WHEN Dannie Bulman, the energetic heartbeat of their side, is running on empty, Crawley know they have problems.

The midfielder was not the only player in a red shirt who struggled to summon up any inspiration as their play-off challenge effectively ended against a resilient Stevenage side yesterday.

Both teams were playing their second games in 48 hours but that is where the similarities end.

While Reds were straining every sinew to see off second-placed Torquay on Saturday in their best away performance of the season, their opponents were strolling to a relatively comfortable home win over Ebbsfleet.

Crawley also had to contend with a 12-hour return coach trip to Devon and with only 16 fit players available there were few options for Steve Evans to make many changes while his opposite number Graham Westley was able to shuffle his pack.

The pattern was set long before Michael Bostwick opened the scoring against his old club in the 38th minute, threading a right-foot shot inside Simon Rayner’s right-hand post with the goalkeeper unsighted by the crowd scene in front of him.

Stevenage matched Crawley in every area of the pitch, kept them at arm’s length in the final third and had a freshness and energy the home side were lacking as Bulman – who was desperate to do well against his former club – acknowledged afterwards.

He said: “It was massively hard just to get your legs going again after Saturday. We had a difficult game on Saturday and the travelling takes it out of you as well. Stevenage are flying at the moment and it was always going to be a tough task and we came out second best.”

As it was, Stevenage did not secure the victory that cements their place in the top five until the 85th minute when substitute Calum Willock raced through a big hole in the heart of the home defence and lobbed goalkeeper Simon Rayner before heading into an empty net almost on the line.

Evans made two changes to the side that had produced that heroic rearguard action at Plainmoor but neither Isaiah Rankin, who became Jamie Cook’s third different strike partner since Cook’s return to the side a fortnight ago, or Mikey Malcolm could provide any cutting edge.

Evans changed things round early in the second half and for a few minutes strikers Robbie Matthews and Jon Shaw threatened to spark their side into life. The pair combined to create Reds’ best chance on the hour when Matthews found Shaw just inside the box but his shot flew inches over when he had space to take another touch and get in a more powerful strike.

Reds won plenty of free-kicks in dangerous areas but Stevenage defended doggedly and goalkeeper Chris Day was rarely tested.

Bearing in mind they had just beaten the top two sides and with the play-offs still on, the crowd was disappointing although those who stayed until the end acknowledged the efforts of their side.

Assistant manager Paul Raynor said: “They could see that we have given everything this season but this was a game too far. We are proud of their efforts, as we have been all season.

“We pride ourselves on the tempo we play but we lacked our usual sparkle and the exertions at Torquay on Saturday definitely took their toll. Normally we are able to match any side physically at home but we were found wanting.

Crawley: Rayner 7, Giles 6, Quinn 7, Wright 7, Rents 6; Forrest 6 (sub: Shaw 52 6), Bulman 6, Wilson 6, Malcolm 6 (Killeen 75 5); Rankin 5 (Matthews 52 6), Cook 7. Unused subs: Hurren, Gaia.

Booked: Rents (foul), Bulman (foul).

Stevenage: Day, Wilson, Laird, Ashton (sub: Vincenti 85), Mills, Boylan (Willock 62), Roberts, Bostwick, Henry, Cole, Morison. Unused subs: Bayes, Albrighton, Mendes.

Booked: Wilson (foul), Laird (foul), Ashton (foul), Bostwick (foul).

Referee: Ian Cooper (Rochester).

Attendance: 1161 (263 Stevenage).