Gianmarco Di Biase scored on his Crawley debut (Image: Crawley Town FC)
Gianmarco Di Biase scored on his Crawley debut (Image: Crawley Town FC)
Ex-Crawley boss Scott Lindsey said he does not care about the barracking he received from home fans after losing to his old club.
Reds won 2-0 at York City in the preliminary round of the Carabao Cup following goals from Gianmarco Di Biase and Danilo Orsi.
And, for periods of the second half, York fans – still smarting following the sacking of last season’s National League title-winning manager Stuart Maynard – belted out chants of “Stuart Maynard’s Barmy Army” and “We Want Maynard back”.
Lindsey was also booed at the final whistle for not going over to thank the supporters for their attendance, but contested that he would have been on a hiding to nothing.
“I actually don’t care,” Lindsey insisted about the fans’ chants. “I am so thick-skinned that I will never let that get through to me.
“If I did, I wouldn’t be able to do the job I’m here to do. I obviously have to win them (the fans) over, but I’m not going to go over at the end for them to mug me off.
“It is what it is. Rule number one as a football manager or coach is you have to win games. I’ve lost one tonight, so I have to try and win the next one.”
Crawley now travel to Championship Watford in the competition’s first round on Saturday.
Boss Colin Kazim-Richards said: “It is a match that will show the players where they want to be in the game and we won’t be going there to make up numbers. We’ll be setting up to win the game.”
Twenty-year-old Italian winger Di Biase, signed from Juventus in the summer, opened the scoring in the 24th minute, rounding off a swift counter-attack by tapping in after Kellan Gordon had raced down the right flank and delivered an inviting low cross.
York’s on-loan Fulham goalkeeper Alfie McNally then made a smart save from Malcolm Ebiowei to prevent his side from falling further behind.
Stephen Duke-McKenna hit the base of the post for the visitors in the second half before the hosts were denied by the woodwork when Zech Medley’s volley thudded against the underside of the crossbar.
But substitute Orsi settled the outcome from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Louie Watson had been upended by Zak Johnson in the box.