By Pippa Field
WHEN Matt Harrold took over the gloves before half-time in Crawley Town‘s game with MK Dons, the striker feared his side would be heading for a record defeat.
Instead, he proved a surprise hit – picking up the man-of-the-match award as the Red Devils drew 2-2 last Saturday.
But he insists he would rather be grabbing the headlines for his ability at the other end of the pitch. The 30-year-old, who had never previously played in goal, went between the sticks last weekend after Crawley‘s only first-team goalkeeper Brian Jensen dislocated a finger.
“The first ten minutes I was pretty nervous,” admitted Harrold. “I was fearing the worst and thinking it was going to be 10-1 or something like that.
“But the second half was much better. I had Brian in the stands and he was the puppet master. He had his arm in a sling and was standing on the terraces directly behind giving me help on where to stand and what to do.”
In fact, it was only in the last minute that Dele Alli managed to equalise for the Dons as Harrold pulled off a string of saves. It didn’t go unnoticed!
“We had training on the Sunday and there was a goalie kit and gloves in my place in the changing rooms!” said Harrold.
“I’ve had a lot of interview requests since the game and that’s been fun, but it’d be nice to be getting attention for helping out further up the pitch.”
A summer signing from Bristol Rovers, Harrold is the first to admit he has not had the impact he would have hoped for so far at Broadfield Stadium.
A clear out of his knee to remove a floating body before the season started left him off the pace originally. But while top-scorer Izale McLeod has led the way this season for the strugglers – reaching double figures in all competitions – Harrold’s goalkeeping success meant he had conceded one more (two) than he had scored for Crawley (one).
Determined
He also suffered the ignominy of being transfer listed by then-manager John Gregory in mid-November. But with new boss, and former Wales striker, Dean Saunders promising to give all players a chance to impress, Harrold is determined to let his feet do the talking.
“I have not played as much as I would have liked. It’s been quite strange,” he added. “I had an injury in preseason, so I missed the start of the season and I’ve always been playing catch-up.
“It’s been frustrating, but Izale has done a great job and has been scoring the goals. We’ve tended to play with one up front and he has done well.
“No one would be happy not playing and starting on the bench. I understand the situation, but I’m ready to do a job and really want to show what I can do in the second half of the season.
“With Dean being a striker who played at a high level, it’s going to be good to work with him.
“He’s been working on the basics initially, the defensive aspects and making ourselves hard to beat.
“He said we will move on to more attacking aspects in time and I’m looking to learn off him.
“The feeling in the camp is positive. We can take confidence from the draw with MK Dons and push on.”
And what of Harrold’s fledgling goalkeeping career? The club this week signed Brazilian goalkeeper Evandro Rachoni de Lima on non-contract terms, although his first game – a Sussex Senior Cup quarter-final against lower league Whitehawk – saw him concede six goals.
“You never know,” added Harrold. “The manager has brought in Evandro and is looking at other players.
“I have a job to do on the field but if the situation ever arises again, I’ll certainly have more experience than a few of the other outfield players.”
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