Keith Keane has accused Fleetwood of “clutching at straws” after claiming they were robbed by a dubious goal.

The visitors felt Izale McLeod used his arms to control Jimmy Smith’s pass before lifting the ball past Chris Maxwell to secure all three points for Crawley.

Fleetwood boss Graham Alexander said McLeod had “virtually caught” the ball but was wary of criticising referee Brendan Malone too much for fear of reprisal.

But on-loan midfielder Keane saw nothing wrong with McLeod’s goal and even claimed the Reds striker was unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty in the first half.

Keane said: “I think they are clutching at straws and we would probably be doing the same if we had lost.

“From what I saw the ref got the right decision but we perhaps should have had a penalty in the first half when he (Pond) went through Izale in the back.”