Proud Crawley Town manager Rob Elliot after stunning win at Charlton Athletic

SussexWorld

Crawley Town won 2-1 at Charlton Athletic in League One thanks to goals from Tola Showunmi and Max Anderson. Here is Rob Elliot's full post-match press conference

Transcript

00:00Rob, congratulations. Your side have just won at the Valley. What do you make of that performance?

00:05It's our side, Sal. It's our side.

00:08No, it was brilliant. I mean, it's always going to be tough because of the way Cholton are.

00:12They're direct and they're physical and they put the ball in the box from everywhere.

00:15We had to stand up to it and obviously, on paper, losing Toby with the suspension,

00:19you'd think our biggest, most dominant centre-half, but the lads stood up to it so well.

00:22Switched off once, conceded a really poor goal, but the reaction to come back from that,

00:27that was my proudest thing today. I think maybe before we might have thought it,

00:31but we didn't and we stood up to it and we went on to win the game.

00:34I think that's fair play to Louis. He was on the side and he wanted to be really proactive with the substitutions

00:39and he was and I think that helped us win the game. Rushy and Ty and Rosie and Brad coming on,

00:45they helped to stem the flow and they also gave us that attacking option.

00:48Really, really pleased. Really, really proud. Really, so pleased for the club.

00:51You can see what it meant. It was incredible, the amount of fans we had on a Tuesday night

00:55and the noise at the end. It was fantastic and never get too high. It's one win, which is great,

00:59but we need to get ready for Stevenage now. But as a club, we've got to enjoy those moments

01:03because that's what everyone's done over the last two and a half years, to come to a place like this and enjoy those times.

01:08Yes, it's so often seen in football, isn't it?

01:10There's, I think, over 10,000 here tonight. Pull it back to one all out of nowhere.

01:14All of a sudden, the momentum completely shifts onto the home team.

01:17It's very loud here at the Valley this evening, but credit to the lads.

01:20Unbelievable character to sort of turn it around and Max with a poachers finish as well.

01:24Yes, do you know what? I think Max is an attacking player and he's probably played deeper,

01:28but I think he's got a great instinct. He receives the ball so well in tight areas

01:31and I really like to see him higher up the pitch, but he's doing a job for us at the moment.

01:35Again, I'll go through everyone, but I can't, but they were just all exceptional.

01:39From Tollers, brilliance, individual. I mean, we'll remember that for a long time.

01:43And then obviously the build-up to the goal, it's not just the finish,

01:45but it's the actual whole goal from start to finish, from what I can remember anyway,

01:49was just tremendous play and I think that's the thing.

01:52We have to have that bravery to play for the team, to be aggressive.

01:54You know it might go wrong and that's fine, but to come to the Valley,

01:5710,000 plus people, ex-Premier League club, my home club,

02:00I know how important the football is to the fans here and how hard it is to come here and win.

02:06So to do that just tops off a great night.

02:08But all eyes on Stevenage now, recovery, rest, look at ourselves,

02:13what can we do better, what have we done well and continue from there.

02:16The players of this side are growing game by game, aren't they?

02:19I mean, you can probably go through the whole of them,

02:21that was probably Benjamin's best game in a career shirt,

02:23Paton's grown in confidence with every game.

02:25You can see Swanee's thriving with having Tyler up there with him.

02:28This is a side that is growing and starting to show what they're really capable of, isn't it?

02:31100% and I think it's not just the team, it's the squad game.

02:35Like you mentioned there, lads who maybe, you know, Brad would be disappointed at the start,

02:38but he's come on and helped us win the game.

02:40Benji's been in and out and he's adapting to English football,

02:42he's adapting to English life and he's such a great guy.

02:46And obviously Toles as well, you know, he's his first real learning.

02:49We're getting there, we're working hard and we just need to make sure that we continue that momentum.

02:53Like I said, you can get humbled in this league very quickly.

02:56So, I got a bit carried away with the fans there, which is hard not to do.

02:59But we've got to enjoy these moments because we work hard for them.

03:02We do work hard behind the scenes and I'm so pleased for the staff,

03:07not just the players, I'm pleased for the staff.

03:10People mucking in left, right and centre, Ben, the groundsman,

03:13you have been driving things down and I think that a club of our stature in this league,

03:17it takes every single person in the club and I think that's the thing I've been so pleased with.

03:21Yeah, you do have to enjoy these moments so much.

03:24But also, we have to look at the bigger picture as well.

03:26Since Northampton, where it's probably our worst performance in recent times,

03:29we're unbeaten in the league.

03:30That was at the start of, end of October.

03:32We've gone through November unbeaten in the league.

03:34Yes, obviously we lost in the FA Cup on Saturday, but we're starting to pick up some real momentum.

03:38And, you know, as we've shown in the last couple, one point will turn into threes.

03:41You know, just like the Rotherham game and tonight as well.

03:43Yeah, definitely.

03:44And that comes with belief and mentality.

03:46So the lads have the belief that they will get the results.

03:48They are able to do it.

03:49And, you know, when we come in, we had issues with scoring.

03:51We started scoring, then we had issues with conceding from set-pieces and whatnot.

03:54And we're slowly fixing that.

03:55But we just need to make sure we keep doing what we're doing because it's working.

03:59We're doing well.

04:00But let's also realise there's some very, very good teams at the top of the table,

04:04which we have to play soon.

04:05So it's going to be a completely different battle and a completely different game.

04:07But you can only win the games you're in front of you.

04:11It's a great little run.

04:12It's something to be proud of.

04:13It's something to want to hold on to and not allow to get away from us.

04:15And, yeah, I was genuinely so proud of the lads.

04:17As I said, I was a little bit emotional at 2-1 because it wasn't just because we went 2-1 up.

04:22It was because I saw a team that wanted to fight for each other, fight for the club.

04:25And that was probably my proudest moments, Ian, just for that two, three minutes.

04:29Yeah, and we spoke about it a lot over the past few weeks.

04:32And, you know, as the season's progressed, it's hard for a relatively new squad to the fan base

04:37to sort of even gel between the squad and the fans.

04:40But wins like this are going to do the world of good, aren't they?

04:42I mean, it was over 600 Crawley fans here this evening and every single player going over,

04:46giving the fist bumps, including yourself, obviously.

04:48So wins like this are going to build that relationship even more, aren't they?

04:51I think so. And, yeah, the fist bumps don't come up very often for me.

04:54But, yeah, you've got to win in Rome.

04:56But, like, no, it is. And the connection with the club has been brilliant.

04:59And I think the one thing we're starting to see now, and I think the reason probably the fans,

05:01and the results are coming, by the way,

05:03but also the fans can get behind these teams because the work rate is immense and it's proper.

05:09And I think if you've given everything, if you fall short

05:12because your quality isn't there or another team's better than you, like Saturday,

05:14because Lincoln were better than us Saturday, you can accept that.

05:17As much as it's disappointing, you regroup, you go again.

05:20And then we come into Chorlton and we do the exact same thing, probably with a bit more

05:23Nelson, you know, we've had a few players back in the squad to help and you get a victory.

05:27So it's about staying consistent and not getting carried away.

05:30It's also about making sure that when we're on the pitch, we give absolutely everything.

05:33We push ourselves to the limit and we tag out when someone needs to come on.

05:36And I think we did that really well today as a squad and as a group.

05:39Perfect. Mark?

05:40Yeah, I heard sitting up there, you could hear the frustration within the Chorlton fans.

05:45Do you think that was down to your side's performance and how you frustrated them

05:49and sort of tempered Chorlton's performance?

05:52Yeah, look, I think obviously whatever's happening with Chorlton at the moment,

05:56the fans and the frustrations, it's not really our business or my business, especially.

06:00But I think, yeah, when you come to places like this, you know, big crowds, big clubs

06:03and you can get the crowd sort of frustrated.

06:06You know, you're doing something right.

06:08And I think that's what we did well.

06:09And I think we need to make sure that when we are in these occasions again,

06:12you know, the Birminghams, the Boltons, the Blackpool, all the big clubs.

06:17We need to take that and understand if you can stay in the game for the first 10, 15 minutes,

06:21which we did really well.

06:23It was very direct and we got through the first 10, 15,

06:25then the game set was down and then we got into it.

06:27So, no, I think it's a learning curve for us to understand how to win at places like this

06:31because Reading, we were excellent, but didn't win.

06:34And then tonight we've learnt from that and adapted again, evolved again.

06:37So, yeah, really pleased.

06:39Yeah, and although there was a lot of bombardment at times from Chorlton,

06:43Jojo didn't have a lot to do, did he really?

06:45And the defence, I thought, were absolutely magnificent tonight.

06:48Tremendous to a man and Jojo as well, organising in start positions

06:51and his decisions with his kicking, when to pass, when to go longer.

06:55And, yeah, and I think for all that, probably all the areas the ball was in,

07:00it was never too clean.

07:01It was always second balls, balls dropping down, but that's what Chorlton do

07:03and that's what they're very good at.

07:04And we managed to negate that really well.

07:05We got to put our bodies on the line, we won headers and we put our foot in.

07:09I think we could have probably been a bit more physical at times

07:11and I think that will come with belief.

07:12We're physically better than we realise.

07:15But, yeah, overall, I think the way we turned the ball over when the ball did break

07:18and we made good passes and we played through the lines,

07:20that was so pleasing because it can't always be clean against a team like Chorlton

07:23when they go man for man.

07:24When the ball breaks and transition and we play forward quick,

07:27we get runners and then we get our combinations.

07:28We transitioned from the edge of our box to the edge of theirs

07:32within three or four passes and that was just good play and winning us the run.

07:35Yeah, and how did that feel at the end?

07:38It's the first time we've seen that sort of proper big celebration from you

07:41with the Crawley fans.

07:42How did that feel?

07:43Yeah, it's weird I'm doing it at Chorlton, so it's a bit weird for me.

07:47Obviously, I wouldn't mean to have any offence to the Chorlton fans,

07:50but when you see that many fans there and obviously the reaction,

07:53and even when we were 1-1 down, I thought the big thing for me,

07:56I looked over, the fans were singing for the team because they knew

07:58there was one lapse and it was always going to happen,

08:00but they galvanised us and we went again.

08:02And I think when you've got the fans and the players that are willing to work for each other

08:06and for the club and back each other in tough times,

08:09that's when you do have nights like this because it could have easily gone 1-1, 2-1.

08:12It could have been a, oh, we did okay and then lost

08:14and maybe we would have done previously, but now we've learnt from it

08:17and we've got there to the point where we go on and we get the win

08:19and not just settle for the draw, we go and get the win.

08:21Brilliant. Good luck Saturday.

08:22Cheers.

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