Ten-man Notts County secured a hard-fought point in their battle to save their Football League status but they still remain rooted to the foot of the table.
The Magpies had taken the lead in the eighth minute when Craig Mackail-Smith headed in Matt Tootle’s cross to give Neal Ardley’s side hope of securing a much-needed win.
But Ashley Nathaniel-George levelled in the 19th minute before Ben Barclay saw red for a two-footed tackle on Dannie Bulman early in the second half.
Crawley created some decent opportunities with the man advantage with Ryan Schofield forced to save from Nathaniel-George before Reece Greggo-Cox headed inches wide moments later.
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But Notts clung on to take a point leaving them with it all to do with two games to play with the visit of Grimsby on Saturday a must-win encounter.
Ardley could be pleased with the resilence his side showed at Crawley having Ardley taken the decision to play a five-man defence with Pierce Bird given a rare start with winger Enzio Boldewijn dropping to the bench after some unconvincing performances of late.
Top scorer Kane Hemmings also missed out due to injury with Jon Stead partnering Craig-Mackail-Smith in attack as Notts hoped their experience would lead to a crucial victory at the bottom of League Two.
After their defeat to MK Dons on Good Friday, Ardley was looking for a response from that set back and he would have been delighted with the start his side made which carried pace and purpose.
The willingess of Mackail-Smith to make clever runs were quickly testing Crawley’s powers of concentration, but the on-loan Wycombe forward was proving too smart with his movement into the channels.
That was underlined when he raced onto a pass from Rob Milsom to deliver an early cross that was met by Stead at the near post but he got caught underneath the ball which ended with his header looping up and over the bar.
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Notts were looking a threat and the breakthrough they were searching for finally arrived in the eighth minute when a throw from Mitch Rose picked out Matt Tootle.
He took advantage of a slip from Filipe Morais to reach the byline and lofted a fine cross to the back post for Mackail-Smith who did brilliantly to guide his header beyond Glenn Morris.
It was vital that Notts avoided letting their jubilation kill their concentration, but they were soon on the attack again as Jim O’Brien sent a half-volley bobbling past the upright.
But for all of their good work in the opening 15 minutes, Crawley hauled themselves level with a goal that would have annoyed Ardley as Ashley Nathaniel-George was allowed to drift in from the left.
Mackail-Smith dived into a challenge rather than take the option of staying on his feet which allowed the Crawley winger to skip past him before firing beyond Ryan Schofield from just outside the box.
The frustration at conceding such a poor goal had not affected Notts’ confidence, however, and a lovely move soon carved open the Crawley defence.
This time Rob Milsom slid a cross towards Stead who read it, but only succeeded in driving an effort over the bar having leant back just as he made contact with the ball.
Notts could be satisfied with their first half performance but would have hoped for even better reward after the break as they hoped for a crucial second goal.A free-kick from Michael Doyle was whipped in with pace early on which was met by Barclay but he only succeeded in clearing the bar as he looked skywards in frustration.
The defender’s afternoon then went from bad to worse when he was shown a straight red card for two-footed challenge on Dannie Bulman.Although the on-loan Brighton defender won the ball, referee Graham Salisbury adjudged it to be a reckless tackle meaning he will miss the remainder of the season.
Notts tried to regroup by taking off Stead and putting on Elliott Ward at centre-back as Notts continued to play five at the back but Crawley began to use the extra man to their advantage.
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They came desperately close to scoring a second when Ollie Palmer sneaked in the area where his cross shot was inches away from finding the far corner.
It was not long before Crawley launched another assault as Nathaniel-George forced Schofield into a smart save before Reece Grego-Cox glanced a header wide when it looked easier to score.
Notts were clinging on and in an attempt to add some pace to the attack, Boldewijn was summoned from the bench to replace Mackail-Smith with eight minutes remaining.
But neither side looked like scoring as Notts hung on for a point.
Crawley XI: Morris, Young, McNerney, Palmer, Gambin (Grego-Cox 54), Nathaniel-George, Maguire, Dallison, Bulman, Morais, Camara.
Subs: Mersin, Doherty, Sesay, Galach, N’Gala
Notts County XI: Schofield, Tootle, Barclay, Bird, Stubbs, Milsom, Doyle, Rose, O’Brien, Stead (Ward 55), Mackail-Smith (Boldewijn 82).
Subs: Fitzsimons, Vaughan, Alessandra, Gomis, Dunn Referee: Graham SalisburyAttendance: 2,800 (532 visitors)
