Crawley boss Scott Lindsey paid tribute to “new heroes” after his side began life back in League One with victory.

First-half goals from Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Junior Quitirna earned a 2-1 win over Blackpool, who replied late on through substitute Ashley Fletcher before almost 5,000 fans.

Crawley went into the game with only two survivors from the side that beat Crewe in the League Two play-off final and Lindsey went out of his way afterwards to stress the identity he has built will remain exactly the same.

He said: “It’s a great start for us against a Blackpool side that finished only three points outside the play-offs, so it’s a good benchmark.

“I’m really pleased with the result and the performance as it shows we are capable of playing at this level.”

Lindsey heaped praise on midfielders Max Anderson and Cam Bragg and defender Josh Flint, who made their league debuts, and he added: “It’s never nice to see a group of players go out of the door.

“But I enjoy moulding fresh talent and our fans will enjoy watching new heroes.

“There were only two players surviving from Wembley, but the identity is exactly the same.”

One of the Wembley survivors, midfielder Jeremy Kelly, made his presence felt by playing Hepburn-Murphy through in the 16th minute and the former Swindon striker marked his debut by slipping the ball past goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw.

Former Fleetwood midfielder Quitirna doubled Crawley’s lead after 33 minutes, racing on to Ronan Darcy’s pass to fire an angled shot into the roof of the net.