Crawley captain Dannie Bulman celebrated a superb victory against his old club and then hailed the contribution of striker Marcus Richardson as key to the success.

Reds blew away play-off chasing Stevenage to end a run of five games without a win and take another step towards Conference safety.

It was just the tonic everyone at the Broadfield Stadium needed after a hat-trick of draws had left them nervously looking over their shoulders.

Richardson made his first start in four games in place of top scorer Scott Rendell, who was dropped to the bench following a run of one goal in eight starts, and more than justified his place.

He was the most influential player, setting up the first goal for Bulman, scoring the third and being a handful for the Borough defence throughout.

The big frontman has been the target for criticism from fans since joining in January from Cambridge United because of his awkward style and, at times, wayward finishing.

But Bulman reckons his presence in the frontline was the difference against his former employees.

He said: "The effort was the same from us as the last few games, it was just the quality that was different.

"The biggest thing was that the ball stuck up front. You have to make it stick so you can build from midfield and get the wingers into play.

"We got a lot of joy up there and that is what we have been missing.

"He (Richardson) can look like Bambi on ice at times but he is a good lad and he repaid the managers' faith by sticking one away and putting himself about."

Richardson's tireless performance epitomised Crawley's as a whole. They overran Stevenage with embarrassing ease with their work ethic and determination.

Victory never looked in doubt once Bulman blasted his 11th-minute penalty straight down the middle.

The spot-kick was awarded after Elliot Benyon latched onto Richardson's flick and was brought down by defender Ronnie Henry.

Bulman's strike was as emphatic as Crawley's performance but he revealed afterwards his surprise that Borough keeper Alan Julian did not do a better job in keeping it out.

Bulman, who joined permanently from Stevenage in January following a three-month loan, said: "When I was at Stevenage, I used to take a few against Alan because I live quite close to him and I used to drive in (to training) with him.

"He knows I smash it down the middle but luckily I caught it well."

The visitors were not helped by the dismissal of substitute Adam Miller just before half-time for two bookable offences within a minute.

He had only been on the pitch 15 minutes when he caught Richardson with a knee-high challenge.

But the fact they only mustered one shot at goal throughout the 90 minutes, even after Reds were reduced to ten men following Tony Scully's needless red card for a second caution, illustrated how one-sided the game was.

Scully stupidly kicked the ball away by the left touchline after conceding a throw on 65 minutes to taint an otherwise perfect day for Reds.

He had doubled the lead seven minutes before with a superb strike from the edge of the box.

The former Manchester City winger played a one-two with Benyon, before unleashing a rising drive into the top corner.

He will now be suspended for Saturday's crucial trip to relegation rivals Stafford Rangers.

Caretaker boss Dave Woozley said: "It was petty, especially from someone with Scully's experience. It is very disappointing because he is a key player to us."

Scully's early bath did little to change the game as Crawley continued to rampage forward.

The inevitable third goal came eight minutes later when Richardson beat the offside trap to go clear on goal and beat Julian with a confident finish.

Woozley believes the good performance came from the frustration of dropping valuable points against Rushden and Woking in the previous games.

He said: "We believed in ourselves from the start and the result is a reflection on the effort and work rate we put in. There wasn't one player who didn't put in a shift.

"Because of the draws, the lads really came out fighting. You could see in training on Thursday and Friday that there was a lot of pent up energy and it all came out."