Crawley Town striker reveals when he started dreaming of Wembley as Reds prepare for MK Dons play-off semi-final

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Crawley Town striker Danilo Orsi is relishing the potential chance play at Wembley.

The 28-year-old, who joined from Grimsby Town at the start of the season, has scored 21 goals in all competitions including 19 in Sky Bet League Two and has played a huge part in Crawley making the playoffs, despite the West Sussex club being relegation favourites.

The Reds finished seventh and now face MK Dons in the play-offs with the first leg at the Broadfield Stadium on Monday. And Orsi has been delighted with his contribution this season

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“Personally it’s been a fantastic season for me,” he said, “and I’m really proud of what I have achieved this year, but we’re not quite done yet and there’s more games to go and more goals.

Danilo Orsi celebrates his goal against MK Dons in August | Picture: Eva GilbertDanilo Orsi celebrates his goal against MK Dons in August | Picture: Eva Gilbert
Danilo Orsi celebrates his goal against MK Dons in August | Picture: Eva Gilbert

“If we can top it off with getting through this next stage and a trip to Wembley it will be fantastic for everyone involved.”

He has already scored against Crawley’s play-off opponents this season in a 2-1 win in August – a strike shortlisted for Goal of the Season at the club’s awards.

Speaking on the goal he said: “I'm not sure how that sneaked into the goal of the season awards because there were some real good ones (but) I guess it was for the team build up for it.

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“That was my first of the season and hopefully I can get another one in a few days against them and add to the tally.”

Orsi has also played more minutes this season than any other, which is a testament to his fitness levels and his dedication to the cause as he is bound to add more minutes to his belt in the playoffs.

Regarding this, he said: “(I have been) trying my best off the pitch to keep myself in the best possible shape, Ricky and the physio team have done a really good job with a lot of the boys this year with keeping everyone fit.

“I think it’s just about managing the workload during the week which the gaffer is really big on and making sure that I’m doing everything right my side to be able to get out onto the pitch as much as possible and put in as many good performances as possible.”

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Manager Scott Lindsey was also full of praise for Orsi in the build up to Monday’s game. He said: “He’s going to be really important because he is a proper person, he is a real winner. You won’t believe the work he does before we even get on the pitch.

“In the dressing room he is a fantastic character. He’s a great person to have on your team off the pitch but on the pitch he has been a different class.

"He’s put the ball in the net and he’s worked his absolute socks off. I love him and I would run through a brick wall for him. He’s going to be big for us in these two games.”

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