Crawley boss Kewell happy with a point

We just needed a bit more quality in the middle third. We knew exactly what Mansfield were going to bring,” he said.

“In the first 20-25 minutes we looked fantastic and we scored a beautiful goal, which even the home fans would have appreciated the style of.

“We looked controlling and positive. But they I think we just sat back a bit deeper and were playing balls that weren't there.

“If you give the ball away, especially against a team like this, they will just bombard the box as they have been doing all year. That's what they are good at.”

Kewell added: “We knew if we got a goal we could catch them on the counter.

“We had a wonderful opportunity to make it 2-0 and if we'd taken it the game would have been dead and buried.”

On their season overall, he concluded: “We should have gone so much further this season, but it's been a transitional period for us.

“We started the season slow, the middle section was excellent, then we've kind of tapered off. But it's all a learning curve for me and my players.

“Next year they already have an idea how I want things done and they will come back stronger and fitter.”