DREADFUL in the first half, inspired in the second, Crawley Town managed to sum up their inconsistent season in 90 minutes as they rounded off their campaign with a spirited fightback.

The Reds have proved they can live with the best this season, beating Torquay, Cambridge and Blue Square premier champions Burton, but have also come unstuck against the lesser lights.

Embarrassing defeats against Salisbury and Havant & Waterlooville spring to mind and Crawley’s disjointed first-half performance was a painful reminder of those games for the Reds fans. But the hosts, helped by the 49th minute dismissal of Histon goalkeeper Danny Naisbett, roared back after the break to turn a 3-0 deficit into an unlikely point.

Crawley assistant manager Paul Raynor praised his side’s resolve in fighting back but admitted that inconsistency had dogged the Reds through the season.

“We didn’t really turn up in the first half and although we started nice and brightly we conceded an atrociously sloppy goal,” said Raynor.

“Histon are a good side and if you switch off for a second they punish you, and that’s what happened for the third goal.

“Some choice words were said at half-time because the fans have paid their hard-earned money to watch us and we wanted to end the season with a good performance. But the second half really showed the character of the side and at the end there was only one team in it.

“That typified our season really – a little bit inconsistent – but there have been some good afternoons at the Broadfield and that was certainly one of them.

“We look back at games against teams that were lower in the table, and if we had reproduced some of the performances we put in against the bigger clubs we’d probably be in the play-offs.”

That is where Histon sit today after holding their own with the division’s biggest clubs all season and the point was enough to keep them in third place and book a play-off semi-final with Torquay.

The visitors certainly looked the only side with anything to play for in the first half as they raced into a 3-0 lead thanks to some abject defending by Crawley.

Centre-back pairing Adam Quinn and Santos Gaia collided contesting a high ball and with both players stricken on the ground, Jack Midson ran through to slot Histon in front.

It was typical of the clinical visitors, who had far less possession than Crawley but used what they had to greater effect.

Jamie Barker made it 2-0 on 35 minutes, volleying in from 20 yards after a free-kick was half cleared, and four minutes later Midson added a third with a fine side-foot finish from Murray’s right wing cross.

But Crawley rallied in the second half and the game turned on an incident four minutes after the restart. Jamie Cook got in behind the Histon defence and tried to dribble round goalkeeper Naisbett who brought the Reds striker down.

Referee Darren Sheldrake decided Naisbett was the last man and produced a red card, and Cook took full advantage by tucking the penalty into the bottom corner.

Crawley pulled another one back on 67 minutes, Glenn Wilson delivering a perfect right-wing cross to the far post that Michael Malcolm headed past substitute keeper Joe Welch.

The unlikely comeback suddenly looked on and eight minutes from time it was complete as, a minute after Cook had a shot blocked on the line, Jon Shaw found the net in a hectic goalmouth scramble.

Steve Evans appeared to be sent to the stand by the referee soon afterwards, seemingly for clapping a decision, but the Reds’ performance in the second half has at least given him cause for encouragement next season.

Crawley: Rayner, Gaia, Rents, Forrest (Weatherstone 059), Quinn, Bulman, Matthews, Killeen (Malcolm 59), Wilson, Shaw (Pinault 82), Cook. Unused subs: Rankin, Nayee.

Histon: Naisbett, Pope (Andrews 87), Mitchell-King, Langston, Murray, Barker (Welch 51), Midson, Knight-Percival, Oyebanjo, Gwillim, Ada. Unused subs: Bygrave, Welch, Simpson.