Jamie Griffith’s tips for Sunday’s League Two finale at Wembley include a win for Crawley following their 8-1 thrashing of MK Dons.
The League Two playoff final at Wembley on Sunday may not be the one that was anticipated before the semi-finals, but it still promises to be a great contest.
Crewe Alexandra and Crawley Town finished sixth and seventh in the standings but were both able to knock out teams who finished above them in the regular season to stand one win away from promotion to League One.
Crawley have spent three of their 13 Football League seasons in the third tier but this is their first time in the EFL playoffs. Their lack of experience did not show in the semi-finals, though, as they thrashed MK Dons 8-1 on aggregate.
Crewe were in League One just three seasons ago and showed resilience to turn around their semi-final tie against Doncaster after losing the first leg 2-0 at home. The Railwaymen reversed that result in the second leg before winning a penalty shootout.
Those results have set up an intriguing final which should be well worth watching.
Selections
Crawley to win
11/10
Over 2.5 goals
4/5
Danilo Orsi-Dadomo and Klaidi Lolos both to score
13/2
Fast-finishing Red Devils can complete the job with Wembley win
Crawley left it late to claim a place in the League Two playoffs and after a fast start they were outside the playoff positions from their 12th match until the final nine games of the season.
The Red Devils secured their place in the end-of-season tournament with a 2-0 win over Grimsby on the final day and showed they belong in the playoffs with their sensational semi-final performances against Milton Keynes Dons.
The Red Devils won 3-0 at home in Sussex in their first ever EFL playoff game and underlined that success with a fluid 5-1 success in the away leg.
Scott Lindsey’s side had wobbled near the end of the regular season, going winless for four games before their win over the Mariners, but they have raised their game to new heights in the playoffs and could be hard to stop.
Crewe’s campaign had looked to be petering out as the end of the season approached and having still been in the automatic promotion positions after 34 matches, they only just held on for a top-six finish.
The Railwaymen looked to have run out of steam as they won only one of their final nine regular-season matches and then lost the first leg of their semi-final but they showed spirit to fight back at Doncaster.
They also might not mind playing at a neutral venue having lost their last four home games without scoring a goal and conceding a combined 11 to Forest Green, Grimsby, Wrexham and Doncaster.
They have scored only four goals in their last nine games and that lack of firepower could cost them against red-hot Crawley.
Final should be an entertaining contest
While Crewe have been struggling for goals lately, Crawley’s matches are rarely dull and it’s reasonable to expect at least three strikes in their Wembley showdown.
There have been over 2.5 goals in 10 of Crawley’s last 14 games and the four that didn’t go over all had two, so a stale, low-scoring encounter is hard to envisage.
The Red Devils went for it from the off in both of their semi-final matches and didn’t sit back on their three-goal lead in the second leg, scoring twice more in the first 30 minutes at Milton Keynes.
Crewe matches can go over 2.5 goals even when they don’t contribute to the total, such as their 3-0 home defeats by Wrexham, Grimsby and Forest Green, and there was no shortage of scoring action in their matches earlier in the season either as there were four or more goals in 19 of their 46 league games.
If Crawley start fast again Crewe may be left with no choice but to try to fire back or remain in League Two.
Crawley pair can be among the goals again
One of the #betyourway markets that appeals for this match is the 13/2 for Danilo Orsi-Dadomo and Klaidi Lolos both to score for Crawley in the game.
Orsi-Dadomo, who wears just Orsi on his shirt, has bagged 22 goals in League Two this season as well as two in the FA Cup and has five in his last five games after his hat-trick in the second leg of the semi-final.
Greek midfielder Lolos has provided great goal support and has been on a golden scoring run in the last couple of months, netting in an impressive eight of his last 14 appearances.
The pair both have scored in the same match against Bradford, Forest Green, Mansfield and Grimsby since January and at least one of them has found the net in 11 of their last 14 games.
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