CRAWLEY v MORECAMBE – Pick: 1 AH-1 – 22 February 2012

Red Devils to put Shrimpers to test

League One/Two Tips

League Two

Wednesday 22nd February 2012 – Kickoff:  1945hrs

Following losses to Swindon Town in their last League Two match and against Premiership Stoke City in the FA Cup at the weekend, Crawley Town will be looking to bounce back with a win when they entertain mid-table Morecambe on Wednesday night.

The loss at Swindon ended a five match unbeaten run and temporarily halted their progress into the play-off places, but they have the chance to make up for lost ground and indeed could go fourth if they grab all three points in this one. Crawley’s home record stands at  11-1-2  33/13, and along with Shrewsbury Town, have won the most home matches in League Two.

The Red Devils also saw off Cheltenham Town 4-2 in their last home match which pegged back the automatic promotion hopefuls and it’s just the one loss in their last ten at home which was a surprise defeat to Gillingham on Boxing Day, but aside from that they’ve racked up eight straight wins including victories over Shrewsbury, Oxford United, Burton Albion and of course Cheltenham.

Despite losing Matt Tubbs to Bournemouth, Tyrone Barnett has carried on on his merry way scoring goals for fun and they are a hard unit to break on home soil.

Morecambe make the trip south on the back of just one win in their alst six which was a home win over lowly Macclesfield Town last week. And it’s just one win in their last seven away from home with a rare win at Crewe back in early January, and things don’t look too good for them when you look at previous recent matches at top seven opposition; losses at Swindon Town 0-3 and Shrewsbury Town 0-2 could be a bad omen for The Shrimpers at Crawley.

Their away record stands at  6-6-3  22/16, but most of their wins have been at teams around them in the league with the exception of Cheltenham back in mid-August of last year.

Kevin Ellison (11 goals) and Danny Carlton (7 goals, 5 assists) are the main threats, but the Lancashire outfit have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven on the road and have really lost their way since the turn of the new year.

I have to go for a Crawley win here in this one and I’ll back them to cover the handicap as they must get back to winning ways sooner rather than later and make up lost ground; a 2-0 home win for the Red Devils.

Pick:  Crawley Town AH-1 @ 1.72 Pinnacle