Football
STAR striker Danilo Orsi could not have dreamed of a such a fairytale season
Danilo Orsi's 25th goal of the season helped Crawley Town secure a 2-0 win over Crewe Alexandra in the League Two play-off final at Wembley.
Image Credits: Sky Sports
The on-song marksman scored at Wembley as Crawley Town beat Crewe Alexandra 2-0 in this year’s League Two play-off final.
And after bagging his 25th goal of a stellar season, one which will see The Reds fighting it out in League One next term, the 28-year-old admitted: “I don’t think there’s any words to describe what we’ve achieved.
“We were underdogs at the start of the season, so to have finally come away and say we’ve won the play-offs, well it’s an amazing feeling.
“I’ve had a good season this year, but that’s thanks to the coaches and the rest of the players.
“We play football like that every day, all day, so it was great to put one in the back of the net.”
Image Credits: Sky Sports
Orsi struggled to find the back of the net last term, scoring just four times for former club Grimsby Town
But a move to the Broadfield Stadium has revitalised his career – and he’s repaid the club with goals galore this term.
“To do it [score] at Wembley, well that was really special,” Orsi told SportsBoom.com.
“My family were watching, everyone is just over the moon.
“I think coming to the club knowing that I was going to be playing week-in, week-out really helped me, as a striker you get into a bit of rhythm.
“The manager and the rest of the players gave me so much confidence.
“You know, to top this season with a play-off win, well I just couldn’t have managed it.
Crawley just about survived last season with their League Two status having hung by a thread
But this has been something special for the West Sussex as they starred in their first appearance at Wembley for 128 years.
Amazingly the club were 15th in the after 30 league games, but they finished so strongly that their promotion was a feat few expected them to achieve.
Skipper Dion Conroy admitted: “We were favourites to get relegated this season, what we’ve done is just simply astounding.
“It’s an absolutely unbelievable feeling to get promoted.
“The boys have worked so hard from the start of pre-season until now. Everyone deserves it – and the fans deserve it.
“We knew all season how good we were. We knew that if we turned up on the day we could beat anyone.
We had no doubts we could win, but to perform like we did, well that was just the cherry on top.
Danilo Orsi
Manager Scott Lindsay paid a glowing tribute to his charges and is relishing the chance to see what they can achieve in a higher division next season
“It’s not about me, it’s those boys, they deserve this (success),” said Lindsay.
“I’ve instilled a belief into them, which has taken many, many hours on the coaching field.
“We’ve coached the players in detail – and they’ve taken it on brilliantly this season.
“It’s the first time this football club has been to Wembley and we didn’t want to lose, but the players have been brilliant all season.”
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.