'Might have been a bit of shellshock' - Former Newcastle forward explains what went wrong for Crawley against Wimbledon

In a miserable opening 45 minutes, the Reds lost star man Liam Kelly to injury before conceding two sloppy goals. The first one – a Josh Davison header – somehow squeezed under the gloves of Luca Ashby-Hammond after 13 minutes.

Five minutes later, Will Wright lost the ball and the visitors made him pay with Ali Al Hamadi finding the bottom corner with aplomb.

The Reds improved in the second half – particularly after Wimbledon went down to ten-men – and got a goal back through Will Wright. It was a well-taken goal, assisted brilliantly by substitute Klaidi Lolos.

But it proved to be too little, too late for the hosts. Click here to see our player ratings.

“Every defeat is disappointing, obviously, but the first half was particularly disappointing because of the way we've played all season,” Campbell said post-match.

"To come out and play like that was very disappointing from everyone.

"Second half, we really took the game to them. We pressed them and didn't give them the respect we gave them in the first half.

"We really put them under a lot of pressure [but] overall it's a disappointing result, as we pride ourselves on being really good at home.”

The Reds’ manager Scott Lindsey accused his players of not showing enough fight in a ‘local derby’ – which was watched by nearly 5,000 people.

Lindsey said his side improved after the break but added: “You can't play for just 45 minutes. It's the worst they’ve played under me.”

In response, Campbell said: "When we're in the middle of it, as players, I don't think we'd ever purposely miss a tackle or purposely not go in for something.

"I know the group gave everything we've got. We are a very committed group.

"I think there might have been a bit of shellshock with how direct they [Wimbledon] were.

"Ultimately, we pride ourselves on being a committed team and really taking the game to the opposition. We tried to put things right in the second half but we just ran out of time.”

More than 4,500 supporters, including 1,400 away fans, were in attendance for the match.

“They always turn up in their numbers,” Campbell said of the home support.

"Today the atmosphere was helped by the Wimbledon fans as well as it gave someone for the Crawley fans to bounce off.

"I thought our fans were absolutely brilliant and they tried their best to suck the ball in as much as they could. Unfortunately we couldn't give them the night they deserved.”

Next up for Crawley is a trip to Gillingham on Boxing Day. They will be looking to make amends for the 1-0 defeat, earlier this season, against the Gills – a side which features former players Glenn Morris, Tom Nichols and Ashley Nadesan.

Campbell said: "The manager might know a few inside bits about how their players play but as far as we go as players, we go there to try and get the three points.

"It doesn't matter who we are playing. I don't think it will have too much effect on how we play.

"If anything a defeat makes it easier to prepare because of how disappointed we were with that first half performance.

"Everyone is now desperate to put it right. It's nice that the games come thick and fast.

"We haven't been in too bad of form, so it's not all doom and gloom. We can't wait to get to Gillingham and put things right."

On what kind of game he is expecting, the former Newcastle and Notts County striker added: “A similar game to what it was like here. I know they've changed their manager since.

"They will be very solid defensively and it will be up to us to break them down. We haven't scored as many as we like so it's up to the forward lads to put in a big performance.”