MATT GRAY urged his Sutton side to keep up their performance levels after a 3-0 win over Crawley on Tuesday night.

Alistair Smith scored twice with Richie Bennett also on target as Sutton bounced back from Saturday’s defeat to Barrow and stayed in the top seven with two games remaining.

Gray said: “We needed a reaction from the weekend and I thought we were excellent and deserved the win. This is a key win for us and keeps us where we want to be in the table.

“We have two tough games ahead and cannot take anything for granted. We will have to keep working hard and fighting.

“We have worked hard all season to get into this position and we need to go and finish the job off now. 

“It is important we keep up the level of performance that we have produced.”

Smith put Sutton ahead after just four minutes with a long-range strike and United doubled their advantage three minutes later when Bennett headed home.

Aramide Oteh fired wide with Crawley’s best chance after pouncing on a rebound in the first half, and Smith wrapped up the points with another empathic finish five minutes from time to boost United’s play-off hopes.

“You cannot ask for a better start than what we got and I thought we were worthy winners,” said Gray.

“We looked solid defensively and I don’t think they really caused us much trouble throughout the game.

“I was pleased with our tempo. We moved the ball well and we looked good when we went forward.

“Alistair took his goals well, they were really good finishes. We know what he is capable of and he has shown what he can do. He gave us a real spark.”

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