SKIPPER Chris Giles admits he cannot explain Crawley’s maddening inconsistency.

Four days after a hugely disappointing defeat to Eastbourne Borough, Reds roused themselves to dismantle the runaway leaders with one of their most compelling performances of the season.

They have taken points off all but two of the eight teams above them including wins over Torquay, Kidderminster, Kettering and Oxford as well as the champions-elect.

The reason they are not challenging more seriously for a play-off place after leading the table for six weeks in the autumn is not hard to fathom.

Too many points have been squandered against strugglers like Woking, York, Forest Green and Ebbsfleet, as Giles conceded.

He said: “If we knew the reason why we have been inconsistent we would have done something about it. It’s not for the want of trying but maybe we need to hit teams hard at the start and not get impatient if we don’t score.

“The only way we can play is with a high tempo and when we do that, as we have shown against a few teams this season, we are a good side.”

The good news, as far as Crawley’s play-off hopes are concerned, is that three of their six remaining games are against sides above them. The bad news is that the eight-point gap between them and fifth-placed Kidderminster looks insurmountable as the matches run out.

“It was win or bust on Saturday,” admitted Giles. “We have given ourselves a chance but we will probably have to win six out of six. But there won’t be any problem motivating ourselves and if we can take it to the last game against Histon then it’s happy days.”

Giles will have enjoyed this win more than anyone. His reckless handball in injury time at Burton in October robbed Reds of a precious point and how he made amends.

The Crawley captain got on the end of Mikey Malcolm’s inviting cross to head his first league goal of the season after five minutes and he was about to make it 2-0 ten minutes later when Darren Stride took his legs away in the six-yard box.

It was the pivotal moment of the game. Stride rightly got his marching orders for a professional foul and Jamie Cook smashed home the penalty for his tenth goal of the season but first since December 6.

Burton players told Giles as they lined up for the spot-kick that the decision was correct but boss Roy McFarland saw it differently – a lot differently.

“I’m not sure what planet the ref was on,” he said. “You have got no chance when you are up against a referee who was a disgrace in terms of his performance. Stride said he got the ball.”

McFarland couldn’t resist a dig at Reds’ style of play either. “I thought they were a footballing side but they didn’t want to play.”

What Reds did do effectively was set a high tempo from the start and never allow Burton any chance to settle into a rhythm. The visitors rallied briefly after the break but took until the 74th minute to register a shot on target.

By then Danny Forrest had latched onto Sam Rents’ diagonal pass before planting a right-foot shot past the less-than-agile frame of Burton’s 45-year-old goalkeeper Kevin Poole.

Forrest then turned provider with a cross which Lewis Killeen buried with an emphatic close-range header.

Cook and Robbie Matthews were a constant threat in different ways and Forrest had one of his most productive afternoons in a Crawley shirt. Boss Steve Evans could even afford to pull Jake Wright off with ten minutes to go to make sure he did not collect a booking and incur a suspension. That is a scenario few could have imagined at 3pm.

Cambridge’s defeat cushioned the blow for Burton, who still look odds-on to win a place in the Football League.

Crawley’s odds on joining them are only slightly better than the National winner but at least they have kept the season alive until Easter by producing the sort of performance which gave credence to Evans’ assertion that, on their day, they are the best side in the league.

“The key for us was getting in their faces, setting a tempo and not allowing them time to settle,” said assistant manager Raynor. Crawley (4-4-2): Rayner; Giles, Wright, Quinn, Rents; Forrest, Bulman, Wilson, Malcolm (sub: Killeen 57); Matthews (Shaw 72), Cook (Rankin 65). Unused subs: Gaia, Hurren.

Burton (4-4-2): Poole; Corbett, Webster (sub: Goodfellow 63), Austin, Buxton; Byrne, McGrath, Simpson, Gilroy (Butler 45); Stride, Morris (Pearson 45).

Red card: Stride (professional foul). Yellow cards: Buxton (foul), Morris (dissent).