Crawley Town coach Brian Owen praised the performance of Keith Sharman, who played the whole 90 minutes during their 2-0 premier division defeat at King's Lynn.
It was his first match since injuring his ankle over three months ago.
Owen said: "Keith was absolutely superb and has come back very well without any games in the reserves. For him to go straight into the starting lineup and play the ball around so well was one of the highlights of the match."
Sharman said: "I thought I'd only play 20 minutes but Billy kept me on and I came through the match without any problems. We used to over power teams but our bad away form continued."
Manager Billy Smith named only one recognised striker in Mark Hynes, relegating out of form top scorer Dean Wordsworth to the reserves and bringing defender Andy Taylor upfront, in place of the unavailable Francis Vines.
Owen admitted: "We played reasonably well in the first half but in the second half they undid us. I feel most disappointed for the fans who travelled a long way only to see us lose."
Town conceded two headed goals during the second half.
The first, on 54 minutes, was netted by defender Simon Dakin, who met a hanging cross from the left. The Linnets made it two after 73 minutes as an unmarked Glen Fuff powered in a corner from deep in the penalty area.
The second half was barren from a Town view point until the last few minutes when substitute Nigel Brake pumped in a succession of balls into a packed penalty area.
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