United were defeated by high flying Crawley this afternoon despite taking the lead through a Yemi Odubade penalty. Two goals in five minutes from Jon Paul Pittman and old boy Jamie Cook before the break condemned the U's to their second home reverse of the season.

A brave selection saw Billy Turley back in goal and Phil Trainer starting for the first time this season in a 4-3-3 formation with Trainer and Lewis Haldane asked to join Yemi Odubade up front whenever possible. It took a time to settle, with one time United target Thomas Pinault forcing Turley into an early save at his near post before United's first attack saw Yemi head a Haldane cross against the bar and then see his follow up also tipped onto the bar by Crawley keeper Simon Rayner.

The unwritten law that former United players always score was almost demonstrated on ten minutes as  Cook headed down and forced Turley into another save, but a great move on fourteen minutes ended with Adam Murray fizzing a low cross right to left but just beyond the fast closing strikers. A goal was coming, even if you weren't sure which end, and on sixteen minutes it was the U's who got it. Barry Quinn curled a great ball from right back which saw Odubade in a race with Jake Wright;. Wright did all he could but it was like watching the last 100 metres of a cycling sprint, with only one likely winner. Odubade got his body in front of Wright, was brought down, and then very calmly planted the penalty past Rayner for his second goal of the season, his second goal in successive home games.

Turley will have been enormously frustrated that his shoulder was fine, but he injured his groin inside the first fifteen minutes and finally admitted defeat on 27, with Ben Hinchliffe replacing him after a ridiculously long delay before the ball was put out of play. The young keeper looked just as comfortable as Turley had done, but on 37 minutes was left helpless as Crawley drew level with a fine goal. Cook turned on half way and drove forward, releasing the ball to his right with perfect timing. Jon Paul Pittman had run into space intelligently and had bags of room, but the quality of the strike was undeniable as he drove the ball fiercely home from 25 yards to make it 1-1.

United needed to stand firm until half time at least, but within three minutes were breached again. A free kick was battered away for a corner but the subsequent dead ball was headed powerfully at goal by Adam Quinn from fifteen yards. Murray performed miracles to keep the ball out at the right hand post, but typically of United's luck the ball looped up perfectly for Cook to nod into the empty net and make it 2-1.

Crawley are a neat passing side and were playing with the confidence that comes with  being top of the table and United had been second best for much of the opening period. Paul Evans had struggled to make his mark on the game and was replaced by Jamie Guy at the break, but it was Odubade's pace that remained the main threat, as demonstrated on 54 minutes when only a great challenge by Wright denied him an equaliser as he broke away.

Young Sam Deering became the third sub of the afternoon just before the hour mark, bringing his usual exuberance, and the fans tried their best with the loudest left side/right side singing since we left the stand of that name*, but things weren't clicking in the final third of the pitch for the U's as Crawley took the sting out of the game.

A Trainer header from a Deering free kick on 77 flashed narrowly wide, Wright denied Odubade with a superb block at the near post from another Deering cross on 80 and the fans did  everything they could to inspire their team. In fairness to the players nobody shirked the work required, nobody hid from the ball, but the final pass just wasn't there and Rayner wasn't extended throughout the second half despite plenty of possession for the men in yellow.

No hiding; a poor result albeit against a decent Crawley side.

Att:3,992

Away: 152

* At the risk of upsetting half our readership, the left side just shaded it