Sam Surridge claims late winner as managerless Crawley suffer Oldham defeat

Posted Sunday, September 02, 2018 by PA

Managerless Crawley ended a turbulent week by slipping to a late 2-1 defeat at Oldham.

One day after losing boss Harry Kewell to Notts County, the Reds were denied a point by Sam Surridge’s 89th-minute strike as Latics extended their unbeaten run to five league games and moved up to sixth.

Senior players Jimmy Smith and Filipe Morais took charge at Boundary Park, with both included in the starting line-up.

But Oldham went ahead in the eighth minute when Rob Hunt crossed from the left and Gevaro Nepomuceno slotted in comfortably from close range.

Crawley pulled level midway through the first half as Ollie Palmer’s wicked ball into the six-yard box was palmed out to Dannie Bulman, who tapped home.

The visitors wasted a golden chance after 34 minutes when Ashley Nathaniel-George was tripped by Sam Graham and – from the resulting penalty – Palmer’s weak kick was saved by Daniel Iversen.

Oldham’s Callum Lang brought a sharp save from Glenn Morris as the hosts pushed for a winner.

The Crawley resistance was finally broken when Sam Edmundson’s cross was forced in at the far post by a combination of Surridge and defender Mark Connolly.