Richie Barker paid tribute to Ryman League side Met Police after they gave Crawley a real run for their money in the FA Cup first round.
Goals from Josh Simpson and Billy Clarke all but put the Red Devils out of sight but Alan Tait pulled a goal back eight minutes from time and they nearly levelled when winger Howard Newton hit the post in added time.
"Met Police pushed us all the way and in the end they gave us one hell of a fright towards the end," Barker said.
"The first half was a bit of a nonentity and we had a lot of the ball.
"But they had a game plan which was to frustrate us and we didn't do enough when we had the ball.
"I've got to give Met Police a lot of credit because they've won four or five games to get here and played well.
"We can't take anything from this game really, other than the win. I don't think any of our players covered themselves in glory."
