Pinault on song as Reds rediscover their rhythm

They might not reach those lofty heights again but after returning to the play-off places for the first time in a month Reds will stay there if they can maintain the performance levels which swept aside Altrincham.

The confidence engendered by two good away results was evident from the start and the outcome never seriously in doubt after Lewis Killeen’s second-minute opener.

With a 3-0 lead, it was hardly surprising that there wasn’t quite the same intensity in Crawley’s second-half performance.

It was hard to fault any player in a red shirt, but two stood out.

When Thomas Pinault plays well Crawley invariably do too and the French midfielder, back after a one-match ban, orchestrated the clinical dissection of a wobbly Altrincham defence.

True, he was given too much time and space but it was still hard to remember him not finding his intended target with a pass in a first half which he capped with a superbly-taken volley just before the break.

And it was encouraging to see wideman Mikey Malcolm finally produce the sort of performance which alerted Steve Evans and a host of rival managers when Weymouth made him available.

He created two goals, could have scored himself and was still as full of running in the last minute as he had been in the first.

“Mikey’s got that in his locker – it is why we brought him to the club,” said assistant boss Paul Raynor afterwards. “He was tremendous going forward but he worked hard defensively too.

“As for Thomas, he has always had ability. You don’t play more than 200 League games without it but he has added a physical and hard-working element to his game this season. He doesn’t particularly like that side of the game but it does create space for himself and others.”

A second successive clean sheet will have pleased the management too. Altrincham carried a threat on the counter-attack but they spent most of the game fighting fires at the other end as Reds took control, particularly in midfield, and never looked like relinquishing it.

All of the visitors’ careful planning went out of the window after just two minutes when Andy Ralph, under pressure from team-mate Mark McGregor, dropped Malcolm’s looping right-wing cross and Killeen buried his fourth of the season from close range.

Crawley never looked back. Malcolm created the second as well on 28 minutes with a cross to the far post where Jamie Cook ended a nine-match goal drought with a volley from the tightest of angles.

That was a quality finish but Pinault bettered it just before half-time. Cook was the creator, making space by turning inside his marker to get in a shot which was blocked to the edge of the penalty area where Pinault buried a right-foot half-volley through a ruck of players for his fourth goal of the season.

Cook only lasted two minutes of the second half before limping off but Evans had an embarrassment of riches on the bench including three strikers who would get into most Conference teams.

Pittman came on and once again looked far more of a threat in the central striker’s role. One turn and shot which brushed the far post was outstanding and he made the penalty for himself when he outpaced Greg Young whose challenge sent him spinning to the ground.

Ralph made amends for his first-half blunder by parrying the spot-kick but Isaiah Rankin’s clever pass enabled Glenn Wilson to cross and Pittman rose to plant a header into the top corner for his eighth of the campaign moments later.

It was a fitting finale to Crawley’s best performance for weeks and Raynor is convinced his side’s recent blip, when they collected five points from seven games, is over.

He said: “We’re back to our best and when we play like that we are going to be a handful for any side.

“Every team is going to have periods when players lose form and results suffer and hopefully we have had ours. Confidence is rising after three fantastic performances and if we play like that who knows what we can achieve.”