'The most animated I've been' - Crawley Town boss left frustrated by costly decision in EFL Cup defeat to Watford
· Adam Sayer · 2026-08-08 · nguồn gốc
'The most animated I've been' - Crawley Town boss left frustrated by costly decision in EFL Cup defeat to Watford
Head coach Colin Kazim-Richards felt Crawley Town were wronged by the officials after a stoppage-time screamer condemned them to a 1-0 defeat to Watford in the first round of the EFL Cup.
The Hornets broke the visitors’ hearts with a 25-yard half volley from Marc Bola in the ninth minute of added time enough to defeat the Reds 1-0 at Vicarage Road.
But there was controversy as the decisive goal came from a throw-in that appeared to be incorrectly awarded to the hosts.
The Reds boss even revealed that the fourth official agreed the decision was incorrect before the goal went in.
Kazim-Richards told club media: “I'm a person that just speaks the truth – it was our throw. It's not been given to us.
“I think you've probably seen [me] the most animated I've been because I just felt like the team needed me to give some energy as well, as much as they were doing because they were given a lot.”
And to BBC Radio Sussex, he added: “I'm not going to go on with excuses, but it was our throw. But still, we have to deal with that after the throw.
"And that's the way football is – you get bad decisions, or you get people that make mistakes. They're human, but we have to deal with it after.
“I haven't seen the goal back yet, could we have got pressure more on the ball after we've blocked? But it's the 99th minute, – you don't expect him to be able to do that in the 99th minute.”
Kazim-Richards’ side put in a determined defensive performance, and it needed something sublime to beat formidable goalkeeper Vito Mannone.
The Reds boss acknowledged there is ‘nothing you can do’ to stop a strike of the sheer quality that Bola’s possessed.
He told BBC Radio Sussex: “He never hits it like that again with his weaker foot. He's a good player – if you ask him again to do it 10 times in a row, I don't think he hits once.
“It's one of those things. If it was a sloppy goal, trust me, I'd be here and I'd be absolutely fuming. Vito's made how many saves today? Their keeper's made how many saves?
"It was just one of those games. It was going to take one of those for someone to win or it was going to pens.”
Crawley are finally back in League Two action on Saturday, August 15 when they host Crewe Alexandra at the Broadfield Stadium, with kick-off at 3pm.