By Joe Jones
Notts County have only ever played Crawley Town five times in their history. The first ever fixture between the two was two and a half years ago, on November 10th 2012. This milestone first meeting between the two, played at Meadow Lane, finished 1-1.
Meanwhile the return fixture, played away on the 9th March 2013, ended as a goalless draw.The last meeting was an exhilarating 5-3 win for the Magpies back in November, as Garry Thompson's hat-trick helped his side up into the playoffs.
Crawley Town have been a non-league side for the majority of their history – 11 years ago, while Notts were struggling to survive in the old Second Division, Crawley had just been promoted from the Southern Football League!
Crawley have won plenty of silverware in their history, though the majority of it is amateur-based. This changed when they won the Conference National title in 2011 and the League Two title just a year later.
2010-11 was a record-breaking season not just for Crawley, but also for the Conference. The West Sussex club broke the points total in one season (105) and tie with other teams for most wins in one season (31), fewest defeats (3), and highest goal difference (+63).
Because of this season, alongside the funds they had to buy players and an unlikable manager (Steve Evans), they were known as “the Manchester United of non-league football”.
Crawley have the smallest stadium in League One; the Broadfield Stadium holds a meagre 5,996 people. You could fit just over three and a half Broadfields inside Meadow Lane!
The town of Crawley is known for being close - just three miles in fact - to Gatwick Airport, the world's busiest single-runway international airport.
Famous people who have links to Crawley include Australian footballer Kevin Muscat (born in Crawley), Gareth Southgate (attended the town's Hazelwick School), English rock band The Cure (formed in Crawley, several of its members attended St Wilfrid's RC School) and Gorillaz lead singer 2D (a fictional character, his back story claims he grew up in the town).
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Crawley defender Darren Ward is back fit after a heel injury, while midfielder Josh Simpson could feature for the first time since November.
Marvin Elliott will be assessed after an infection, but Dean Leacock and Conor Henderson are ruled out.
Notts County midfielder Curtis Thompson is fit again and Balint Bajner's late equaliser against Barnsley has him pushing for a starting place.
Both sides are in the relegation places with 47 points each. Leyton Orient, who are one place above the League One drop zone, are also on 47 points, but Crawley have played one more game than Notts and Orient.
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