

Although disappointed with the result, Lindsey was not too downbeat about where the Reds are. He said: “We are in a great position still and all the fans should be really proud of what they saw tonight. We are five points off the play-offs at this time of the season, brilliant. We need to dust ourselves down and be ready for what’s going to be a big game on New Year’s Day.