Former Charlton keeper Rob Elliot: To win at The Valley is a special night

Crawley Town boss Rob Elliot was left proud of his players after their 2-1 win at his former club Charlton on Tuesday night.

Max Anderson’s 80th-minute goal sealed a first away victory in League One since the opening day of the season.

Tola Showunmi’s classy strike from the edge of the box had the Red Devils ahead at the interval before Daniel Kanu equalised in the 68th minute.

Ex-Addicks goalkeeper Elliot said: “It was always going to be tough because we know what Charlton are like. They are physical, direct and put the ball in the box from everywhere. We had to stand up to it.

“On paper we lost our biggest and most dominant centre-half Toby (Mullarkey) to suspension but the lads stood up to it so well. Switched off once and conceded a really poor goal.

“My proudest thing was the reaction to come back from that. Maybe before we might’ve faltered – but we didn’t. We went on to win the game.

“That is fair play to Louie (Storey, assistant manager) on the side, who wanted to be really proactive with substitutions. They helped us stem the flow and gave us that attacking option.

“I could go through all the players – they were all exceptional. Tola’s individual brilliance, we’re going to remember that for a long time. It’s not just the goal but it is the build-up as well was tremendous play.

“You have to have that bravery to play through teams. Yeah, it may go wrong – that’s fine.

“You know what? I think Max is an attacking player. He has played deeper but he has got great instincts and receives the ball so well in tight areas. I’d really like to see him higher up the pitch but he is doing a job for us at the moment.

“To come to The Valley in front of 10,000-plus people, ex-Premier League club and my home club, I know how important the football is to the fans here and how hard it is to come here and win. To do that just tops off a great night.”

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD