SUBSTITUTE Lewis Killeen saved team-mate Thomas Pinault’s blushes as gutsy Crawley rescued a deserved point in a thriller at Kitkat Crescent yesterday.

Reds appeared to be heading for a fourth defeat in their last five league games when Onomo Sodje struck twice to give York a 2-0 lead.

But Adam Quinn headed one back and Reds were rewarded for almost constant second-half pressure when the quick-thinking Killeen fired in the rebound after Pinault had seen his 89th-minure penalty blocked by York goalkeeper Michael Ingham.

It was no more than Crawley deserved and with a bit more composure in front of goal they might easily have collected three points.

It was Killeen’s first goal since September 2 and the midfielder felt justice had been done.

He said: “It’s a good point for us after being 2-0 down and we might have sneaked a win in the end.

“We took the game to them for most of the 90 minutes but we had to dig in after conceding two sloppy goals and I was delighted to get the equaliser.

“When the penalty rebounded off the keeper it came out quite quickly but I took my time and it was great to see it go in the corner. We dominated for a lot of the game and it was just rewards in the end.”

York had been quicker out of the blocks though and their front two combined to give them the perfect start.

Sodje exchanged passes with veteran Bruce Dyer on the edge of the box before beating Simon Rayner with a right-foot shot from 12 yards which the back-pedalling Jake Wright could not keep out on the line.

Crawley’s sluggish start was hardly a surprise. Motorway hold-ups delayed their arrival until 35 minutes before kick-off and shortened their pre-match warm-up.

Despite their modest position in the table, York have a decent defensive record and although the visitors began to dominate they struggled to create clear-cut chances in the first period.

Quinn was furious with himself when he got onto Simon Weatherstone’s free-kick but failed to direct his free header on target and their best first-half opening came on 33 minutes when Jon-Paul Pittman robbed right-back Michael Purkiss and picked out Jamie Cook in the penalty area.

But just as Cook was about to pull the trigger Mark Greaves arrived from nowhere to produce a superb interception at the expense of a corner.

Evans sent his side out several minutes early for the second half but Crawley's bright opening counted for nothing when York sliced them open to double their lead on 48 minutes.

Midfielder Simon Rusk surged into the left-hand side of the box and picked out Dyer who could have had a shot but opted instead to square the ball to Sodje who gave Rayner no chance with a side-foot finish from the edge of the six-yard box.

But conceding the goal seemed to give Crawley fresh impetus and they had pulled one back within five minutes.

Quinn again rose highest in the box to meet Glenn Wilson’s free-kick but this time he directed it on target despite the efforts of Andy McWilliams on the line to register his fifth goal of the season.

It changed the complexion of the contest with Evans making an attacking substitution straight away when Steve Fletcher replaced the ineffectual Michael Malcolm.

Fletcher’s first touch was a powerful header which went just wide and then Cook’s powerful drive from 20 yards flew inches wide.

Killeen was brought on midway through the half and Crawley switched to 4-4-2 with Fletcher alongside Cook.

The York goal was under siege in the closing stages and Wright thought he had equalised only for his strike to be ruled out for offside.

Then Fletcher flicked on Weatherstone’s free-kick to find Killeen but Ingham reacted quickly to save bravely at his feet.

It looked as if Crawley’s incessant pressure would come to nothing but they finally got a break in the last minute of normal time.

Danny Forrest was sent sprawling by McWilliams’challenge and although the referee was a long way from the incident he pointed to the spot.

Pinault rammed the penalty down the middle of the goal and Ingham blocked but Killeen reacted first to the rebound to fire a right-foot shot into the bottom corner for his third goal of the season.

York City: Ingham, Purkiss, McGurk, Parslow, Sodje, Greaves. Hogg, Rusk, Shepherd (sub: Brodie 62), McWilliams, Dyer (Farrell 75). Subs not used: Robinson, Kelly, Mimms.

Booking: Brodie (foul).

Crawley: Rayner 6, Wilson 6, Quinn 7, Giles 7, Wright 7, Bulman 6, Pinault 6, Weatherstone 6, Malcolm (sub: Fletcher 57 5) 4, Pittman (Killeen 67 6) 5, Cook (Forrest 76) 6. Subs not used: Carter, Dayton.

Booking: Wilson (foul).

Referee: Peter Quinn Attendance: 1,935 (64 Crawley).