Players’ performance and lady luck were vital in Crawley’s victory, manager Saunders says

The manager was able to call on fit-again pair Darren Ward and Josh Simpson, who both played key roles in the six-pointer.

The boss said: “It’s all about the players really - as coaches we can organise the team and motivate them but if key players are missing you’re in trouble.

“If Darren Ward hadn’t played today, we might have got beat.

“With Josh Simpson I took a bit of a chance - he gave us some energy in the middle of the pitch.”

But Saunders reserved the most praise on the day for departing midfielder Anthony Wordsworth.

The creative playmaker made his last appearance for the club before the end of his loan spell and return to Ipswich Town.

Saunders said: “If we manage to stay up, he (Wordsworth) has played a massive part in it.

“He’s scored some really crucial goals for us and I think he’s probably had 10 or 12 assists.

“He’s a class player and it’s disappointing we are going to lose him for the last two games.”

Lady luck was on Crawley’s side when defender Kelly Youga netted from an acrobatic overhead kick, Saunders added.

He said: “Kelly scoring that overhead kick is luck - he’s never done that. It was a great goal but I’ve never seen him do that!

“We used the conditions, the wind was blowing down the pitch so Anthony Wordsworth’s delivery into the box was good and we got 2-0 up.”