Hereford 1 Crewe 0
Despite the sunshine and the improving weather, I couldn't be tempted into making the trip to Hereford, so ended up listening to this one on the radio. With the game being switched to Sunday, this meant that BBC Radio Stoke were covering the game on clear and crackle-free FM. Not that that made listening to the game much of a more enjoyable experience.
Having failed to win their last eight away games, Crewe were looking to stop the rot against a Hereford side that have only won twice on their own ground. In typical Crewe fashion though, they shot themselves in the foot by conceding a soft goal and then couldn't amke the most of the chances they created and ended up coming away with a ninth consecutive away defeat. Having been reasonably consistent on the road before Christmas, Crewe now have the worst record of any team in the division.
Any play-off ambitions the fans may have harboured have now all but gone but, to be fair, at least Dario says he hasn't given up. It's a bit late for him to say that, but at least he's said it.
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Thursday 24 March 2011
Time For Action
Crewe 0 Accrington Stanley 0
And lo it came to pass that in the Year of Our Lord 2011 there fell upon Gresty Road a great wailing and gnashing of teeth as neither the Alexandrians of Crewe and the Stanleyians of Accrington could strike the fatal blow and score a goal. The crowd looked upon it and they were mighty vexed.
It's not unknown for Crewe to be involved in goal-less draws, of course, although they tend not to be too frequent. The last one was almost a year ago at Rotherham but you have to go back to the season before that for the last one at home. A mere 689 days after playing out a goal-less draw with Hartlepool, as they slipped ignominiously out of League One, Crewe notched up another one as lingering hopes of the play-offs all but vanished.
I can't say it was even a particularly inspring 0-0 draw either. Accrington out-muscled the Crewe team and snapped in to win the ball much more often. Both sides were creating chances, but Stanley had the lion's share and will probably feel they ought to have done better with them. They did have a claim for a goal after a McConville shot appeared to have crossed the line but the referee and linesman waved play on. McConville appeared to handle in the build up anyway so, in my eyes, justice was done. After that Stanley, who are on a decent run at the moment, had plenty of chances but either couldn't get it on target or found Taylor in top shot-stopping form.
Perhaps the only good thing to emerge from the night was the re-appearance of Ashley M Westwood at centre-half. A former Alex stalwart, Old Westy (as he's known) had come back to the Alex for a trial and found himself on a deal, then on the bench and thence in to the team. His experience and reading of the game certainly improved the back four. He's probably not a long-term solution (he's 34, which is ancient for a footballer) but he can at least help with the last few games of the season.
The reality is that Crewe now need to win at least six, if not seven of their last eight games. It's not impossible, but it is unlikely. They'll certainly have to come back from Sunday's trip to Hereford with all three points to have any chance. I'm not putting my mortgage on it.
And lo it came to pass that in the Year of Our Lord 2011 there fell upon Gresty Road a great wailing and gnashing of teeth as neither the Alexandrians of Crewe and the Stanleyians of Accrington could strike the fatal blow and score a goal. The crowd looked upon it and they were mighty vexed.
It's not unknown for Crewe to be involved in goal-less draws, of course, although they tend not to be too frequent. The last one was almost a year ago at Rotherham but you have to go back to the season before that for the last one at home. A mere 689 days after playing out a goal-less draw with Hartlepool, as they slipped ignominiously out of League One, Crewe notched up another one as lingering hopes of the play-offs all but vanished.
I can't say it was even a particularly inspring 0-0 draw either. Accrington out-muscled the Crewe team and snapped in to win the ball much more often. Both sides were creating chances, but Stanley had the lion's share and will probably feel they ought to have done better with them. They did have a claim for a goal after a McConville shot appeared to have crossed the line but the referee and linesman waved play on. McConville appeared to handle in the build up anyway so, in my eyes, justice was done. After that Stanley, who are on a decent run at the moment, had plenty of chances but either couldn't get it on target or found Taylor in top shot-stopping form.
Perhaps the only good thing to emerge from the night was the re-appearance of Ashley M Westwood at centre-half. A former Alex stalwart, Old Westy (as he's known) had come back to the Alex for a trial and found himself on a deal, then on the bench and thence in to the team. His experience and reading of the game certainly improved the back four. He's probably not a long-term solution (he's 34, which is ancient for a footballer) but he can at least help with the last few games of the season.
The reality is that Crewe now need to win at least six, if not seven of their last eight games. It's not impossible, but it is unlikely. They'll certainly have to come back from Sunday's trip to Hereford with all three points to have any chance. I'm not putting my mortgage on it.
Sunday 20 March 2011
I See A Darkness
Oxford 2 Crewe 1
I was all set for my first trip to the dreaming spires of Oxford in years, and had even managed to score some free tickets, but fell ill on Friday night and was forced, somewhat reluctantly, to cancel my plans. I managed to pass the free tickets on and hope they were appreciated by the recipients.
The afternoon passed in a heap of frustration. I couldn't listen to the Radio Stoke coverage due to not owning a DAB radio and was unable to get the BBC Oxford up on the BBC's iPlayer.I doubt they would have been broadcasting over the Internet anyway, due to rights restrictions, but I would have liked to find that out for myself. I spent a fair while trying to get iPlayer working but nothing I did seemed to work. It was especially puzzling as the video stream from Murrayfield seemed to be working perfectly well. Turns out that there's some bits of iPlayer that don't currently work in IE for me. I should have tried via Chrome (which works perfectly) but didn't think of that till just now!
Anyway, in the end I gave up and followed the game via the BBC text commentary service, which turned out to be pants (shocker!). It's hard to tell how a game is going when you only get brief updates every two minutes or so, but it seemed Crewe were having plenty of possession. Nonetheless the writing was on the wall once Constable scored. Crewe haven't come back to win a game in which the opposition has scored first all season, so this was unlikely to be any different. It wasn't and a second from Constable condemned Crewe to their eighth successive away defeat. Leitch-Smith's late goal was no consolation. and Crewe dropped three place in the table as the teams around them picked up points.
It's still tight in the race for the play-offs - 5 games at home, all winnable and 4 away, of which 3 are definitely winnable, which would give Crewe 75 points. The dream is definitely not over but unless Crewe can find a way to win away from home it's not going to be achievable.
I was all set for my first trip to the dreaming spires of Oxford in years, and had even managed to score some free tickets, but fell ill on Friday night and was forced, somewhat reluctantly, to cancel my plans. I managed to pass the free tickets on and hope they were appreciated by the recipients.
The afternoon passed in a heap of frustration. I couldn't listen to the Radio Stoke coverage due to not owning a DAB radio and was unable to get the BBC Oxford up on the BBC's iPlayer.I doubt they would have been broadcasting over the Internet anyway, due to rights restrictions, but I would have liked to find that out for myself. I spent a fair while trying to get iPlayer working but nothing I did seemed to work. It was especially puzzling as the video stream from Murrayfield seemed to be working perfectly well. Turns out that there's some bits of iPlayer that don't currently work in IE for me. I should have tried via Chrome (which works perfectly) but didn't think of that till just now!
Anyway, in the end I gave up and followed the game via the BBC text commentary service, which turned out to be pants (shocker!). It's hard to tell how a game is going when you only get brief updates every two minutes or so, but it seemed Crewe were having plenty of possession. Nonetheless the writing was on the wall once Constable scored. Crewe haven't come back to win a game in which the opposition has scored first all season, so this was unlikely to be any different. It wasn't and a second from Constable condemned Crewe to their eighth successive away defeat. Leitch-Smith's late goal was no consolation. and Crewe dropped three place in the table as the teams around them picked up points.
It's still tight in the race for the play-offs - 5 games at home, all winnable and 4 away, of which 3 are definitely winnable, which would give Crewe 75 points. The dream is definitely not over but unless Crewe can find a way to win away from home it's not going to be achievable.
Friday 18 March 2011
Ohio River Boat Song
Crewe 1 Southend 0
In lieu of the usual pre-match walk (stymied by having to work till 5.30) I decided to try a pre-match lucky curry. I'm pleased to report that it worked and, with another Tuesday night game coming up, I get to do it again next week. Sheek kebab to start, Chicken rezala and pilau rice for a main and two pints of Cobra, for those that are interested. I'll be having that same meal next week, sat at the same table. Yep, I'm sad.
Fully fed and watered it was off to the ground to take in the game. Southend had a pretty similar record to Crewe's and both sides still harbour ambitions of reaching the play-offs. I'm not sure either side will make it, but there's usually one side that has a late spurt to scrape into the top seven and these sides have as good a chance as any. I would say that Crewe had a better chance as their run in features a lot of games against teams in the bottom half, but frankly, Crewe's record against teams at the wrong end of the table is appalling.
Well, the first half wasn't that good, to be honest, although Crewe created chances with both Artell and Bell hitting the bar. Both teams were a bit sluggish and the tempo never really picked up. Murphy and Moore switched sides and Moore certainly got more joy from their full back than Murphy had, but to be fair to Murphy, he's a central midfielder playing out wide.
With Westwood limping out of the game at half time, there was a bit of a reshuffle for Crewe, with Murphy moving into central midfield and Shelley coming on out wide. The move paid dividends as young Shelley had a stormer of a second half and Crewe's increased tempo saw them take the game to Southend. In the 65th minute, some good work by Shelley gave him room to pick out Donaldson in the area. he skipped past a challenge and hit off a shot which was saved by the keeper. The rebound fell to Miller in the middle of the area and despite almost fluffing his chance, he buried it, to give Crewe the lead. After that, Crewe had a couple of further chances to extend their lead but Donaldson saw his lob come back off the bar and then Artell put an easy header just wide. with Crewe seeming comfortable and cruising, Dario made another change, taking off Byron Moore and bringing on Joel Grant. Instead of a straight swap though, Grant went to centre-forward and Donaldson out to the wing in a sort of 4-3-3 formation. Clearly Donaldson was unhappy with that, but that was what Dario wanted. Grant struggled to retain the ball when it was played up to him though and gradually Southend managed to apply some pressure on the Crewe goal. They were still reduced to shooting from distance and Crewe keeper, Taylor, has shown plenty of times this season that he's a decent shot stopper. Grant did create one final chance for Miller in the last few minutes, but Miller put his shot straight into the keeper's arms. There was still time for Southend to appeal for a penalty, but the referee wasn't interested and instead blew for full time.
There was a bit of a feeling that Crewe had fallen over the line in this one, but in truth, there were very few alarms in the Crewe defence and all the pressure Southend exerted was caused by Dario's late substitution. with Donaldson missing in action on the wing, there was no one to hold the ball up when it was cleared and so it tended to come straight back through the Southend midfield, They weren't up to much though and it was a comfortable three points. The play-off dream lives on for another few days at least!
In lieu of the usual pre-match walk (stymied by having to work till 5.30) I decided to try a pre-match lucky curry. I'm pleased to report that it worked and, with another Tuesday night game coming up, I get to do it again next week. Sheek kebab to start, Chicken rezala and pilau rice for a main and two pints of Cobra, for those that are interested. I'll be having that same meal next week, sat at the same table. Yep, I'm sad.
Fully fed and watered it was off to the ground to take in the game. Southend had a pretty similar record to Crewe's and both sides still harbour ambitions of reaching the play-offs. I'm not sure either side will make it, but there's usually one side that has a late spurt to scrape into the top seven and these sides have as good a chance as any. I would say that Crewe had a better chance as their run in features a lot of games against teams in the bottom half, but frankly, Crewe's record against teams at the wrong end of the table is appalling.
Well, the first half wasn't that good, to be honest, although Crewe created chances with both Artell and Bell hitting the bar. Both teams were a bit sluggish and the tempo never really picked up. Murphy and Moore switched sides and Moore certainly got more joy from their full back than Murphy had, but to be fair to Murphy, he's a central midfielder playing out wide.
With Westwood limping out of the game at half time, there was a bit of a reshuffle for Crewe, with Murphy moving into central midfield and Shelley coming on out wide. The move paid dividends as young Shelley had a stormer of a second half and Crewe's increased tempo saw them take the game to Southend. In the 65th minute, some good work by Shelley gave him room to pick out Donaldson in the area. he skipped past a challenge and hit off a shot which was saved by the keeper. The rebound fell to Miller in the middle of the area and despite almost fluffing his chance, he buried it, to give Crewe the lead. After that, Crewe had a couple of further chances to extend their lead but Donaldson saw his lob come back off the bar and then Artell put an easy header just wide. with Crewe seeming comfortable and cruising, Dario made another change, taking off Byron Moore and bringing on Joel Grant. Instead of a straight swap though, Grant went to centre-forward and Donaldson out to the wing in a sort of 4-3-3 formation. Clearly Donaldson was unhappy with that, but that was what Dario wanted. Grant struggled to retain the ball when it was played up to him though and gradually Southend managed to apply some pressure on the Crewe goal. They were still reduced to shooting from distance and Crewe keeper, Taylor, has shown plenty of times this season that he's a decent shot stopper. Grant did create one final chance for Miller in the last few minutes, but Miller put his shot straight into the keeper's arms. There was still time for Southend to appeal for a penalty, but the referee wasn't interested and instead blew for full time.
There was a bit of a feeling that Crewe had fallen over the line in this one, but in truth, there were very few alarms in the Crewe defence and all the pressure Southend exerted was caused by Dario's late substitution. with Donaldson missing in action on the wing, there was no one to hold the ball up when it was cleared and so it tended to come straight back through the Southend midfield, They weren't up to much though and it was a comfortable three points. The play-off dream lives on for another few days at least!
Monday 14 March 2011
The Leader of the Pack
Crewe 2 Chesterfield 0
A bright and early start for me this week, as I finally got round to having a lucky walk pre-match. Off up to Bickerton for a yomp round the Barnet route - about an hour of walking round the Sandstone Trail, up and over Rawhead. Did it in a reasonable time this week with one or two fewer rest stops than normal, although the killer final ascent still nearly did me in.
Anyhoo, having managed the walk, it was off up to Fortress Gresty to watch the Alex take on runaway league leaders, Chesterfield. Having given them at an almighty scare in the game at their place earlier in the season, I was looking forward to seeing how the Alex would do at home. Both sides try to play attractive football, so we were almost guaranteed a goal fest. It didn't turn out quite like that, of course.
With Crewe unchanged from the side that beat Burton and then lost at Macclesfield it was anyone's guess which of those sides would turn up. Luckily for us home fans, we got the Burton-beaters, although they didn't start quite like that team. In fact Chesterfield had the best of the early chances, but there was nothing terribly clear-cut. Crewe did show, however, that they had the pace and skill to cause the Chesterfield defence plenty of trouble. Having hit the post earlier, Donaldson put Crewe ahead about ten minutes before half time. Strike partner Miller, chipped the ball up to him and he juggled it round the defender and into the area before slipping the ball through the keeper's legs. Fantastic work by "Donaldinho", emphasising just how much we'll miss him when he's gone.
In the second half, Crewe rode their (and my) luck a bit, seeing a shot hit the post and Lester making a right Horlicks of the rebound and then Taylor making a fine low stop before the ball was scrambled away following a corner. But the result was put to bed when substitute Danny Shelley rocketed in a low free-kick, which the Chesterfield keeper could do nothing about.
So a good 2-0 win against the league leaders and almost conclusive proof that the Saturday morning walks do affect the out come of Crewe games! 'Tis just a pity that our next game is at home on Tuesday night. Wonder if the boss (also a Crewe fan) will let me have the afternoon off...?
A bright and early start for me this week, as I finally got round to having a lucky walk pre-match. Off up to Bickerton for a yomp round the Barnet route - about an hour of walking round the Sandstone Trail, up and over Rawhead. Did it in a reasonable time this week with one or two fewer rest stops than normal, although the killer final ascent still nearly did me in.
Anyhoo, having managed the walk, it was off up to Fortress Gresty to watch the Alex take on runaway league leaders, Chesterfield. Having given them at an almighty scare in the game at their place earlier in the season, I was looking forward to seeing how the Alex would do at home. Both sides try to play attractive football, so we were almost guaranteed a goal fest. It didn't turn out quite like that, of course.
With Crewe unchanged from the side that beat Burton and then lost at Macclesfield it was anyone's guess which of those sides would turn up. Luckily for us home fans, we got the Burton-beaters, although they didn't start quite like that team. In fact Chesterfield had the best of the early chances, but there was nothing terribly clear-cut. Crewe did show, however, that they had the pace and skill to cause the Chesterfield defence plenty of trouble. Having hit the post earlier, Donaldson put Crewe ahead about ten minutes before half time. Strike partner Miller, chipped the ball up to him and he juggled it round the defender and into the area before slipping the ball through the keeper's legs. Fantastic work by "Donaldinho", emphasising just how much we'll miss him when he's gone.
In the second half, Crewe rode their (and my) luck a bit, seeing a shot hit the post and Lester making a right Horlicks of the rebound and then Taylor making a fine low stop before the ball was scrambled away following a corner. But the result was put to bed when substitute Danny Shelley rocketed in a low free-kick, which the Chesterfield keeper could do nothing about.
So a good 2-0 win against the league leaders and almost conclusive proof that the Saturday morning walks do affect the out come of Crewe games! 'Tis just a pity that our next game is at home on Tuesday night. Wonder if the boss (also a Crewe fan) will let me have the afternoon off...?
Thursday 10 March 2011
Beer, Sex, Chips and Gravy
Macclesfield 1 Crewe 0
Another game, another defeat as Crewe returned to the form that had seen them scrap a solitary point from the whole of February. To be fair, they weren't much worse than they have been in other games where they've got a point or better, but their deadly strike force failed to hit the back of the net and once again that assured them of defeat.
The day had started off so well, too. Having booked the afternoon off I had breezed through a morning's work before setting off to Macclesfield in search of decent beers and that. I'd travelled via Kidsgrove and having had a first chance to look at it properly, I have to say I liked the station. There was certainly more to it than you see through the carriage window when passing through and, sitting in the little terraced area between platforms 2 and 3, with the sun shining from a glorious blue sky, it felt like a great day to be out and about. I got into Macc at about half past two and had a little wander around the town centre before deciding to pop into the Waters Green tavern for the first beer of the day. It was a good job I hadn't waited much longer, because the pub shut at 3, so I only had time for one. Leaving there I headed off towards the Wetherspoons only to be waylaid by a pub-cum-cafe called the Treacle Tap. It was empty but offered the promise of local beers, teas, coffee and pies. Pieminster Pies, from Brizzle, no less. Didn't really fancy a pie at the time, to be honest, but did take advantage of the free newspapers to catch up with the news whilst enjoying a leisurely couple of pints. From thence, it was on to the Wetherspoons, aka Society Rooms for some tea. I had a steak, being as it was steak night, washed down with a couple of pints. Finally, have met up with someone I actually know, it was a stagger off to The Railway View for a few more delicious beers before making my way to the ground.
Probably the less said about the game the better. The first half was pretty terrible, with Dugdale's miss from a free header being about the highlight. Macclesfield took the lead with just about their only chance of the game, when Artell slipped to allow Draper a sight of goal. He stuck it past the keeper from the edge of the area. The second half saw Crewe improve and create several decent chances, none of which were taken. Macclesfield even gave Crewe a penalty, but Donaldson struck it too close to the keeper, who made a decent save. That's something like 12 penalties awarded and 7 missed so far this season (although I will have to check the stats on that). There were still chances for the Alex, but they could have played all night and not scored, it was one of those games. Full time came and a lot of fans made their feelings known. I didn't stay to see the final whistle as I'd made arrangements to get the coach home and wanted to make the journey with an empty bladder...
That was, according to most, the final nail in the coffin for the Alex's season, but I'm not writing it off just yet - there are still 12 games to go, 7 of which are at home. A decent run of lucky walks and a few wins and the Alex will be right back in there with a chance. The resumption of the lucky walk is scheduled for this Saturday morning, before the visit of league leaders Chesterfield. Surely got to be more successful than the lucky tree chopping or the lucky staying-in-bed...? Surely?
Another game, another defeat as Crewe returned to the form that had seen them scrap a solitary point from the whole of February. To be fair, they weren't much worse than they have been in other games where they've got a point or better, but their deadly strike force failed to hit the back of the net and once again that assured them of defeat.
The day had started off so well, too. Having booked the afternoon off I had breezed through a morning's work before setting off to Macclesfield in search of decent beers and that. I'd travelled via Kidsgrove and having had a first chance to look at it properly, I have to say I liked the station. There was certainly more to it than you see through the carriage window when passing through and, sitting in the little terraced area between platforms 2 and 3, with the sun shining from a glorious blue sky, it felt like a great day to be out and about. I got into Macc at about half past two and had a little wander around the town centre before deciding to pop into the Waters Green tavern for the first beer of the day. It was a good job I hadn't waited much longer, because the pub shut at 3, so I only had time for one. Leaving there I headed off towards the Wetherspoons only to be waylaid by a pub-cum-cafe called the Treacle Tap. It was empty but offered the promise of local beers, teas, coffee and pies. Pieminster Pies, from Brizzle, no less. Didn't really fancy a pie at the time, to be honest, but did take advantage of the free newspapers to catch up with the news whilst enjoying a leisurely couple of pints. From thence, it was on to the Wetherspoons, aka Society Rooms for some tea. I had a steak, being as it was steak night, washed down with a couple of pints. Finally, have met up with someone I actually know, it was a stagger off to The Railway View for a few more delicious beers before making my way to the ground.
Probably the less said about the game the better. The first half was pretty terrible, with Dugdale's miss from a free header being about the highlight. Macclesfield took the lead with just about their only chance of the game, when Artell slipped to allow Draper a sight of goal. He stuck it past the keeper from the edge of the area. The second half saw Crewe improve and create several decent chances, none of which were taken. Macclesfield even gave Crewe a penalty, but Donaldson struck it too close to the keeper, who made a decent save. That's something like 12 penalties awarded and 7 missed so far this season (although I will have to check the stats on that). There were still chances for the Alex, but they could have played all night and not scored, it was one of those games. Full time came and a lot of fans made their feelings known. I didn't stay to see the final whistle as I'd made arrangements to get the coach home and wanted to make the journey with an empty bladder...
That was, according to most, the final nail in the coffin for the Alex's season, but I'm not writing it off just yet - there are still 12 games to go, 7 of which are at home. A decent run of lucky walks and a few wins and the Alex will be right back in there with a chance. The resumption of the lucky walk is scheduled for this Saturday morning, before the visit of league leaders Chesterfield. Surely got to be more successful than the lucky tree chopping or the lucky staying-in-bed...? Surely?
Monday 7 March 2011
The Best of Jill Hives
Crewe 4 Burton 1
Another home game without a lucky walk, but this time it mattered not as Crewe had this game sewn up within half an hour. A goal after just two minutes by Donaldson, beating the keeper at the near post with a soft shot, was followed by a goal for Miller, beating the keeper at the far post from a similar position, after seven minutes. Two up and cruising, Crewe were looking threatening every time they attacked a shellshocked Burton. There was then a lengthy interruption in play as the referee pulled up with a muscle strain and had to be replaced. There was a call for a qualified referee to replace the 4th official, but sadly, someone had got there before I could get down from my seat at the top of the main stand... On the half hour mark, Crewe were given the chance to extend their lead. Artell was felled by a clumsy push as he competed for a free-kick and the referee awarded a penalty. Of course, being Crewe, this wasn't a foregone conclusion. Indeed Donaldson stepped up and hit the penalty towards the corner only to see Legzdins in goal claw it away. Luckily, the referee's assistant pointed out that Legzdins had stepped forward off his line before the penalty was struck and the referee awarded a re-take. This time Donaldson put more power in his shot and Legzdins dived the wrong way and Crewe were three ahead. After the dire results in February this was more than anyone expected. Burton manager Paul Peschisolido made a couple of changes after 35 minutes and changed the shape of the team to try to get something out of the game but having made it to half time without conceding I was pretty confident Crewe would win the game.
The second half was a completely different affair. With Crewe content to play on the counter-attack and Burton throwing men forward to try to get a goal back, you might have thought that Burton were the team with the three goal cushion. Crewe did appear to be trying to shoot themselves in the foot at times, with the midfield playing so close to the defence that they almost had a flat back eight at times. Burton came close a few times, with Taylor making a couple of decent saves and Westwood and Blanchett making goal-line clearances. However, the threatened goal didn't come until the 83rd minute when an unmarked Winnell had time at the far post to volley in past a helpless Taylor. It was disappointing that Crewe couldn't keep a clean sheet, but perhaps not surprising - they've only managed 7 this season. Still, there was time left in the game for Burton to score more, but they couldn't find a way through. Instead Crewe notched a fourth goal in the second minute of injury time. Substitute Shelley held the ball up well in midfield and found fellow sub Leitch-Smith whose return pass was straight into his run into the area. Shelley's shot deflected off the keeper straight into the path of Donaldson who tapped in from two yards to claim his first hat-trick in the English Football League.
Post-match, despite the win, there was plenty of grumbling in the bar. The second half performance hadn't been good enough, they didn't keep a clean sheet, the scoreline flattered us, that sort of thing. But to be honest, I was happy we'd got a win. I'll take 13 more poor performances like that if we win every game.
There's another must win away at Macclesfield on Tuesday night before a momentous clash with league leaders Chesterfield on Saturday. After giving them an almighty scare at their place before eventually hanging on a 5-5 draw, Crewe will be hoping to put them to bed this time. It'll be a tough game though, so I'll definitely be arranging a lucky walk!
Another home game without a lucky walk, but this time it mattered not as Crewe had this game sewn up within half an hour. A goal after just two minutes by Donaldson, beating the keeper at the near post with a soft shot, was followed by a goal for Miller, beating the keeper at the far post from a similar position, after seven minutes. Two up and cruising, Crewe were looking threatening every time they attacked a shellshocked Burton. There was then a lengthy interruption in play as the referee pulled up with a muscle strain and had to be replaced. There was a call for a qualified referee to replace the 4th official, but sadly, someone had got there before I could get down from my seat at the top of the main stand... On the half hour mark, Crewe were given the chance to extend their lead. Artell was felled by a clumsy push as he competed for a free-kick and the referee awarded a penalty. Of course, being Crewe, this wasn't a foregone conclusion. Indeed Donaldson stepped up and hit the penalty towards the corner only to see Legzdins in goal claw it away. Luckily, the referee's assistant pointed out that Legzdins had stepped forward off his line before the penalty was struck and the referee awarded a re-take. This time Donaldson put more power in his shot and Legzdins dived the wrong way and Crewe were three ahead. After the dire results in February this was more than anyone expected. Burton manager Paul Peschisolido made a couple of changes after 35 minutes and changed the shape of the team to try to get something out of the game but having made it to half time without conceding I was pretty confident Crewe would win the game.
The second half was a completely different affair. With Crewe content to play on the counter-attack and Burton throwing men forward to try to get a goal back, you might have thought that Burton were the team with the three goal cushion. Crewe did appear to be trying to shoot themselves in the foot at times, with the midfield playing so close to the defence that they almost had a flat back eight at times. Burton came close a few times, with Taylor making a couple of decent saves and Westwood and Blanchett making goal-line clearances. However, the threatened goal didn't come until the 83rd minute when an unmarked Winnell had time at the far post to volley in past a helpless Taylor. It was disappointing that Crewe couldn't keep a clean sheet, but perhaps not surprising - they've only managed 7 this season. Still, there was time left in the game for Burton to score more, but they couldn't find a way through. Instead Crewe notched a fourth goal in the second minute of injury time. Substitute Shelley held the ball up well in midfield and found fellow sub Leitch-Smith whose return pass was straight into his run into the area. Shelley's shot deflected off the keeper straight into the path of Donaldson who tapped in from two yards to claim his first hat-trick in the English Football League.
Post-match, despite the win, there was plenty of grumbling in the bar. The second half performance hadn't been good enough, they didn't keep a clean sheet, the scoreline flattered us, that sort of thing. But to be honest, I was happy we'd got a win. I'll take 13 more poor performances like that if we win every game.
There's another must win away at Macclesfield on Tuesday night before a momentous clash with league leaders Chesterfield on Saturday. After giving them an almighty scare at their place before eventually hanging on a 5-5 draw, Crewe will be hoping to put them to bed this time. It'll be a tough game though, so I'll definitely be arranging a lucky walk!
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