New Crawley boss Rob Elliot had no doubt Josh Flint’s 56th-minute sending-off had a huge bearing on his side’s 5-3 home defeat by Shrewsbury.
The central defender picked up his second booking for holding back George Lloyd, but the Red Devils went 2-1 ahead six minutes later when Armando Quitirna scored his fourth league goal of the season.
Crawley had fought back well after John Marquis’ opener, and Will Swan opened his account for the Reds before the break.
However, it was to go badly wrong for Crawley and Elliot, in his first home league game.
After Quitirna had put the hosts ahead, Toto Nsiala made it 2-2 before a second from Marquis from the spot and Lloyd’s brace put Shrewsbury out of sight ahead of substitute Jeremy Kelly’s third for Crawley in stoppage time.
Former Gateshead boss Elliot, who has taken over the Crawley hotseat from Scott Lindsey, said: “The sending-off changed the whole momentum of the game, and Shrewsbury made it difficult for us by getting the ball wide and getting crosses into the box.”
Crawley have now lost their last five league games, their worst run for 19 months, and Elliot acknowledges it is a tough start for him.
He added: “It is one of the toughest League Ones for some time, but I’ve seen more than enough in the squad to make me think we’ll be OK.
“Up until the sending-off we were the better team; the positives are that we are scoring goals and we need to do better at the other end.”
Poor travellers Shrewsbury clinched only their second league win of the season with their first success on the road for seven months.
Manager Paul Hurst said: “There’s still a long way to go. I’m delighted with the win of course but there is still a lot we need to sort out.
“In the end I thought we were worthy winners – but 5-3? I would much prefer a 1-0 win with a sharp performance.
“I know it’s not so entertaining to the people, but we’ve got to find a way to take pressure off the defence and stop giving goals away. Overall we are happy, but not everything is right – not by any means.”
Hurst praised much-travelled striker Marquis for his attitude having battled his way back into the side.
He added: “Marquis hasn’t started all the games and has been a bit frustrated. But he’s kept the attitude right to get back in the side.
“As I’ve told him, sulking is no good to the rest of the team.”
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