# 2021–22 Crawley Town F.C. season

The 2021–22 season is Crawley Town's 126th year in their history and seventh consecutive season in League Two. Along with the league, the club will also compete in the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy. The season covers the period from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

## Background and pre-season
### Pre-season

Crawley Town announced they would play friendly matches against Walton Casuals, Horley Town, Burgess Hill Town, Three Bridges, Horsham, Southampton U23s, East Grinstead Town, West Ham United U23, Tottenham Hotspur U23 and Beckenham Town as part of their pre-season preparations. However, the scheduled fixture against Southampton U23s was later confirmed as cancelled.
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 6 July 2021 | 19:45 | Walton Casuals | Away | 3–0 | Trialist, Nichols (2, 1 pen.) | |
| 10 July 2021 | 15:00 | Horley Town | Away | 6–1 | Nadesan, o.g., Matthews, Trialist (Battle) (3) | |
| 13 July 2021 | 19:30 | Burgess Hill Town | Away | 1–1 | Hessenthaler 27' | |
| 16 July 2021 | 19:00 | Three Bridges | Away | 1–0 | Rodari 26' | 350 |
| 17 July 2021 | 15:00 | Horsham | Away | 5–0 | Nichols 13', Powell 24', Matthews 45+1', Hessenthaler 60', Frost 73' | 887 |
| 24 July 2021 | 15:00 | East Grinstead Town | Away | 3–0 | Ashford, Rodari, Trialist (Battle) | |
| 26 July 2021 | 19:00 | West Ham United U23 | Home | 2–1 | Trialist (Francilette) 10', Ashford 83' | 1,478 |
| 31 July 2021 | 15:00 | Tottenham Hotspur U23 | Home | 2–1 | Nadesan, Rodari | 1,449 |
| 3 August 2021 | 19:00 | Beckenham Town | Away | 0–1 | — | |

## Review
### August

Crawley's first match was away to the previous season's National League play-off winners, Hartlepool United which they lost 1–0 after a late winner from Gavan Holohan. The club then faced League One side Gillingham in the first round of the EFL Cup and the away side went ahead in the 3rd minute after Gerald Sithole scored in "controversial circumstances". Crawley equalised in the 55th minute when Sam Ashford tapped in from close range and after a Daniel Phillips volley put the visitors ahead for the second time in stoppage time, Archie Davies equalised for the hosts on the 90+7th minute to take the match to a penalty shoot-out. Crawley lost 10–9 in the penalty shoot-out, with Crawley scoring their first nine penalties of the shoot-out before a miss from Ludwig Francillette. The match against Harrogate Town on 14 August 2021 was postponed due positive cases of COVID-19 within the Harrogate Town squad.

## Competitions
### League Two
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 9 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 53 | 40 | +13 | 75 |
| 10 | Salford City | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 60 | 46 | +14 | 70 |
| 11 | Newport County | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 67 | 58 | +9 | 69 |
| 12 | Crawley Town | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 56 | 66 | −10 | 61 |
| 13 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 62 | 47 | +15 | 58 |
| 14 | Bradford City | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 53 | 55 | −2 | 58 |
| 15 | Colchester United | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 48 | 60 | −12 | 55 |

#### Matches

Crawley Town's fixtures were released on 24 June 2021.
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 7 August 2021 | 15:00 | Hartlepool United | Away | 0–1 | — | 5,184 | 20th |
| 17 August 2021 | 19:45 | Salford City | Home | 2–1 | Nadesan 38', Hessenthaler 75' | 2,167 | 13th |
| 21 August 2021 | 15:00 | Forest Green Rovers | Away | 3–6 | Hessenthaler 14', 30', Appiah 86' | 1,922 | 19th |
| 28 August 2021 | 15:00 | Northampton Town | Home | 0–0 | — | 2,254 | 20th |
| 4 September 2021 | 15:00 | Bristol Rovers | Away | 0–1 | — | 6,513 | 22nd |
| 11 September 2021 | 15:00 | Carlisle United | Home | 2–1 | Nichols 32', Tsaroulla 90' | 2,151 | 19th |
| 18 September 2021 | 15:00 | Colchester United | Away | 1–0 | Payne 22' | 2,640 | 14th |
| 21 September 2021 | 19:45 | Harrogate Town | Home | 2–2 | Lynch 42', Ashford 45+1' | 1,791 | 12th |
| 25 September 2021 | 15:00 | Bradford City | Home | 2–1 | Ferry 39', Tsaroulla 73' | 2,435 | 8th |
| 2 October 2021 | 15:00 | Tranmere Rovers | Away | 1–2 | Appiah 64' | 6,046 | 14th |
| 9 October 2021 | 15:00 | Rochdale | Away | 1–0 | Appiah 14' | 2,268 | 9th |
| 16 October 2021 | 15:00 | Sutton United | Home | 0–1 | — | 3,572 | 12th |
| 19 October 2021 | 19:45 | Exeter City | Home | 1–3 | Appiah 31' | 1,960 | 14th |
| 23 October 2021 | 15:00 | Scunthorpe United | Away | 1–2 | Appiah 73' | 2,112 | 16th |
| 30 October 2021 | 15:00 | Port Vale | Home | 1–4 | Appiah 44' | 2,234 | 18th |
| 20 November 2021 | 15:00 | Barrow | Away | 1–0 | Tilley 56' | 3,429 | 18th |
| 23 November 2021 | 19:45 | Newport County | Home | 1–1 | Appiah 55' | 1,483 | 19th |
| 27 November 2021 | 15:00 | Mansfield Town | Home | 1–2 | Tilley 48' | 1,824 | 18th |
| 7 December 2021 | 19:45 | Walsall | Away | 1–1 | Nichols 45+1' | 3,609 | 18th |
| 11 December 2021 | 15:00 | Leyton Orient | Away | 2–1 | Francomb 32', Appiah 66' | 5,142 | 16th |
| 1 January 2022 | 15:00 | Colchester United | Home | 3–1 | Nadesan (2) 15', 55', Lynch 37' | 2,022 | 14th |
| 8 January 2022 | 15:00 | Northampton Town | Away | 1–0 | Nichols 41' | 4,714 | 11th |
| 15 January 2022 | 15:00 | Carlisle United | Away | 1–1 | Nadesan 25' | 4,350 | 11th |
| 18 January 2022 | 19:45 | Stevenage | Away | 1–2 | Nichols 45+1' | 1,942 | 12th |
| 22 January 2022 | 15:00 | Tranmere Rovers | Home | 0–1 | — | — | 14th |
| 29 January 2022 | 15:00 | Bradford City | Away | 2–1 | Nichols 71', Craig 90+5' | 14,623 | 13th |
| 1 February 2022 | 19:45 | Swindon Town | Away | 1–1 | Powell 41' (pen.) | 7,306 | 14th |
| 5 February 2022 | 15:00 | Stevenage | Home | 2–2 | Nichols (2) 34', 46' | 2,214 | 14th |
| 8 February 2022 | 15:00 | Harrogate Town | Away | 3–1 | Oteh 48', Tsaroulla 79', Nichols 84' | 1,785 | 12th |
| 12 February 2022 | 15:00 | Hartlepool United | Home | 0–1 | — | 2,228 | 12th |
| 26 February 2022 | 15:00 | Forest Green Rovers | Home | 2–1 | Nadesan 24', Tunnicliffe 32' | 2,086 | 13th |
| 1 March 2022 | 19:45 | Oldham Athletic | Home | 2–2 | Nadesan (2) 58', 61' | — | 12th |
| 5 March 2022 | 15:00 | Scunthorpe United | Home | 0–0 | — | 2,144 | 13th |
| 8 March 2022 | 19:45 | Bristol Rovers | Home | 1–2 | Hessenthaler 69' | 2,223 | 13th |
| 12 March 2022 | 15:00 | Port Vale | Away | 1–4 | Smith 9' (o.g.) | 5,131 | 13th |
| 15 March 2022 | 19:45 | Exeter City | Away | 1–2 | Appiah 45+6' | 4,042 | 15th |
| 19 March 2022 | 15:00 | Swindon Town | Home | 3–1 | Appiah 29', Nichols 72', Hutchinson 90+1' | 2,977 | 13th |
| 26 March 2022 | 15:00 | Rochdale | Home | 1–0 | Nadesan 18' | 2,164 | 12th |
| 29 March 2022 | 19:45 | Salford City | Away | 1–2 | Nichols 82' | 1,290 | 13th |
| 9 April 2022 | 15:00 | Barrow | Home | 1–0 | Appiah 57' | 2,081 | 12th |
| 15 April 2022 | 15:00 | Newport County | Away | 2–1 | Nadesan 15', Francillette 21' | 5,137 | 12th |
| 18 April 2022 | 15:00 | Walsall | Home | 1–0 | Hutchinson 69' | 2,258 | 12th |
| 23 April 2022 | 15:00 | Mansfield Town | Away | 0–2 | — | 5,022 | 12th |
| 27 April 2022 | 19:45 | Sutton United | Away | 0–3 | — | 3,109 | 12th |
| 30 April 2022 | 15:00 | Leyton Orient | Home | 0–2 | — | 3,372 | 12th |
| 7 May 2022 | 15:00 | Oldham Athletic | Away | 3–3 | Francomb 39', Tilley 44', Oteh 69' | 4,591 | 12th |

### FA Cup

Crawley were drawn at home to Tranmere Rovers in the first round.
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Round | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| 6 November 2021 | First round | 15:00 | Tranmere Rovers | Home | 0–1 | — | 1,765 | |

### EFL Cup

Crawley were drawn at home to Gillingham in the first round.
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Round | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| 10 August 2021 | First round | 19:30 | Gillingham | Home | 2–2 (9–10 p) | Ashford 55', Davies 90+7' | 1,904 | |

### EFL Trophy

| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Leyton Orient | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Charlton Athletic | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Southampton U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Crawley Town | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | −13 | 0 | |
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 31 August 2021 | 19:00 | Charlton Athletic | Away | 1–6 | Appiah 75' (pen.) | 1,404 |
| 5 October 2021 | 19:00 | Leyton Orient | Home | 0–4 | — | 810 |
| 9 November 2021 | 19:00 | Southampton U21 | Home | 0–4 | — | 385 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | Previous club | Fee |
| 1 July 2021 | DF | Owen Gallacher | (Burton Albion) | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | MF | Jack Payne | Eastleigh | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2021 | DF | Harry Ransom | (Millwall) | Free transfer |
| 5 August 2021 | DF | Ludwig Francillette | (Newcastle United) | Free transfer |
| 16 August 2021 | FW | Kwesi Appiah | (NorthEast United) | Free transfer |
| 4 September 2021 | FW | Alex Battle | (Truro City) | Free transfer |
| 7 September 2021 | DF | Joel Lynch | Free agent | — |
| 21 September 2021 | FW | Mark Marshall | (Northampton Town) | Free transfer |
| 2 October 2021 | GK | Dion-Curtis Henry | Hampton & Richmond Borough | Free transfer |
| 5 October 2021 | MF | Kaan Kevser-Junior | Free agent | — |
| 7 January 2022 | GK | Taylor Seymour | (Burgess Hill Town) | Free transfer |
| 3 February 2022 | CF | Aramide Oteh | (Salford City) | Free transfer |
| 26 February 2022 | FW | Ronan Silva | (Biggleswade Town) | Free transfer |

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Name | Club | Return |
| 16 July 2021 | GK | Blondy Nna Noukeu | Stoke City | End of season |
| 3 August 2021 | DF | Will Ferry | Southampton | End of season |
| 31 August 2021 | MF | Amrit Bansal-McNulty | Queens Park Rangers | 3 January 2022 |
| 12 January 2022 | CM | Caleb Watts | Southampton | End of season |
| 31 January 2022 | RM | Amrit Bansal-McNulty | Queens Park Rangers | End of season |
| 31 January 2022 | AM | Isaac Hutchinson | Derby County | End of season |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | Subsequent club | Fee |
| 1 July 2021 | MF | Tarryn Allarakhia | (Woking) | Released |
| 1 July 2021 | DF | Josh Doherty | (Barnet) | Released |
| 1 July 2021 | DF | Joe McNerney | (Woking) | Released |
| 1 July 2021 | GK | Stuart Nelson | (Dorking Wanderers) | Released |
| 1 July 2021 | DF | David Sesay | (Barnet) | Released |
| 1 July 2021 | DF | Mark Wright | | Released |
| 16 August 2021 | DF | Lewis Young | Retired | Retired |
| 3 September 2021 | MF | Josh Wright | (Billericay Town) | Mutual consent |
| 6 January 2022 | DF | Tom Dallison | Colchester United | Undisclosed |
| 29 January 2022 | CF | Sam Ashford | Ayr United | Free transfer |
| 2 April 2022 | CM | Dannie Bulman | Retired | Retired |

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Name | Club | Return |
| 12 August 2021 | DF | Emmanuel Adebowale | Havant & Waterlooville | End of season |
| 31 August 2021 | MF | James Tilley | Dorking Wanderers | 28 September 2021 |
| 14 September 2021 | DF | Harry Ransom | Dover Athletic | 3 January 2022 |
| 23 October 2021 | FW | Ricky German | Dulwich Hamlet | January 2022 |
| 5 November 2021 | MF | Zaid Al-Hussaini | Chelmsford City | December 2021 |
| 29 November 2021 | MF | Rafiq Khaleel | Kings Langley | 1 January 2022 |
| 3 December 2021 | FW | Alex Battle | East Grinstead Town | 31 December 2021 |
| 19 December 2021 | MF | Szymon Kowalczyk | East Grinstead Town | January 2022 |
| 1 February 2022 | CF | Alex Battle | Truro City | End of season |
| 1 February 2022 | AM | Rafiq Khaleel | Gosport Borough | End of season |
| 19 February 2022 | RM | Reece Grego-Cox | Barnet | End of season |
| 22 February 2022 | RM | Sam Matthews | Aldershot Town | 24 March 2022 |
| 4 March 2022 | CF | Davide Rodari | Dorking Wanderers | End of season |
| 4 March 2022 | FW | Ronan Silva | Eastleigh | End of the season |

## Appearances and goals

    Source:
    Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
    Players with names struck through and marked † left the club during the playing season.
    Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Crawley.
    Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
Players included in matchday squads :
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | League Two | League Two | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy | EFL Trophy | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Glenn Morris | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Archie Davies | 19 (14) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 22 (15) | 1 |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Owen Gallacher | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 (2) | 0 |
| 4 | MF | ENG | George Francomb | 37 (1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 (1) | 2 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Tony Craig | 32 (3) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 37 (3) | 1 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Tom Dallison † | 11 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 (1) | 0 |
| 7 | FW | IRL | Reece Grego-Cox | 2 (8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (9) | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Jack Powell | 37 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41 (1) | 1 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Tom Nichols | 35 (4) | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 (4) | 10 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Ashley Nadesan | 30 (9) | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 (9) | 9 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Tyler Frost | 9 (5) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 11 (8) | 0 |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Alex Battle | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | James Tilley | 23 (7) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 (8) | 3 |
| 15 | DF | FRA | Ludwig Francillette | 24 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 (2) | 1 |
| 18 | FW | IRL | Will Ferry * | 27 (9) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 (10) | 1 |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Jordan Tunnicliffe | 17 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 (1) | 1 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Sam Matthews | 6 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 6 (3) | 0 |
| 21 | FW | GHA | Kwesi Appiah | 17 (9) | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 1 | 18 (11) | 12 |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Sam Ashford † | 7 (5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 (5) | 2 |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Aramide Oteh | 5 (3) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (3) | 2 |
| 24 | MF | AUS | Caleb Watts * | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| 25 | DF | CYP | Nick Tsaroulla | 24 (3) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 (3) | 3 |
| 27 | MF | MAR | Rafiq Khaleel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Jack Payne | 31 (4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 (4) | 1 |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Amrit Bansal-McNulty * | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 (3) | 0 |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Kaan Kevser-Junior | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| 35 | FW | SUI | Davide Rodari | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 |
| 37 | DF | WAL | Joel Lynch | 21 (3) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 (3) | 2 |
| 38 | GK | ENG | Dion-Curtis Henry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | ENG | Jake Hessenthaler | 31 (1) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 32 (2) | 4 |
| 40 | GK | CMR | Blondy Nna Noukeu *† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 40 | MF | ENG | Isaac Hutchinson * | 11 (8) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 (8) | 2 |
| 45 | MF | JAM | Mark Marshall | 1 (17) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 2 (18) | 0 |
| 47 | MF | ENG | Florian Kastrati | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
Players not included in matchday squads :
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name |
| 13 | FW | GRN | Ricky German |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Harry Ransom |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Emmanuel Adebowale † |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Zaid Al-Hussaini |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Szymon Kowalczyk |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Alfie Jones |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Mustafa Hussein |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Henry Burnett |
| 42 | GK | ENG | Taylor Seymour |