This week's episode of Latest TV is all about Crawley Town and their historic trip to Wembley for the League Two play-off final
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:29 [Music]
00:31 [Cheering]
00:33 [Cheering]
00:35 [Cheering]
00:37 [Cheering]
00:39 Ken, we're just at Crawley Town
00:41 and going to Wembley, how are you feeling?
00:43 It's a miracle, isn't it?
00:45 I've been all my life for this
00:47 Wembley, Crawley Town
00:49 8-1 on aggregate, 4-0 at home
00:51 Can you believe it? I'm so happy
00:53 I feel like a champion
00:55 You look like you're just about to
00:57 Let's hope they wear red in the final, eh?
00:59 Yeah, they've got to win the Toskins
01:01 crew I think, both in red
01:03 Let's keep our fingers crossed
01:05 How good was that performance, though? Unbelievable
01:07 Best performance I've seen of many a
01:09 move, many points
01:11 My name is Ron Spraggett and I've been a
01:13 Crawley fan since 1958
01:15 before many of you were born
01:17 [Laughs]
01:19 How are you feeling right now?
01:21 Because Crawley, they're going to Wembley
01:23 for the first time ever, it's incredible, isn't it?
01:25 It's absolutely wonderful
01:27 I thought my lifetime memory would be going to
01:29 Old Trafford. We went to Old Trafford
01:31 and we almost made it in the last kick of the game
01:33 and we just missed out
01:35 So I thought that was going to be my lifetime memory
01:37 but now, I never thought
01:39 we'd be there, but we are, and we're going
01:41 [Laughs] And have you got your ticket already?
01:43 No, I haven't got the ticket yet
01:45 Well, unfortunately, I've got a big family
01:47 and they all want to go
01:49 so we're looking for about
01:51 20 tickets, so hopefully
01:53 we'll get them all together
01:55 and we'll make some noise. Can you remember the first
01:57 game you saw and what made you fall in love with
01:59 Crawley Town Football Club? I don't know
02:01 It was at the Old Town Mead, which was a dump
02:03 and we stood on a muddy bank
02:05 There was a little stand
02:07 but it was all moth-eaten and golden
02:09 and there was woodworm in it and everything
02:11 but I always remember in those days we played in red and white
02:13 hoops and I remember
02:15 the only one I can remember was a bloke
02:17 called Randall. I think he was
02:19 centre-forward, but you know
02:21 I think it was way before Johnny Mags and things like that
02:23 you know, but
02:25 I think that's my first memory
02:27 of Crawley Town and we went from Longlea
02:29 right through the Southern League and all
02:31 those sort of places
02:33 and it's been wonderful
02:35 it's been a wonderful experience. Coming here
02:37 to this ground, you know, it's a lovely ground
02:39 could do with a new stand over there of course
02:41 it gets a bit... that's where I sit over
02:43 on the East Stand over there, but we've got a
02:45 lovely view and hopefully these owners
02:47 will put a bit of money in there. Let's hope so
02:49 anyway. Yeah, absolutely. I mean it's been an
02:51 incredible season. Oh, yeah. From the start
02:53 considering what happened last season
02:55 at what point did you think
02:57 we're going to do something special this season?
02:59 We could get to Wembley?
03:01 To be honest, I hope the club
03:03 don't... I mean all season
03:05 we've been up and down to be honest, we have
03:07 we've saved our best performances
03:09 played away games plenty enough
03:11 and I only started to realise we may do
03:13 something when we went to...
03:15 where was it we went to? Before the
03:17 Waxham game? Mansfield. Mansfield,
03:19 that's the one. That's when I thought
03:21 hello, I don't know, something might happen here
03:23 and when we came Grimsby last
03:25 week, you know, I saw Grimsby, I thought
03:27 this is a different team. This is a different team.
03:29 So I'm here with Tom Orman
03:31 General Manager of Crawley Town. Tom, how are you feeling right now?
03:33 I don't know to be honest.
03:35 Unbelievable.
03:37 I know it's cliche, I don't think there are any words
03:39 who would have thought it.
03:41 Crawley Town, firstly
03:43 coming in here putting on an unbelievable performance on the night
03:45 and then I think someone just said to me
03:47 highest ever aggregate win in a playoff game.
03:49 Yeah, I just heard that as well.
03:51 What do you say to that? Unbelievable.
03:53 Everyone deserves it.
03:55 How good were they tonight? Oh, incredible.
03:57 It's completely
03:59 surreal. It's so great that everyone
04:01 everyone who's been involved with the club obviously now
04:03 everyone in the past who's got us to this stage
04:05 it's fantastic and I think it's just
04:07 deserved for everyone because everyone works so hard
04:09 people like yourselves, including yourself Gary, everyone
04:11 behind the scenes works so hard for
04:13 the club. So to have nights like this
04:15 it's just amazing and really well deserved.
04:17 Yeah, and you said on the awards night about
04:19 Pride is back in this club
04:21 and yeah, this sums it up.
04:23 Oh, unbelievable. We were saying
04:25 up in the seats even when Jay scored
04:27 early on and we're sort of in hysteria
04:29 and the first thing is to run over to the fans
04:31 and I think pretty much everyone did that
04:33 for every goal, straight over to the fans
04:35 and yeah, the fans were incredible.
04:37 Everyone who's involved at this club is honestly
04:39 fantastic.
04:41 You'll know from seeing behind the scenes
04:43 people mucking across the board, doesn't matter
04:45 what the job is, there's no job too
04:47 difficult, whatever.
04:49 The coaching staff are fantastic, they've managed to really get
04:51 a tune out of the lads.
04:53 The lads are fantastic, you know, inside there
04:55 in the changing rooms, unbelievable.
04:57 And I'm just, again, so pleased that
04:59 everyone's hard work over the years has
05:01 come to fruition. Yeah, and talking of hard work
05:03 next week's going to be a lot of hard work, isn't it?
05:05 Yeah, we were just saying
05:07 again, just saying inside, we're
05:09 in May and still going. It's
05:11 unbelievable, but we've prepared
05:13 I can say now we've prepared
05:15 quite well this week. We sort of had
05:17 one eye on things, obviously, because of the turnaround.
05:19 We sort of jokingly said
05:21 that it was actually probably more tantalising
05:23 for us because we're putting the plans together, knowing what
05:25 could be. So, oh yeah,
05:27 busy week next week, but what a week.
05:29 And how will it feel next Sunday
05:31 watching Crawley's out of that window?
05:33 It's history, isn't it? If nothing else,
05:35 it's history.
05:37 Again, it's cliche and potentially not a very
05:39 good interview, but what can
05:41 you say? It's unbelievable and
05:43 everyone so well truly deserved.
05:45 It's fantastic.
05:47 Right, Scott, what a night here at
05:49 MK Dons. How are you feeling right now?
05:51 Yeah, incredibly
05:53 proud.
05:55 Unbelievable feeling to
05:57 take such a wonderful football club to Wembley
05:59 for the first time. I'm really proud
06:01 of everybody who's been involved
06:03 in the work that's gone in
06:05 to get to this stage. It's just incredible.
06:07 I'm really,
06:09 really proud.
06:11 We were backed to
06:13 go down.
06:15 We proved a lot of people wrong.
06:17 And I want to thank everybody for proving us
06:21 or for not backing us.
06:23 I want to thank everybody for that because it's fuelled
06:25 me and the players.
06:27 So, thanks for that.
06:29 But we're not there yet. We've got
06:31 it all to do.
06:33 We will still remain really humble and
06:35 we will still remain really focused and professional
06:37 as much as we want to enjoy tonight,
06:39 which we will.
06:41 But we've...
06:43 There's no point getting to Wembley if you're not going to win, right?
06:45 So, we're really focused
06:47 on that. Yeah, I mean, you can't have asked
06:49 for much more from your players, over the two legs,
06:51 but tonight particularly. Just incredible.
06:53 We were incredible tonight.
06:55 Some unbelievable goals.
06:57 We were aggressive on the press. I think
06:59 it was the right thing to do. We could have
07:01 come here and sat in and banked in. It's not me.
07:03 I'll never change from what I am as a coach.
07:05 I always want to go after a team and press
07:07 and play
07:09 our possession. I mean, some of them passages
07:11 towards the end of the game were just
07:13 not of this level.
07:15 And to say that it's done by players
07:17 from non-league and from
07:19 not wanted
07:21 by their clubs last year
07:23 or players who got
07:25 relegated last year. Just incredible.
07:27 Just incredible. Absolutely.
07:29 The third goal must have been particularly pleasing.
07:31 Obviously, second goal with
07:33 a loss to Kelly.
07:35 That summed up your team, didn't it?
07:37 Yeah, just an unbelievable passage.
07:39 But all the goals were great. The first goal
07:41 I was pleased with because we pressed. We wanted to be
07:43 really aggressive in terms of how we pressed.
07:45 We knew that they wouldn't change a lot
07:47 and they didn't, but they
07:49 did second half. They put
07:51 two forwards on. So, we had to change
07:53 slightly and adjust.
07:55 We had to make sure that our wing-backs didn't
07:57 jump to their outside centre-halves. The wing-backs stayed
07:59 down the rail with their wing-backs
08:01 and our number 10s had to jump.
08:03 We had a plus one at the back. It made us a little bit
08:05 more secure, actually.
08:07 But, listen, the players
08:09 just unbelievable. Honestly, I'm so
08:11 proud of everyone. Every
08:13 single person in that dressing room has been brilliant.
08:15 And you must have been proud of that. Oh, wow.
08:17 They're just
08:19 unreal. Just
08:21 unbelievable.
08:23 I haven't got any
08:25 words for it. You're quite emotional, Scott.
08:27 I haven't got any words for
08:29 them fans. They're just incredible.
08:31 Dan, here we are after
08:33 NK Dons. You've reached Wembley.
08:35 You've scored a hat-trick. How are you feeling right now?
08:37 Unbelievable. I don't think there's words to
08:39 quite put into how the boys
08:41 are feeling, how I'm feeling. It's a fantastic
08:43 achievement, but we're not done yet. There's one
08:45 more game to go and we're looking forward to going to
08:47 Wembley and putting on a show there.
08:49 You couldn't have asked for more about Scott.
08:51 Certainly couldn't have asked for more from everybody tonight.
08:53 What a performance that was.
08:55 I think over the two legs, we've put absolutely everything
08:57 into these two games and the scoreline reflects
08:59 it. NK are a great side. They play
09:01 football very similar to us, so we knew we were
09:03 going to have to match them, not only for the footballing side, but the running
09:05 side, and if not do it better than them.
09:07 So, to come away now and know we're going
09:09 to Wembley, it's a fantastic achievement from the boys
09:11 and everyone's really looking forward to it.
09:13 I know after every goal,
09:15 straight over to those fans. Even when
09:17 Jay was there, you all sprinted down there.
09:19 Was that something you planned to do
09:21 before the game? Always go right in front of them?
09:23 No, I think it was just one of those things, like, see how
09:25 high up they are up there, up in the gods,
09:27 and we wanted them to be a part of it
09:29 and kind of feel like we can hear them
09:31 and they were fantastic all the way through, not only today
09:33 but at Broadfield the other day. It was a fantastic
09:35 atmosphere and it really spurred us on.
09:37 Have you ever played at Wembley?
09:39 No, first time. I've jumped up as a kid
09:41 so I can't wait for it.
09:43 I'm hoping he picks you next week.
09:45 I'm hoping so. I have to stay in his good books.
09:47 What will it feel like to walk out Wembley this week?
09:49 It's going to be incredible, isn't it?
09:51 Yes, it's going to be unbelievable. It's what you dream of as a kid.
09:53 I've gone there a few times to watch Arsenal
09:55 and always dreamt about playing on that pitch.
09:57 So to finally have that opportunity, we're all looking forward to it.
09:59 We're going to go there, give it our all
10:01 and we'll keep the underdog story going.
10:03 Everyone voted us off at the start of the season
10:05 and so now we're going to Wembley.
10:07 We're 90 minutes away from potentially League One.
10:09 So, what a story. Let's go and finish it off.
10:11 Scott said he wants to thank everyone
10:13 who tipped you to go down at the beginning of the season.
10:15 How does that feel
10:17 to prove everyone wrong?
10:19 Yes, it's a bit like my story altogether really.
10:21 Not playing academy football or anything like that.
10:23 And then to make my way up from non-league,
10:25 I was always the underdog.
10:27 So coming here, it's kind of been the perfect fit.
10:29 A few other boys have similar stories
10:31 about not quite making it elsewhere.
10:33 Then to come here and gel and play the way we're playing.
10:35 Yes, everyone keeps writing us off
10:37 but at the end of the day, we deserve to be here
10:39 because we play good football and we get good results
10:41 all the way through the season.
10:43 That's thanks to the gaffer for the way he set us up.
10:45 Well, I'm looking forward to seeing him play at Wembley.
10:47 [Laughs]
10:49 Thank you, cheers.
10:51 [Music]
10:53 Hi, I'm Mark Dunford and I'm sports editor
11:09 of Sussexworld.co.uk
11:11 and editor of the Crawley Observer.
11:13 I am delighted to be joined by Crawley Town legend, Sergio Torres.
11:17 Sergio was part of the Crawley Town team
11:21 that got promoted from non-league to League 2 to League 1
11:25 under Steve Evans in 2011, 12, 13, 14, all those years.
11:31 And yes, he's here with us now
11:33 and we're going to talk about Crawley Town getting to Wembley.
11:35 But first of all, Sergio, tell us where you are.
11:37 It looks lovely there.
11:39 Hello, Mark. Good afternoon.
11:41 Yes, it's beautiful.
11:43 I moved to Mallorca about two and a half years ago
11:45 with my family.
11:47 From sunny Sussex
11:49 to sunny Mallorca.
11:51 [Laughs]
11:53 It's stunning.
11:55 It's about 22 degrees right now.
11:57 So, yeah, very beautiful.
11:59 Lovely, yeah. And what are you doing out there?
12:01 So, I work,
12:03 I'm still coaching.
12:05 So, I used to work
12:07 for Russell Martin Academy
12:09 in Brighton for Russ.
12:11 You know, I'm a good friend with Martin.
12:13 When he set up the academy in Brighton,
12:15 I was working there for six years
12:17 and then I moved here.
12:19 And Russell's foster brother,
12:21 he lives here for 10 years, Rob.
12:23 And he set up his own academy here as well,
12:27 called Russell Martin Academy.
12:29 So, perfect, perfect transition
12:31 from one place to another.
12:33 And also, we started,
12:35 about three years ago,
12:37 we started coaching professional players
12:41 when they come off-season.
12:43 That's through Mallorca Pro Training.
12:47 We had James Madison, for example,
12:49 last year training here.
12:51 Just this pitch behind us.
12:53 We have a few Bundesliga players,
12:55 so I'm looking forward to this June.
12:57 Hopefully, we're going to have some more players.
12:59 Oh, wow, that sounds great.
13:01 So, we're here to talk about Crawley Town
13:03 getting to Wembley.
13:05 How much have you followed Crawley Town this season?
13:09 Yeah, to be fair, whenever I can,
13:11 I've got time on Saturday afternoon
13:13 I'm flicking between all the games,
13:15 between all my old clubs, Crawley Town,
13:17 Wickham Wonders,
13:19 and of course I watch Southampton
13:21 because of Russ.
13:23 So, I've been here,
13:25 and I've been, I have to tell you,
13:27 I've been so impressed.
13:29 I watched the last two playoff games last week.
13:31 They play better football than we were there.
13:33 They play better football than we were there.
13:35 It was really amazing to watch.
13:37 I was so impressed with so many of the players.
13:39 I was so impressed with so many of the players.
13:41 And Scott is doing an amazing job.
13:43 It's funny because I know Scott
13:45 from a long way back.
13:47 I went along to Lincoln
13:49 when I was at Peterborough
13:51 for three years.
13:53 And he was a first team coach
13:55 there with Chris Sutton.
13:57 And when he took over at Crawley,
13:59 I messaged him,
14:01 and he remembered me
14:03 from those times.
14:05 So, yeah,
14:07 I'm really, really looking forward
14:09 to seeing him on Sunday.
14:11 Yeah, so when you first met Scott Lindsey
14:13 and you saw him as a first team coach,
14:15 could you tell he had what it took
14:17 to lead a team and take them to Wembley?
14:19 To be fair,
14:21 I think I only played
14:23 for Scottie and Chris Sutton
14:25 about three games because I got
14:27 a really bad ankle injury.
14:29 But in the first game,
14:31 I remember,
14:33 yeah, we won one-nil against Oldishaw.
14:35 I scored a winner, which doesn't happen
14:37 very often.
14:39 But I remember Scottie
14:41 from, you know, I was only for,
14:43 like I say, a few weeks,
14:45 a couple of months, and I was really impressed.
14:47 Really, really nice guy.
14:49 And his sessions were brilliant.
14:51 So I was so impressed
14:53 to see him.
14:55 Yeah, so happy to see him doing well
14:57 at one of my clubs at Crawley now.
14:59 Absolutely, yeah. You talk about
15:01 what good football they play.
15:03 Can you imagine
15:05 a team when you were playing in League 2,
15:07 what was it, 12, 13 years ago,
15:09 playing football like this and succeeding?
15:11 No, no.
15:13 Absolutely not.
15:15 You know, with Steve,
15:17 we had a great, great time
15:19 and amazing back-to-back promotions,
15:21 but we didn't play this
15:23 amazing style of football playing from the back
15:25 and, you know, it was more
15:27 winning second balls and playing the half,
15:29 which worked because we have
15:31 very strong defenders.
15:33 But I was so impressed and I always wondered
15:35 why it doesn't work, you know,
15:37 in League 2 conference to play
15:39 this lovely style of football and succeed.
15:41 So I was so pleased to see
15:43 both teams, you know. I know Mike
15:45 Williams, who is well at MK, I used to play with him.
15:47 Both teams
15:49 play the right style of football
15:51 and then succeed, you know,
15:53 in League 2. So I'm really, I'm really
15:55 hopeful
15:57 that Scott and the boys can do
15:59 Wembley on Sunday.
16:01 What players have impressed you
16:03 for Crawley Town so far?
16:05 The centre, Mike Kelly,
16:07 I thought he was outstanding
16:09 in ball skills. He was absolutely
16:11 incredible.
16:13 Like making things tick. I don't think he
16:15 ever got tired, that guy, I don't know.
16:17 I wasn't as good as him,
16:19 but it reminds me, like,
16:21 literally, when I used to play there, I used to run everywhere
16:23 and then
16:25 trying to get involved in defence and attack
16:27 and I thought he was amazing.
16:29 I was very impressed with the goalkeeper as well
16:31 and the striker, Orsi.
16:33 I thought he was
16:35 brilliant. But the whole
16:37 team, they have, I don't know, they seem
16:39 I don't know personally any
16:41 of the players, but
16:43 they seem to have a really good connection in between
16:45 them, looking from the outside,
16:47 working as a team and
16:49 believing in what the court is doing.
16:51 Yeah, absolutely. Obviously
16:53 you had a huge game
16:55 when you were at Crawley Town, going to Old Trafford.
16:57 You probably got an
16:59 inkling how these players
17:01 are feeling right now, leading into
17:03 a big game. What advice
17:05 would you give to those players
17:07 this week, who probably have never played at Wembley?
17:09 You know, my dream
17:11 since I moved to England, one of my dreams
17:13 was to play at Wembley
17:15 and I never
17:17 had the chance. So I couldn't
17:19 really tell the players
17:21 anything. But yeah, playing
17:23 at Trafford is still a big game and it was
17:25 FA Cup.
17:27 The memories I got from that game is the night
17:29 before I didn't sleep.
17:31 I don't know what
17:33 can I recommend them for
17:35 to try to sleep the night before and try to
17:37 enjoy the occasion. I know it
17:39 is massive for a club like
17:41 Crawley, a family club.
17:43 First time in the history to play at
17:45 Wembley. I think
17:47 enjoyment is the right word.
17:49 Trying to take everything in
17:51 because these moments, like
17:53 you mentioned, they don't come very often.
17:55 I played
17:57 10-15 years in England and
17:59 I never had a chance to play at Wembley.
18:01 I played at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge
18:03 but Wembley is that
18:05 place where everyone dreams
18:07 of playing.
18:09 We have
18:11 experienced this season, the fans
18:13 at Crawley Town have been incredible and they
18:15 have really taken to this team.
18:17 You were a huge fan favourite when
18:19 you were at Crawley. How much do you miss those
18:21 fans and what was it like
18:23 playing in front of them when they were on full song?
18:25 Honestly,
18:27 I have the best memories at Crawley.
18:29 It helped
18:31 as well that we hardly
18:33 lost any games in the first
18:35 season.
18:37 We got them onside pretty quickly.
18:39 I think
18:41 particularly with me, they enjoyed
18:43 that. I had
18:45 bad games but at least I put all
18:47 the effort. I was always giving 100%.
18:49 I got the
18:51 best memories, honestly.
18:53 It was really sad the day I left.
18:55 I shed one or two tears.
18:57 I've always been in touch
18:59 whenever my parents came from Argentina
19:01 to watch, to travel to the
19:03 game. Everyone absolutely looked
19:05 after them and that made me feel
19:07 so proud
19:09 of the Crawley fans.
19:11 I can't wait to see them on Sunday and hopefully I will
19:13 meet one or two old faces.
19:15 Are you going on Sunday then?
19:17 Yes, I've been
19:19 invited by EFL.
19:21 I'm really, really
19:23 excited. I will be there
19:25 from Sunday morning
19:27 and watch the game and hopefully
19:29 see a score and
19:31 meet some of the new players.
19:33 Brilliant. Excellent stuff.
19:35 Finally, I spoke to Matt Tubbs earlier
19:37 and I asked him
19:39 how would the Crawley
19:41 team from 2011 who played
19:43 at Old Trafford get on against this
19:45 Crawley team this year, do you think?
19:47 I think I've got an inkling from what you said earlier
19:49 but what kind of game do you think that would be?
19:51 I don't know. I think they will
19:57 try to play from the back. We will press
19:59 the hell out of them.
20:01 We're definitely going to
20:03 press the goalkeeper
20:05 and try to make mistakes.
20:07 Tubbs and Maka
20:09 were never tight.
20:11 We had in the middle
20:13 Bully,
20:15 Josh, myself
20:17 whoever played there were just
20:19 like dogs.
20:21 We're going to play
20:23 long ball style, playing second balls and
20:25 playing on the half against a good team
20:27 playing good football.
20:29 It will be an interesting game, I tell you what.
20:31 We have amazing players like
20:33 Kyle, Pablo Meos,
20:35 Dino,
20:39 we have really, really good footballers
20:41 in the squad. I think that's why
20:43 it worked as well because
20:45 we were running
20:47 like dogs but we also
20:49 have players who, Tubbs was unbelievable,
20:51 who decide games for us.
20:53 Yeah, absolutely.
20:55 Finally, what's your score prediction for Sunday?
20:57 I predict 3-1.
21:01 I know it's
21:03 a bit ambitious but
21:05 that's my score.
21:07 Excellent. Well, thank you so much for talking to us,
21:09 Sergio. It's been an absolute pleasure as always.
21:11 I think we last spoke at Leeds, didn't we?
21:13 I think it was when they beat Leeds
21:15 you were in the stadium.
21:17 Well, hopefully we're celebrating a similar
21:21 victory on Sunday and I'll hopefully see you.
21:23 Thanks for joining us.
21:25 No, fingers crossed, Mesh.
21:27 Hopefully I will see you on Sunday.
21:29 Brilliant.
21:31 Well done, you boys!
21:33 Well done, well done!
21:35 [applause]
21:37 [applause]
21:39 [music]
21:53 [music]
21:55 [music]
21:57 [music]
21:59 (upbeat music)