Crawley Town boss Harry Kewell delighted hard-work paid off at Cheltenham

Crawley Town head coach Harry Kewell believes their opening day win was just reward for the hard work they put in during pre-season.

Reds clinched three points from their first League Two game at Cheltenham thanks to a second half headed goal by new signing Ollie Palmer.

He said: “It was a good performance and a brave performance, because we kept trying to play against a strong Cheltenham side.

“The players have worked hard in pre-season but it’s all worthwhile when you get a result like that.”

Kewell praised Palmer for his finishing and was pleased they managed to limit the amount of goal action created by the home side.

He said: “Apart from the penalty, we restricted them to few chances and the goal was well taken by Ollie.

“It’s just what you need on the opening day - three points and a clean sheet and I’m sure the fans who travelled enjoyed it as much as we did.”