Metropolitan Police's FA Cup dream came to an end as they were beaten by League One Crawley Town in the first round.

Town are 104 places above the Met, who play in the Isthmian Premier Division and have never been in round two.

Josh Simpson put Crawley ahead with a low shot from outside the area.

Billy Clarke doubled their lead from close range before Alan Tait diverted home against his old side to give them hope and Howard Newton hit the bar as they almost forced a replay.

VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM

Crawley Town manager Richie Barker told BBC Sussex:

"They pushed us all the way, but we should have done much better in the first half.

"They were difficult to break down and we had to look for that little bit of quality to score.

"At 2-0, we dropped off. I don't think anyone covered themselves in glory today, other than the fact that we're through to the second round."

Lineup, Bookings (6) & Substitutions (5)

Met Police

  • 01 Butler Booked
  • 02 Lovett
  • 03 Crook (Taylor - 75' )
  • 04 Dolan (Palmer - 76' )
  • 05 Sutherland
  • 10 Bourne
  • 06 Smart
  • 07 Brown
  • 08 Smith Booked
  • 09 Tait
  • 11 Howard Newton Booked

Substitutes

  • 14 Taylor
  • 16 Tyrell
  • 17 McNeil
  • 12 Bird
  • 15 Lockyer
  • 19 Bennett
  • 18 Palmer

Crawley Town

  • 01 Jones
  • 04 Connolly Booked
  • 05 McFadzean
  • 12 Walsh Booked
  • 19 Byrne (Sadler - 27' )
  • 07 Clarke
  • 08 Torres (Adams - 64' )
  • 11 Simpson
  • 15 Bulman Booked
  • 21 Jones (Akinde - 80' )
  • 09 Alexander

Substitutes

  • 25 Kuipers
  • 03 Sadler
  • 13 Hunt
  • 20 Wassmer
  • 16 Adams
  • 18 Cooper
  • 17 Akinde
Ref: Kettle
Att: 1,485

Match Stats

Shots

16 16

On target

5 4

Corners

9 9

Fouls

8 14

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +4:11 Full time

Full Time The referee blows for the end of the match.

90:00 +2:19

Mark Connolly challenges Howard Newton unfairly and gives away a free kick. Tyron Smith takes the free kick. Tyron Smith takes a shot. Clearance by Joe Walsh. Corner taken right-footed by Tyron Smith. Howard Newton takes a shot.

90:00 +1:32

Short corner taken by Billy Clarke from the left by-line. Free kick awarded for a foul by John Akinde on Elliott Taylor. Jamie Butler takes the free kick.

90:00 +1:04

Direct free kick taken by Nicky Adams.

90:00 +1:04 Booking

Booking Jamie Butler shown a yellow card.

90:00 +0:45 Booking

Booking Tyron Smith is shown a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.

90:00 +0:36

Tyron Smith gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Billy Clarke.

86:59

Craig Brown takes a shot. Save by Paul Jones. Chris Bourne takes a corner. Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Craig Brown from the right by-line, clearance made by Joe Walsh.

86:34

Free kick taken by Jamie Butler.

86:34 Booking

Booking The referee shows Mark Connolly a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.

86:23

Mark Connolly challenges Staforde Palmer unfairly and gives away a free kick.

85:02

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Matthew Smart by Billy Clarke. Tyron Smith restarts play with the free kick.

84:45

Alan Tait takes a shot. Blocked by Joe Walsh.

83:23

Kyle McFadzean concedes a free kick for a foul on Alan Tait. Tyron Smith takes the free kick.

82:29

The assist for the goal came from Craig Brown.

82:29 Goal scored

Goal - Alan Tait - Met Police 1 - 2 Crawley Alan Tait finds the net with a goal from close range low into the middle of the goal. Met Police 1-2 Crawley Town.

81:33

Craig Brown takes a shot.

79:51

Tyron Smith takes a short corner.

79:12 Substitution

Substitution (Crawley Town) makes a substitution, with John Akinde coming on for Mike Jones.

78:22

Billy Clarke takes a shot. Save made by Jamie Butler.

77:20

Shot by Dannie Bulman from outside the box goes over the target.

76:26

Effort on goal by Billy Clarke from just outside the penalty area goes harmlessly over the target.

74:59 Substitution

Substitution Joe Dolan goes off and Staforde Palmer comes on.

74:59 Substitution

Substitution Elliott Taylor is brought on as a substitute for Billy Crook.

74:05

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Joe Dolan by Gary Alexander. Direct free kick taken by Jamie Butler.

73:16

Kyle McFadzean takes the free kick.

73:16 Booking

Booking Booking for Howard Newton for unsporting behaviour.

73:14

Foul by Howard Newton on Mark Connolly, free kick awarded.

73:00

The referee gives a free kick against Gary Alexander for handball. Jamie Butler takes the direct free kick.

70:22

Tyron Smith fouled by Dannie Bulman, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Matthew Smart. Steve Sutherland takes a shot. Save by Paul Jones. Inswinging corner taken by Tyron Smith from the left by-line played to the near post, clearance made by Kyle McFadzean. Alan Tait has an effort at goal from the edge of the box that misses to the right of the target. Nicky Adams concedes a free kick for a foul on Craig Brown. Tyron Smith restarts play with the free kick.

68:59

Assist by Gary Alexander.

68:59 Goal scored

Goal - Billy Clarke - Met Police 0 - 2 Crawley Billy Clarke finds the net with a goal from inside the six-yard box to the bottom left corner of the goal. Met Police 0-2 Crawley Town.

68:24

Mike Jones takes a inswinging corner from the left by-line to the near post, clearance made by Tyron Smith.

67:11

Billy Clarke takes a shot. Foul by Joe Walsh on Alan Tait, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Tyron Smith.

66:13

Effort from deep inside the area by Craig Brown misses to the left of the target.

65:14

Jamie Butler takes the direct free kick.

65:14 Booking

Booking Joe Walsh receives a caution.

65:05

Jamie Butler fouled by Joe Walsh, the ref awards a free kick.

64:33

Craig Brown challenges Nicky Adams unfairly and gives away a free kick. Nicky Adams restarts play with the free kick.

63:18

Indirect free kick taken by Jamie Butler.

63:18 Substitution

Substitution Nicky Adams on for Sergio Torres.

63:18

The referee blows for offside.

60:57

Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Chris Bourne played to the near post, Joe Walsh manages to make a clearance.

57:40

Tyron Smith concedes a free kick for a foul on Mike Jones. Free kick taken by Dannie Bulman.

56:47

Inswinging corner taken by Billy Clarke from the right by-line, Headed effort from deep inside the area by Mark Connolly misses to the left of the goal.

56:00

Mike Jones takes a shot. Blocked by Chris Bourne. Inswinging corner taken by Billy Clarke from the right by-line played to the near post, Tyron Smith makes a clearance.

52:53

Mike Jones takes a inswinging corner from the left by-line to the near post, save by Jamie Butler.

50:11

Howard Newton takes a shot. Paul Jones makes a save. Tyron Smith takes the inswinging corner, Headed effort on goal by Steve Sutherland from inside the penalty box misses to the right of the goal. Gary Alexander takes a shot. Save by Paul Jones. Jay Lovett concedes a free kick for a foul on Sergio Torres. Dannie Bulman takes the direct free kick.

49:06

Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Tyron Smith, save by Paul Jones.

48:02

Direct free kick taken by Tyron Smith.

48:02 Booking

Booking Dannie Bulman receives a yellow card.

47:56

Free kick awarded for a foul by Dannie Bulman on Howard Newton.

46:19

Tyron Smith takes a shot. Mark Connolly gets a block in. Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Tyron Smith from the left by-line to the near post, Mat Sadler makes a clearance.

45:19

Billy Clarke takes the inswinging corner, clearance made by Jay Lovett.

45:01

The referee starts the second half.

45:00 +1:59 Half time

Half Time The match has reached half-time.

45:00 +0:57

Billy Crook takes a shot. Blocked by Kyle McFadzean. Tyron Smith takes a shot. Comfortable save by Paul Jones.

45:00 +0:18

Sergio Torres takes a shot. Matthew Smart gets a block in. Free kick awarded for a foul by Gary Alexander on Jamie Butler. Jamie Butler restarts play with the free kick.

40:11

Joe Dolan concedes a free kick for a foul on Josh Simpson. Direct free kick taken by Billy Clarke.

39:16

Mike Jones concedes a free kick for a foul on Chris Bourne. Jamie Butler takes the free kick.

37:26

Alan Tait takes a shot. Paul Jones makes a comfortable save.

35:18

The assist for the goal came from Mike Jones.

35:18 Goal scored

Goal - Josh Simpson - Met Police 0 - 1 Crawley Goal scored by Josh Simpson from outside the area low into the middle of the goal. Met Police 0-1 Crawley Town.

29:07

Matthew Smart gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Billy Clarke. Billy Clarke shoots direct from the free kick.

26:04 Substitution

Substitution Mat Sadler is brought on as a substitute for Nathan Byrne.

24:53

Sergio Torres takes a shot. Jamie Butler makes a save.

21:23

Free kick awarded for a foul by Howard Newton on Nathan Byrne. Direct free kick taken by Billy Clarke.

19:16

Joe Dolan is adjudged to have handled the ball. Direct free kick taken by Mike Jones, Mark Connolly takes a shot. Blocked by Steve Sutherland.

18:32

Shot from a long way out by Tyron Smith goes wide of the left-hand post.

16:41

The referee blows for offside against Gary Alexander. Indirect free kick taken by Jamie Butler.

11:59

Matthew Smart fouled by Billy Clarke, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Jamie Butler.

9:53

Billy Clarke takes the inswinging corner, save by Jamie Butler.

7:27

Corner taken by Billy Clarke, Mark Connolly takes a shot. Jamie Butler makes a save.

4:03

Dannie Bulman takes a shot.

2:17

Corner from the right by-line taken by Billy Clarke, Mark Connolly takes a shot.

0:00

The match has kicked off.

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