Luke Garrard hailed Boreham Wood’s display as they beat League Two opponents Crawley 3-0 in an FA Cup first round upset.
The National League side seized the initiative as they went 2-0 up inside 15 minutes through Matt Rush’s composed finish and then Zak Brunt’s penalty.
Crawley’s miserable day got worse when Ryan Loft was sent off for an off-the-ball incident during first-half stoppage time.
The hosts made sure of their progress with a third goal from Abdul Abdulmalik in the 72nd minute – a fine first-time curling effort.
Boss Garrard said: “I felt we were excellent. Our first-half performance was excellent. I was gutted they went down to 10 men because it was a gauge for us as a group and as a management team and I felt we came out on top, especially in the first 45.
“I’ll enjoy Monday night and the cup draw. It’s another opportunity for a journey in the cup, but our bread and butter is Tuesday night and I need to make sure we perform like that again on against Aldershot.”
Crawley boss Scott Lindsey was left irritated by his side’s display, saying: “It became an horrendous afternoon.
“I thought Boreham Wood were really good. Fair play to them and good luck to them in the next round, but we were miles off today.
“What’s disappointing for me, and I’m kind of confused and hurt by it, is that the same group of players beat Bristol Rovers 4-0, yet we turn up today – and I don’t want to be disrespectful to under-10s – but we played like under-10s. We were miles off.
“It’s almost like the FA Cup didn’t mean enough. I can’t have that. I’m really disappointed.”
