Crewe P-P Accrington Stanley
Well, that was a bit of a surprise. A couple of cold nights and the Gresty Road pitch freezes enough to cause the postponement of today's game. Probably the last thing either side needed given the number of postponements before Christmas and the resultant backlog of fixtures. Crewe have still got to go to Accrington as well before the season is out, so both teams could be playing twice a week through the next couple of months.
The only positive to draw from the postponement is that at least Dave Artell should be fit when we do finally play against Accrington, although, of course that's no guaranteed. The drawback to the postponement is that Clayton Donaldson's suspension will now include the home game against Gillingham.
Oh, and I didn't go for a lucky walk, so at least that wasn't wasted.
Next up for Crewe is a visit to Northampton on Tuesday. I've got free tickets, so hope the weather is going to be OK. The forecast is reasonable though, so hopefully it'll be a good day out.
Saturday 29 January 2011
Thursday 27 January 2011
It Takes More (Bloodshy Main Mix)
Crewe 2 Bradford 1
Well, this game might not have had the added attraction of Sian Massey, the assistant referee maligned by Messrs Gray and Keys but, by God, it had just about everything else. Ms Massey was withdrawn from duty by her bosses in order to prevent the game becoming incidental to the Sian Massey show. A wise move, especially after Andy Gray was sacked by BSkyB in the afternoon. The numerous journalists and Press officers descending on Crewe ended up with a show without Punch. Although they did get a show with a headbutt, ironically.
Having heard the news that Sian Massey was out, attention turned to the pitch. Dario made two changes to the Crewe line-up, recalling Murphy in place of Shelley and calling up Phillips for the suspended Taylor. No major tinkering there, despite the hints that he might rest one of the strikers. Bradford meanwhile had signed a lad from Oldham that very day and threw him straight into the team. He was to have quite an impact, but not in a good way...
Crewe were almost caught out early on, when former Alex trainee Gareth Evans found time and space to hit a shot, but with only the keeper to beat, he dragged his effort narrowly wide. After that, it was pretty much normal service for Crewe as Bradford struggled to cope with the pace and movement of Crewe's front three. Donaldson and Moore in particular were getting a lot of joy against the Bradford defence, who seemingly didn't have much answer. After fifteen minutes Crewe deservedly took the lead when Miller found time and space in the area to deliver a low cross which was easily tapped in by Donaldson. After that, Crewe dominated and spurned several chances to increase their lead. And they were made to pay when a rare Bradford attack resulted in a free kick outside the area. Bradford worked a training ground routine to perfection to give Duff a simple header to level the scores. Parity was to last only a minute or so though as Crewe went ahead again with a "Route One" goal. The ball was knocked back to keeper Phillips who launched it upfield. The Bradford defenders let the ball bounce and Moore nipped in to take it beyond them and slip it past the advancing Bradford keeper.
Just before half time, the game took a major turn. The aforementioned Worthington clattered into the back of Donaldson and appeared to stamp at him while he was on the ground. Donaldson reacted furiously, jumping up and confronting the Bradford player. Their heads came together as they stood eyeball-to-eyeball. Donaldson leaned in and that was it. You can't lead with your head and the ref had little option but to send Donaldson off. Worthington escaped with only a booking to his name and must have thought he'd got off lightly. Less than a minute later that was more confusion and uproar as Bradford defender O'Brien went straight through the back of Matt Tootle with a disgraceful challenge. In the melee that followed afterwards, the referee issued Evans with a second booking and sent him off but then changed his mind and instead showed O'Brien a yellow card. From the stands it looked like he'd got that all wrong - O'Brien's challenge was worthy of a red card and Evans deserved a second booking for kicking the ball away. Given his earlier failure to send Worthington off, a few round us were beginning to think the ref had travelled on the Bradford bus... His assistant wasn't much help either - perhaps Sian wouldn't have let the Bradford players and management badger the ref into changing his mind? whatever, they officials left the field at half-time to a resounding chorus of boos.
Although Crewe are usually quite poor at defending a lead, they came out in the second half and lined up with virtually everyone behind the ball. Miller was left on his own up front at it was all hand to the pump as Bradford laid siege to the Crewe goal, trying to make their numerical advantage count. To be fair, although the Crewe defence looked shaky at times, they were mostly restricting Bradford to long-range shots, and when they did get close in Phillips was up to the task. Crewe were still creating chances on the counter-attack and missed one glorious chance to extend their lead following some great play by Tootle and Moore. Otherwise it was backs-to-the-wall stuff. Luckily, Bradford were pretty dreadful and you can see why they haven't scored many - a phrase involving a cow's arse and a banjo springs to mind....
At the end though, after a very nervy second 45 minutes, there was a massive roar when the referee blew for time. Crewe had defended valiantly and held on to win and take the three points. With the other teams around them drawing or losing, Crewe's three points boosted them up to third in the table. There's a long way to go, of course, and they'll be without Donaldson for three games now, but there's a sniff of promotion in the air and Crewe fans are starting to think that maybe Dario Gradi really is a football genius. I guess we'll find out on Saturday when Accrington come to town. If Crewe can beat them without Donaldson, even I might start dreaming the dream....
Well, this game might not have had the added attraction of Sian Massey, the assistant referee maligned by Messrs Gray and Keys but, by God, it had just about everything else. Ms Massey was withdrawn from duty by her bosses in order to prevent the game becoming incidental to the Sian Massey show. A wise move, especially after Andy Gray was sacked by BSkyB in the afternoon. The numerous journalists and Press officers descending on Crewe ended up with a show without Punch. Although they did get a show with a headbutt, ironically.
Having heard the news that Sian Massey was out, attention turned to the pitch. Dario made two changes to the Crewe line-up, recalling Murphy in place of Shelley and calling up Phillips for the suspended Taylor. No major tinkering there, despite the hints that he might rest one of the strikers. Bradford meanwhile had signed a lad from Oldham that very day and threw him straight into the team. He was to have quite an impact, but not in a good way...
Crewe were almost caught out early on, when former Alex trainee Gareth Evans found time and space to hit a shot, but with only the keeper to beat, he dragged his effort narrowly wide. After that, it was pretty much normal service for Crewe as Bradford struggled to cope with the pace and movement of Crewe's front three. Donaldson and Moore in particular were getting a lot of joy against the Bradford defence, who seemingly didn't have much answer. After fifteen minutes Crewe deservedly took the lead when Miller found time and space in the area to deliver a low cross which was easily tapped in by Donaldson. After that, Crewe dominated and spurned several chances to increase their lead. And they were made to pay when a rare Bradford attack resulted in a free kick outside the area. Bradford worked a training ground routine to perfection to give Duff a simple header to level the scores. Parity was to last only a minute or so though as Crewe went ahead again with a "Route One" goal. The ball was knocked back to keeper Phillips who launched it upfield. The Bradford defenders let the ball bounce and Moore nipped in to take it beyond them and slip it past the advancing Bradford keeper.
Just before half time, the game took a major turn. The aforementioned Worthington clattered into the back of Donaldson and appeared to stamp at him while he was on the ground. Donaldson reacted furiously, jumping up and confronting the Bradford player. Their heads came together as they stood eyeball-to-eyeball. Donaldson leaned in and that was it. You can't lead with your head and the ref had little option but to send Donaldson off. Worthington escaped with only a booking to his name and must have thought he'd got off lightly. Less than a minute later that was more confusion and uproar as Bradford defender O'Brien went straight through the back of Matt Tootle with a disgraceful challenge. In the melee that followed afterwards, the referee issued Evans with a second booking and sent him off but then changed his mind and instead showed O'Brien a yellow card. From the stands it looked like he'd got that all wrong - O'Brien's challenge was worthy of a red card and Evans deserved a second booking for kicking the ball away. Given his earlier failure to send Worthington off, a few round us were beginning to think the ref had travelled on the Bradford bus... His assistant wasn't much help either - perhaps Sian wouldn't have let the Bradford players and management badger the ref into changing his mind? whatever, they officials left the field at half-time to a resounding chorus of boos.
Although Crewe are usually quite poor at defending a lead, they came out in the second half and lined up with virtually everyone behind the ball. Miller was left on his own up front at it was all hand to the pump as Bradford laid siege to the Crewe goal, trying to make their numerical advantage count. To be fair, although the Crewe defence looked shaky at times, they were mostly restricting Bradford to long-range shots, and when they did get close in Phillips was up to the task. Crewe were still creating chances on the counter-attack and missed one glorious chance to extend their lead following some great play by Tootle and Moore. Otherwise it was backs-to-the-wall stuff. Luckily, Bradford were pretty dreadful and you can see why they haven't scored many - a phrase involving a cow's arse and a banjo springs to mind....
At the end though, after a very nervy second 45 minutes, there was a massive roar when the referee blew for time. Crewe had defended valiantly and held on to win and take the three points. With the other teams around them drawing or losing, Crewe's three points boosted them up to third in the table. There's a long way to go, of course, and they'll be without Donaldson for three games now, but there's a sniff of promotion in the air and Crewe fans are starting to think that maybe Dario Gradi really is a football genius. I guess we'll find out on Saturday when Accrington come to town. If Crewe can beat them without Donaldson, even I might start dreaming the dream....
Tuesday 25 January 2011
Glass Candle Grenades
Aldershot 3 Crewe 2
With old friends returning to Nantwich for the day, there was no way I could go to Aldershot and get back in time for the evening of drinking and dining that we had planned, so I gave this one a miss. I know that makes me look like a part-timer, but I did do the midweek trip to Torquay and am off Northampton next week for another midweek game. Having seen the highlights on TV, I'm quite glad that I didn't go - Crewe gave away some shocking goals and threw away a point in the last minute of injury time. Also, the ground at Aldershot doesn't seem to have changed since I was there more than twenty years ago, and it was a bit of a tramp-hole then! So another disappointing defeat on the road for the Alex, although the teams around them in the table didn't take advantage and they remain just three points off the automatic promotion places.
Whilst the Alex were committing suicide in spectacular fashion (a red card for the keeper and conceding from the resultant free kick) I was with some old friends on the terrace at Nantwich Town. We were rewarded with a consummate display of missed opportunities from the Dabbers as they failed to make their superiority count. Having hit the bar twice and then the post in the first half, they were undone in the second half when Bradford Park Avenue scored what would prove to be the only game of the game. Despite throwing everything at the opposition Nantwich couldn't score, being thwarted by goalkeeper, woodwork and their own deficiencies.
Post-match it was off to the pub to watch Villa play Manchester City before heading off to the Aroi Thai restaurant. The food was, as usual, absolutely superb, although the service was fairly slow. To be fair, they were extremely busy (what with it being Holly Holy Day and all) but the capers I had getting a pint of lager were a bit much. In the end I ended up with two on the table - one I'd fetched myself from the bar and one which arrived minutes later. Oh well, saved me ordering another one later. The meal was great and decent value too - with drinks it worked out at little over £22 a head, plus the tip. Thoroughly recommended.
Next up for Crewe is tonight's game with Bradford. A game that has had a little more attention thrown on it this week after Andy Gray and Richard Keys were recorded talking in unflattering terms about tonight's assistant referee, Sian Massey. Let's hope that all we're talking about afterwards is another Crewe win...
With old friends returning to Nantwich for the day, there was no way I could go to Aldershot and get back in time for the evening of drinking and dining that we had planned, so I gave this one a miss. I know that makes me look like a part-timer, but I did do the midweek trip to Torquay and am off Northampton next week for another midweek game. Having seen the highlights on TV, I'm quite glad that I didn't go - Crewe gave away some shocking goals and threw away a point in the last minute of injury time. Also, the ground at Aldershot doesn't seem to have changed since I was there more than twenty years ago, and it was a bit of a tramp-hole then! So another disappointing defeat on the road for the Alex, although the teams around them in the table didn't take advantage and they remain just three points off the automatic promotion places.
Whilst the Alex were committing suicide in spectacular fashion (a red card for the keeper and conceding from the resultant free kick) I was with some old friends on the terrace at Nantwich Town. We were rewarded with a consummate display of missed opportunities from the Dabbers as they failed to make their superiority count. Having hit the bar twice and then the post in the first half, they were undone in the second half when Bradford Park Avenue scored what would prove to be the only game of the game. Despite throwing everything at the opposition Nantwich couldn't score, being thwarted by goalkeeper, woodwork and their own deficiencies.
Post-match it was off to the pub to watch Villa play Manchester City before heading off to the Aroi Thai restaurant. The food was, as usual, absolutely superb, although the service was fairly slow. To be fair, they were extremely busy (what with it being Holly Holy Day and all) but the capers I had getting a pint of lager were a bit much. In the end I ended up with two on the table - one I'd fetched myself from the bar and one which arrived minutes later. Oh well, saved me ordering another one later. The meal was great and decent value too - with drinks it worked out at little over £22 a head, plus the tip. Thoroughly recommended.
Next up for Crewe is tonight's game with Bradford. A game that has had a little more attention thrown on it this week after Andy Gray and Richard Keys were recorded talking in unflattering terms about tonight's assistant referee, Sian Massey. Let's hope that all we're talking about afterwards is another Crewe win...
Wednesday 19 January 2011
This Is The One
Crewe 2 Port Vale 1
After the frustrating defeat at Vale Park back in October, this was the return that everyone had been looking forward to. I try to keep a lid on it - after all we don't get any more points for beating the team down the road rather than a team at the other end of the country. And the season is decided over the course of 46 games and not 2 local derbys.
That said, I was concerned enough to re-try the "Barnet" route for my lucky walk on Saturday morning. It's a circular trek round the Sandstone trail, starting and ending in Coppermine Lane. The Barnet route gets most of the ascents out of the way early, going up to Rawhead before descending (mostly) to the final, killer, stretch uphill along the lane. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how much easier it seemed than the last time I walked that route, but then I am about 21 pounds lighter and wasn't hungover and sleepy after a long night on the ale....
Anyway, walk done, I then had my lucky crash out on the sofa for an hour, before heading off up to the game with Charlie, my walkmeister. We got up there fairly early to find that there was already a decent queue outside the ticket office. Once Charlie had got his ticket , we headed into the ground. It was probably a good job we'd got there early as there was obviously a lot of part-time fans (including Charlie) who'd turned out for the game. We took our seats (well, actually, probably someone else's seats on this occasion, but we always sit there) and took in the atmosphere before kick-off. Most of which involved peering down Gresty Road from our lofty perch and pointing out the police cars that were swarming round there...
The game itself was a strange affair. Port Vale, under new manager Jim Gannon and missing key players through injury, seemed to have set themselves up to take a draw and Crewe's much-admired passing game was proving strangely ineffective. For all the possession they had in the first half, Crewe didn't really create that many chances. That said, only one side looked like they were going to score and Shaun Miller duly put the Railwaymen ahead in the 18th minute. Some neat interplay saw Donaldson feed the ball to Miller inside the penalty area. He was allowed to turn and put a shot across the goal. Port Vale keeper Tomlinson was a bit slow going down and was beaten by the bounce as the ball went in at the far post. Cue delirium amongst the Crewe fans. After that it was mostly Crewe in the ascendancy and at half-time we were beginning to wonder if the team might pay the price for not making more of their dominance.
It was certainly something that came back to haunt them just before the hour mark, as a hopelessly optimistic header back to the keeper from Blanchett, left Taylor in no-mans land and he ended up clattering through striker Justin Richards to leave the referee no option but to award a penalty. No controversy over this one though, unlike our two previous meetings. Richards dusted himself down and calmly sent Taylor the wrong way from the spot to give Port Vale a foothold in the game that they scarcely deserved. Further calamity followed for Crewe when defensive lynchpin Artell limped off injured not long after. His replacement, Dugdale, had had a poor game last time out, so the Alex faithful weren't too optimistic. How wrong we were. Dugdale was untroubled by the relatively toothless Vale strikers and proved to be a useful addition at set pieces. Having worked his way into a good position to head one corner, he then timed his run to perfection as Crewe worked a short corner routine. Both he and Miller celebrated as they'd arrived at the same time to nod the ball in at the far post past a despairing dive from Tomlinson. Having watched the replay several times, it's still not clear who does get the final touch but the goal has been given to Dugdale and that's good enough for me. I'm sure Miller will score a few more this season while I'm not convinced Dugdale will.
After the second goal, it was really a case of playing out time. Vale never looked remotely like getting a second goal and, to be honest, they could have conceded more. When the final whistle went, there was elation all around (apart from the Vale fans sat behind me) and the team thoroughly deserved their ovation as they left the field.
To be fair, the Vale are on a fairly poor run of form, have just got a new manager in and were missing three or four key players. Even so, they were much worse than I expected. Rob Taylor on the wing caused Tootle problems all game and Richards was an occasional threat but apart from that there was little menace in the team and their back four and keeper were having a very off day. Some of that, of course, was down to the pace and movement of Crewe's front three - Moore, Donaldson and Miller - who will trouble any defence in League Two. Still, never mid, it's another win and four out of five for 2011. It also ups the win ratio for the lucky walks which is now at W5 D1 L1.
Next up for Crewe is a trip to Aldershot, which will be another test for them. I won't be going as am out celebrating a couple of friends' birthdays. On the other hand I will be off out tonight (Wednesday) to watch Crewe at home in the FA Youth Cup against Leeds, so that makes up for it.
After the frustrating defeat at Vale Park back in October, this was the return that everyone had been looking forward to. I try to keep a lid on it - after all we don't get any more points for beating the team down the road rather than a team at the other end of the country. And the season is decided over the course of 46 games and not 2 local derbys.
That said, I was concerned enough to re-try the "Barnet" route for my lucky walk on Saturday morning. It's a circular trek round the Sandstone trail, starting and ending in Coppermine Lane. The Barnet route gets most of the ascents out of the way early, going up to Rawhead before descending (mostly) to the final, killer, stretch uphill along the lane. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how much easier it seemed than the last time I walked that route, but then I am about 21 pounds lighter and wasn't hungover and sleepy after a long night on the ale....
Anyway, walk done, I then had my lucky crash out on the sofa for an hour, before heading off up to the game with Charlie, my walkmeister. We got up there fairly early to find that there was already a decent queue outside the ticket office. Once Charlie had got his ticket , we headed into the ground. It was probably a good job we'd got there early as there was obviously a lot of part-time fans (including Charlie) who'd turned out for the game. We took our seats (well, actually, probably someone else's seats on this occasion, but we always sit there) and took in the atmosphere before kick-off. Most of which involved peering down Gresty Road from our lofty perch and pointing out the police cars that were swarming round there...
The game itself was a strange affair. Port Vale, under new manager Jim Gannon and missing key players through injury, seemed to have set themselves up to take a draw and Crewe's much-admired passing game was proving strangely ineffective. For all the possession they had in the first half, Crewe didn't really create that many chances. That said, only one side looked like they were going to score and Shaun Miller duly put the Railwaymen ahead in the 18th minute. Some neat interplay saw Donaldson feed the ball to Miller inside the penalty area. He was allowed to turn and put a shot across the goal. Port Vale keeper Tomlinson was a bit slow going down and was beaten by the bounce as the ball went in at the far post. Cue delirium amongst the Crewe fans. After that it was mostly Crewe in the ascendancy and at half-time we were beginning to wonder if the team might pay the price for not making more of their dominance.
It was certainly something that came back to haunt them just before the hour mark, as a hopelessly optimistic header back to the keeper from Blanchett, left Taylor in no-mans land and he ended up clattering through striker Justin Richards to leave the referee no option but to award a penalty. No controversy over this one though, unlike our two previous meetings. Richards dusted himself down and calmly sent Taylor the wrong way from the spot to give Port Vale a foothold in the game that they scarcely deserved. Further calamity followed for Crewe when defensive lynchpin Artell limped off injured not long after. His replacement, Dugdale, had had a poor game last time out, so the Alex faithful weren't too optimistic. How wrong we were. Dugdale was untroubled by the relatively toothless Vale strikers and proved to be a useful addition at set pieces. Having worked his way into a good position to head one corner, he then timed his run to perfection as Crewe worked a short corner routine. Both he and Miller celebrated as they'd arrived at the same time to nod the ball in at the far post past a despairing dive from Tomlinson. Having watched the replay several times, it's still not clear who does get the final touch but the goal has been given to Dugdale and that's good enough for me. I'm sure Miller will score a few more this season while I'm not convinced Dugdale will.
After the second goal, it was really a case of playing out time. Vale never looked remotely like getting a second goal and, to be honest, they could have conceded more. When the final whistle went, there was elation all around (apart from the Vale fans sat behind me) and the team thoroughly deserved their ovation as they left the field.
To be fair, the Vale are on a fairly poor run of form, have just got a new manager in and were missing three or four key players. Even so, they were much worse than I expected. Rob Taylor on the wing caused Tootle problems all game and Richards was an occasional threat but apart from that there was little menace in the team and their back four and keeper were having a very off day. Some of that, of course, was down to the pace and movement of Crewe's front three - Moore, Donaldson and Miller - who will trouble any defence in League Two. Still, never mid, it's another win and four out of five for 2011. It also ups the win ratio for the lucky walks which is now at W5 D1 L1.
Next up for Crewe is a trip to Aldershot, which will be another test for them. I won't be going as am out celebrating a couple of friends' birthdays. On the other hand I will be off out tonight (Wednesday) to watch Crewe at home in the FA Youth Cup against Leeds, so that makes up for it.
Monday 17 January 2011
Creeping Up On You (Part 2)
Torquay 2 Crewe 1
And so, following the Saturday victory, it was off, in expectation rather than hope, to Torquay for the Tuesday night game. A mere 240 miles or so. Determined to make an occasion out of it, a few of us had booked time off and were staying overnight. We made an early start, departing from Crewe on the 8.22 train to Stafford. Changing at Stafford our party was split as there weren't enough spare seats for us to be together. No problemo. Once the train arrived at Birmingham the commuters all departed and there was plenty of room. We bagged us a table and one or two of us started on the beers. I was determined to be sensible, so didn't crack one open till after we'd departed Cheltenham just before 11. It was probably the last sensible thing I did all day...
Rather than travelling straight to Torquay, we de-trained at Newton Abbot for a couple of cheeky beers and some lunch. Beers were drunk and food wolfed down. After a restful couple of hours, it was back to the station and on to the train to complete the journey down to Torquay. Except we got off at Torre as that's where the Travelodge we'd all booked into was. Stopping only to dump bags in rooms and freshen up a little, it was into a taxi and off into Torquay for yet more beers and to meet up with fellow Crewe fans. At around six o'clock-ish, it was time to head up to the ground for a few beers in the Torquay club bar. Probably not a good idea for me - I was suffering already. The beers there nearly finished me off. I was so drunk I had to get someone to pick up my free tickets for me.
Sadly, for all of us, our efforts in making the journey were rewarded with possibly the worst 45 minutes of football that Crewe have played all season. They were quickly a goal down and Torquay could have added more before they notched their second. Crewe were lucky to go in only two down at half time.
In complete contrast, Crewe came out much the stronger in the second half and had a couple of good chances before Danny Shelley crashed in a thunderous free kick. They kept pressing and late on Donaldson could have snatched a point when clean through on goal but he dragged his shot wide. On the balance of play, a draw would have been a bit harsh on Torquay, who had blown Crewe away in the first half.
Anyway, post-match it was back into the Torquay club bar to drown our sorrows. Or drown some chips in a pint of Guinness, as was actually the case. Luckily for our livers, they threw us out at closing time and it was back to the Travelodge to crash out for the night.
Wednesday morning and we all had a bit of a lie-in before heading off back into Torquay for breakfast and more beers. Thence it was off to the station for a train to Dawlish for some lunchtime beers. Once we'd had a few there, we stocked up with train beers for the journey home. The journey back lasted four hours, unfortunately the beer didn't. Mind, one of our party was reaching his limit. Once back in Crewe, we had a couple more before I called it a night, finally staggering back into my house a full 37 hours after I had left it.
So much for cutting down on the beers. I have to say that when my alarm went off at 7 the next morning I truly was sick, sorry and sober....
And so, following the Saturday victory, it was off, in expectation rather than hope, to Torquay for the Tuesday night game. A mere 240 miles or so. Determined to make an occasion out of it, a few of us had booked time off and were staying overnight. We made an early start, departing from Crewe on the 8.22 train to Stafford. Changing at Stafford our party was split as there weren't enough spare seats for us to be together. No problemo. Once the train arrived at Birmingham the commuters all departed and there was plenty of room. We bagged us a table and one or two of us started on the beers. I was determined to be sensible, so didn't crack one open till after we'd departed Cheltenham just before 11. It was probably the last sensible thing I did all day...
Rather than travelling straight to Torquay, we de-trained at Newton Abbot for a couple of cheeky beers and some lunch. Beers were drunk and food wolfed down. After a restful couple of hours, it was back to the station and on to the train to complete the journey down to Torquay. Except we got off at Torre as that's where the Travelodge we'd all booked into was. Stopping only to dump bags in rooms and freshen up a little, it was into a taxi and off into Torquay for yet more beers and to meet up with fellow Crewe fans. At around six o'clock-ish, it was time to head up to the ground for a few beers in the Torquay club bar. Probably not a good idea for me - I was suffering already. The beers there nearly finished me off. I was so drunk I had to get someone to pick up my free tickets for me.
Sadly, for all of us, our efforts in making the journey were rewarded with possibly the worst 45 minutes of football that Crewe have played all season. They were quickly a goal down and Torquay could have added more before they notched their second. Crewe were lucky to go in only two down at half time.
In complete contrast, Crewe came out much the stronger in the second half and had a couple of good chances before Danny Shelley crashed in a thunderous free kick. They kept pressing and late on Donaldson could have snatched a point when clean through on goal but he dragged his shot wide. On the balance of play, a draw would have been a bit harsh on Torquay, who had blown Crewe away in the first half.
Anyway, post-match it was back into the Torquay club bar to drown our sorrows. Or drown some chips in a pint of Guinness, as was actually the case. Luckily for our livers, they threw us out at closing time and it was back to the Travelodge to crash out for the night.
Wednesday morning and we all had a bit of a lie-in before heading off back into Torquay for breakfast and more beers. Thence it was off to the station for a train to Dawlish for some lunchtime beers. Once we'd had a few there, we stocked up with train beers for the journey home. The journey back lasted four hours, unfortunately the beer didn't. Mind, one of our party was reaching his limit. Once back in Crewe, we had a couple more before I called it a night, finally staggering back into my house a full 37 hours after I had left it.
So much for cutting down on the beers. I have to say that when my alarm went off at 7 the next morning I truly was sick, sorry and sober....
Creeping Up On You (part 1)
Crewe 3 Wycombe 0
A bit of a late catch up from me here as I was too busy to do it last week. Blame my boss for making me do some work instead of letting me surf the web all day. That and the fact that I went to Torquay mid-week (more of which in Part 2).
First up was a home game against an in-form Wycombe Wanderers. I went for a lucky walk as is usual before most Saturday home games. This time we went up to Delamere Forest and had a good, hard 90 minutes or so trekking, without much in the way of rest either. The wind was surprisingly cold but, apart from that, it was a good workout.
With both sides having a decent recent record, this game was odds-on to be a tight affair and so the first half proved. Crewe created chances, but couldn't put them away. Wycombe didn't create as much but still had two good chances to take the lead. I would have settled for a goal-less draw if offered it at half-time.
It turned out I would have been a fool - Crewe came out and totally dominated the second half. Having missed two easier chances in the first half, Donaldson finally put us ahead with some sublime footwork leaving a Wycombe defender on the floor, before Donaldinho smashed the ball past the keeper. Just a minute later he doubled the advantage latching on to an excellent through-ball from Shelley and knocking an early shot beyond the despairing Wycombe keeper. Crewe had been all over Wycombe since the break and it was just reward. Shaun Miller added the icing on the cake late on, tapping in a rebound after Lee Bell's shot had hit the post. It was the least Crewe deserved and maintained their perfect start to 2011 - three wins and three clean sheets.
A bit of a late catch up from me here as I was too busy to do it last week. Blame my boss for making me do some work instead of letting me surf the web all day. That and the fact that I went to Torquay mid-week (more of which in Part 2).
First up was a home game against an in-form Wycombe Wanderers. I went for a lucky walk as is usual before most Saturday home games. This time we went up to Delamere Forest and had a good, hard 90 minutes or so trekking, without much in the way of rest either. The wind was surprisingly cold but, apart from that, it was a good workout.
With both sides having a decent recent record, this game was odds-on to be a tight affair and so the first half proved. Crewe created chances, but couldn't put them away. Wycombe didn't create as much but still had two good chances to take the lead. I would have settled for a goal-less draw if offered it at half-time.
It turned out I would have been a fool - Crewe came out and totally dominated the second half. Having missed two easier chances in the first half, Donaldson finally put us ahead with some sublime footwork leaving a Wycombe defender on the floor, before Donaldinho smashed the ball past the keeper. Just a minute later he doubled the advantage latching on to an excellent through-ball from Shelley and knocking an early shot beyond the despairing Wycombe keeper. Crewe had been all over Wycombe since the break and it was just reward. Shaun Miller added the icing on the cake late on, tapping in a rebound after Lee Bell's shot had hit the post. It was the least Crewe deserved and maintained their perfect start to 2011 - three wins and three clean sheets.
Thursday 6 January 2011
Canyons of Your Mind
Shrewsbury 0 Crewe 1
On reflection, it probably wasn't a good idea to start on the ale at eleven o'clock in the morning, but at least I had the sense not to carry on celebrating Crewe's win when I got back to Nantwich. I wasn't looking forward to returning to work after a 12-day break as it was and a hangover might have persuaded me to give it a miss altogether...
Anyway, I was up and breakfasted reasonably early on Bank Holiday Morning and it was straight on to Fordy's fun bus for a jolly day out. We stopped at the Sports club in Prees, as per last season, and tucked into the ale. I had, over the course of the stop there a pint of Ansells Mild, two pints of Stonehouse Cambrian Gold, a pint of Caledonian Deuchars IPA and a pint of Wood's Triple A. It wasn't just ale, ale and more ale though - I did have a sausage baguette and a bacon bap whilst I was there. It was back on board the bus and off to the ground shortly before 2pm.
Once at the ground I met up with a couple of mates and had time for a handy bottle of Carling before kick-off. Taking my place in the stand I was glad that I'd had the foresight to bring my sunglasses, as the low winter sun penetrated the clouds and shone right into our faces. Even withe sun in our eyes we could see that Crewe were really up for the game. With the midfield controlling the game and the pace of Donaldson, Miller and Grant troubling the Shrewsbury defence, it looked like the Alex were on top. There were occasional worries from Shrewsbury attacks but by and large Ada and Artell had their strikers in their pockets. The most frustrating thing for us Crewe fans was that it looked like the side were going to have one of those days when they couldn't score. I even texted a mate to that effect at half-time.
Having managed to dodge the queue at the tea bar at half-time and slip in for a Carling, a cottage pie and a coffee (the coffee wasn't for me) it was back into the stands for more of the same in the second half. Crewe's forwards kept creating chances and in quick succession both Miller and Donaldson dragged shots wide with only the keeper to beat. Fortunately the goal that they were now threatening arrived in the 67th minute, when Tootle's low cross found an unmarked Miller on the edge of the six-yard box and he sent the keeper the wrong way with a cool finish. He also sent the 680 Crewe fans wild with excitement. Shrewsbury responded by throwing on their substitutes and there were a few hairy moments, including a goal-line clearance by Lee bell as Crewe looked to hold on. In the end though, they were running the clock down with the ball down in the Shrewsbury corner adn looking fairly comfortable and good value for the win.
An excellent result for the lads and a second win of the year and a second clean sheet. Plenty more tough games to come (Wycombe, Torquay and Port Vale in quick succession) but an encouraging start to the year. If the midfield can maintain that sort of control and form and the strikers start putting away their chances, Crewe must have a realistic chance of making the play-offs and even challenging for automatic promotion. After all there's nearly always one side that puts together a great run after Christmas and there's no reason why it shouldn't be the Alex. Please?
On reflection, it probably wasn't a good idea to start on the ale at eleven o'clock in the morning, but at least I had the sense not to carry on celebrating Crewe's win when I got back to Nantwich. I wasn't looking forward to returning to work after a 12-day break as it was and a hangover might have persuaded me to give it a miss altogether...
Anyway, I was up and breakfasted reasonably early on Bank Holiday Morning and it was straight on to Fordy's fun bus for a jolly day out. We stopped at the Sports club in Prees, as per last season, and tucked into the ale. I had, over the course of the stop there a pint of Ansells Mild, two pints of Stonehouse Cambrian Gold, a pint of Caledonian Deuchars IPA and a pint of Wood's Triple A. It wasn't just ale, ale and more ale though - I did have a sausage baguette and a bacon bap whilst I was there. It was back on board the bus and off to the ground shortly before 2pm.
Once at the ground I met up with a couple of mates and had time for a handy bottle of Carling before kick-off. Taking my place in the stand I was glad that I'd had the foresight to bring my sunglasses, as the low winter sun penetrated the clouds and shone right into our faces. Even withe sun in our eyes we could see that Crewe were really up for the game. With the midfield controlling the game and the pace of Donaldson, Miller and Grant troubling the Shrewsbury defence, it looked like the Alex were on top. There were occasional worries from Shrewsbury attacks but by and large Ada and Artell had their strikers in their pockets. The most frustrating thing for us Crewe fans was that it looked like the side were going to have one of those days when they couldn't score. I even texted a mate to that effect at half-time.
Having managed to dodge the queue at the tea bar at half-time and slip in for a Carling, a cottage pie and a coffee (the coffee wasn't for me) it was back into the stands for more of the same in the second half. Crewe's forwards kept creating chances and in quick succession both Miller and Donaldson dragged shots wide with only the keeper to beat. Fortunately the goal that they were now threatening arrived in the 67th minute, when Tootle's low cross found an unmarked Miller on the edge of the six-yard box and he sent the keeper the wrong way with a cool finish. He also sent the 680 Crewe fans wild with excitement. Shrewsbury responded by throwing on their substitutes and there were a few hairy moments, including a goal-line clearance by Lee bell as Crewe looked to hold on. In the end though, they were running the clock down with the ball down in the Shrewsbury corner adn looking fairly comfortable and good value for the win.
An excellent result for the lads and a second win of the year and a second clean sheet. Plenty more tough games to come (Wycombe, Torquay and Port Vale in quick succession) but an encouraging start to the year. If the midfield can maintain that sort of control and form and the strikers start putting away their chances, Crewe must have a realistic chance of making the play-offs and even challenging for automatic promotion. After all there's nearly always one side that puts together a great run after Christmas and there's no reason why it shouldn't be the Alex. Please?
Sunday 2 January 2011
Easy Lover
Crewe 2 Northampton 0
First game of 2011 and I'll be quite happy if the rest of them are as straight-forward as this one. Northampton had a couple of chances early doors, but once Crewe had weathered the storm, they were hardly troubled. Which was a bit of a relief because I didn't go for my lucky walk in the morning. Mind you, given the weather - constant drizzle - I was glad I didn't go. It was the sort of rain that didn't feel too bad, but soon soaked you through. Not ideal conditions for walking in, let alone playing football, and there was a slight concern that the pitch at Gresty Road might be waterlogged. No worries on that front, although it did cut up quite badly in the second half.
As for the game, well, the Cobblers had a couple of threatening opportunities early doors and even hit the crossbar with a dangerous cross, but once Crewe settled, they were in control. Donaldson, in particular, caused the defenders all manner of problems and really should have put Crewe ahead a lot earlier than he did. Having missed two one-on-one chances, he finally opened the scoring with probably his most difficult chance as he raced through and lobbed the ball over the on-rushing goalkeeper. Much relief all round.
Second half, it was much the same - Northampton not offering much and Crewe wasting several decent chances. Miller doubled the lead with some fantastic footwork in the box, bringing the ball down and skipping past the keeper before sliding it in. After that, the game was as good as over. Crewe did their best to play themselves into trouble occasionally - giving the ball away in midfield far too often - but the Cobblers weren't good enough to take advantage.
As useful and decent performance, and with the team hardly having to get out of second gear, hopefully they'll have plenty left in the tank for tomorrow's game at high-flying Shrewsbury. And, indeed, for the numerous games coming up in the busy month of January. Subject to the weather, of course.
First game of 2011 and I'll be quite happy if the rest of them are as straight-forward as this one. Northampton had a couple of chances early doors, but once Crewe had weathered the storm, they were hardly troubled. Which was a bit of a relief because I didn't go for my lucky walk in the morning. Mind you, given the weather - constant drizzle - I was glad I didn't go. It was the sort of rain that didn't feel too bad, but soon soaked you through. Not ideal conditions for walking in, let alone playing football, and there was a slight concern that the pitch at Gresty Road might be waterlogged. No worries on that front, although it did cut up quite badly in the second half.
As for the game, well, the Cobblers had a couple of threatening opportunities early doors and even hit the crossbar with a dangerous cross, but once Crewe settled, they were in control. Donaldson, in particular, caused the defenders all manner of problems and really should have put Crewe ahead a lot earlier than he did. Having missed two one-on-one chances, he finally opened the scoring with probably his most difficult chance as he raced through and lobbed the ball over the on-rushing goalkeeper. Much relief all round.
Second half, it was much the same - Northampton not offering much and Crewe wasting several decent chances. Miller doubled the lead with some fantastic footwork in the box, bringing the ball down and skipping past the keeper before sliding it in. After that, the game was as good as over. Crewe did their best to play themselves into trouble occasionally - giving the ball away in midfield far too often - but the Cobblers weren't good enough to take advantage.
As useful and decent performance, and with the team hardly having to get out of second gear, hopefully they'll have plenty left in the tank for tomorrow's game at high-flying Shrewsbury. And, indeed, for the numerous games coming up in the busy month of January. Subject to the weather, of course.
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