Scott Lindsey was in no mood for celebration despite his Crawley side taking a firm grip of their Sky Bet League Two play-off semi-final.

Reds beat MK Dons 3-0 at the Broadfield Stadium in the first leg.

They go into the return leg at Stadium MK on Saturday with a sizeable advantage after first-half goals from Liam Kelly and Jay Williams put them in charge before a sell out crowd of 5,564.

Substitute Ronan Darcy struck with a deflected shot after 65 minutes to leave boss Lindsey pleased but warning that the job was far from done.

He said: “We’ve given ourselves a good chance but it will be tough on Saturday and it’s only half-time.

“We need to be professional and humble – it’s not done yet.

“I am not celebrating and I have told the players not to celebrate.

“We knew it would be a tactical game. We are in a good position but we still have lots to do.”

This was only the fifth clean sheet Crawley have kept at home since the start of the season and Lindsey added: “We defended well all night and we got it right tonight.”

MK Dons boss Mike Williamson admitted that the result had left his men with “a mountain to climb” at home.

The visitors look set to take the lead in the third minute when top scorer Max Dean burst through, but his goal-bound shot after rounding keeper Corey Addai was dramatically cleared off the line by Will Wright.

A frenetic start continued as Crawley went ahead on five minutes, Kelly drilling his fifth goal of the season into the corner from just inside the area after exchanging passes with Adam Campbell.

They threatened again when Campbell forced keeper Michael Kelly to parry his shot before Dean shot wide from the edge of the area at the other end.

A floated attempted back pass by Kelly had Crawley fans jittery, Addai racing out to control the ball, and Danilo Orsi then put a low shot wide in front of the Dons’ travelling fans.

Crawley forward Klaidi Lolos, who had hit five goals in his previous six games, got into a good position inside the area but a well-timed tackle by the recalled Cameron Norman averted the danger.

Town’s flowing attacking play produced another opportunity when Orsi had a shot tipped over by Michael Kelly before defender Laurence Maguire had a close-range header blocked.

Crawley deservedly doubled their lead in the first minute of first-half stoppage time when Williams, at full stretch, steered Wright’s free-kick home at the near post.

Addai showed alertness shortly after the break when he punched away a goal-bound shot from Tomlinson as Dons attempted to raise their game.

MK substitute Ellis Harrison was presented with a quick opportunity to make his presence felt but wastefully planted the ball wide of Addai’s left-hand post in a one-on-one situation.

Reds made it 3-0 on 65 minutes when substitute Darcy, only on the pitch for five minutes, struck with a deflected shot which looped over the helpless Michael Kelly.

Dean wasted a chance to reduce the deficit when he put the ball over from a good position after a cross from Daniel Harvie.

Lolos had the ball in the net late on for Crawley but it was ruled offside