Wycombe 2 Crewe 0
Eeh, these bank holidays and extra days off have thrown me right out. Should really have done this on Monday evening but was still catching up with stuff from the weekend. And the last two days I've been catching up with jobs around the house.
Anyway, I did find time to listen to this game on the radio. Sounded like it was a perfect summation of Crewe's season, to be honest. Plenty of chances before Wycombe took the lead shortly before half-time, via the head of Scott Rendell. Crewe then won a fortuitous penalty which Clayton Donaldson saw saved well by the keeper. Almost immediately, Wycombe won a dubious penalty of their own, which Rendell put away confidently. Half-time came and in a fairly even game, Crewe found themselves 2 goals behind. As any of the hardy away fans could have told you, there would only be one result.
Crewe huffed and puffed to little effect in the second half and the Wycombe keeper had little work to do until the arrival of teenage starlets Powell and Clayton. They gave Crewe more of a cutting edge, but they were still not incisive enough to pull Crewe back into the game. Indeed, the defeat could have been heavier had Taylor not saved Rendell's second penalty following Dugdale's handball.
So, 12 games on the road this year and that's the 11th consecutive defeat. And it's that form that has really cost the club in it's search for a play-off place. One more win and a few draws would have seen the club up there in the mix, but it's not to be. The best they can do now is finish 9th, worst they can do now is 14th. Not a great finish really, either way, although I predicted mid-table at the start of the season. Not that I feel particularly good about that.
Saturday's game at home to Stockport is the last home game of the season and will be followed by the Crewe ASi end-of-season party. I've volunteered to take photos during the evening, so won't be getting too drunk. Especially as I'm marshalling on the South Cheshire 20 Mile race on Sunday morning.
Thursday 28 April 2011
Monday 25 April 2011
Daysleeper
Crewe 2 Morecambe 1
Apologies for the delay in this update on last Friday's match - I was busy enjoying myself on Saturday and Sunday, so didn't have chance to get round to it!
Anyway, having endured the dismal delights of the previous weekend's draw against Lincoln, I was hoping for better. Especially as I was taking my nephew to his first Crewe game in a long time. I think he's come to a couple of youth games in the meantime, but the last game we could both recall him being at was a dreadful FA Cup win over Ebbsfleet at the tail end of Steve Holland's managerial career. Well, I'm pleased to report that the game was better than that, but not by much. Crewe once again looked like they were ready for their summer holidays for much of the first half, with the midfield struggling to make inroads and both Grant and Miller looking out of sorts up front. Morecambe were clearly taking their cue from Lincoln and working hard to try to close down the midfield and put pressure on the defence. It wasn't making for a free-flowing game and chances were few and far between at both ends. Crewe had one chance early doors and thereafter Morecambe were on top but mostly reduced to shooting from distance. Taylor in the Crewe goal made one particularly fine save but there were few other alarms in the first half.
In the second half, Crewe upped their game a bit and started to get on top. Donaldson forced a brave stop from the Morecambe keeper, who required lengthy treatment. Crewe looked to press their advantage but then, in typical Crewe fashion, shot themselves in the foot. A deep cross to the back post wasn't claimed by Taylor, half-cleared by Tootle and Morecambe's Phil Jevons drove the ball back in for Garry Hunter to tap in at the near post. Disappointing to say the least. Nearly an hour gone and Crewe behind at home again. It could have been worse - Spencer got took advantage of hesitation between Taylor and Westwood Sr to lob the keeper, but Dugdale got back to make a goal-line clearance. On 66 minutes Dario made a change, withdrawing an out-of-sorts Miller and giving Max Clayton his professional debut. There has been a lot of talk about the ability of the 16-year old and he lived up to some of the hype by having a very busy half hour. He made some excellent runs, was always looking for space and, for a small lad, had a good leap on him to win the ball in the air. Even the arrival of Morecambe man-mountain Jim Bentley hardly threw the lad off his stride. The only disappointing thing was that he couldn't cap his performance with a goal, but that might have been a bit too good to be true. With Clayton livening up the Crewe attack, the chances started coming again and Donaldson finally got in on the act snapping up the rebound off the goalkeeper from a Grant shot and drawing Crewe level. Crewe than had a decent shout for a penalty as Donaldson appeared to be wrestled down in the area but the referee waved away the appeals. It looked like being another frustrating afternoon for the Alex as normal time ticked away, but there was still 5 minutes of injury time to play. In the third of those minutes, Donaldson hurled a long throw into the area. The ball was cleared to Bell, who lifted it back in and on to the head of the on-rushing Donaldson, who put his header across goal and in off the far post. It was a magnificent header - directed to about the only place where the keeper couldn't have saved it. Cue scenes of joy and delirium as Crewe came from behind to win for the first time this season.
Now if only they can stop the losing streak on the road....
Apologies for the delay in this update on last Friday's match - I was busy enjoying myself on Saturday and Sunday, so didn't have chance to get round to it!
Anyway, having endured the dismal delights of the previous weekend's draw against Lincoln, I was hoping for better. Especially as I was taking my nephew to his first Crewe game in a long time. I think he's come to a couple of youth games in the meantime, but the last game we could both recall him being at was a dreadful FA Cup win over Ebbsfleet at the tail end of Steve Holland's managerial career. Well, I'm pleased to report that the game was better than that, but not by much. Crewe once again looked like they were ready for their summer holidays for much of the first half, with the midfield struggling to make inroads and both Grant and Miller looking out of sorts up front. Morecambe were clearly taking their cue from Lincoln and working hard to try to close down the midfield and put pressure on the defence. It wasn't making for a free-flowing game and chances were few and far between at both ends. Crewe had one chance early doors and thereafter Morecambe were on top but mostly reduced to shooting from distance. Taylor in the Crewe goal made one particularly fine save but there were few other alarms in the first half.
In the second half, Crewe upped their game a bit and started to get on top. Donaldson forced a brave stop from the Morecambe keeper, who required lengthy treatment. Crewe looked to press their advantage but then, in typical Crewe fashion, shot themselves in the foot. A deep cross to the back post wasn't claimed by Taylor, half-cleared by Tootle and Morecambe's Phil Jevons drove the ball back in for Garry Hunter to tap in at the near post. Disappointing to say the least. Nearly an hour gone and Crewe behind at home again. It could have been worse - Spencer got took advantage of hesitation between Taylor and Westwood Sr to lob the keeper, but Dugdale got back to make a goal-line clearance. On 66 minutes Dario made a change, withdrawing an out-of-sorts Miller and giving Max Clayton his professional debut. There has been a lot of talk about the ability of the 16-year old and he lived up to some of the hype by having a very busy half hour. He made some excellent runs, was always looking for space and, for a small lad, had a good leap on him to win the ball in the air. Even the arrival of Morecambe man-mountain Jim Bentley hardly threw the lad off his stride. The only disappointing thing was that he couldn't cap his performance with a goal, but that might have been a bit too good to be true. With Clayton livening up the Crewe attack, the chances started coming again and Donaldson finally got in on the act snapping up the rebound off the goalkeeper from a Grant shot and drawing Crewe level. Crewe than had a decent shout for a penalty as Donaldson appeared to be wrestled down in the area but the referee waved away the appeals. It looked like being another frustrating afternoon for the Alex as normal time ticked away, but there was still 5 minutes of injury time to play. In the third of those minutes, Donaldson hurled a long throw into the area. The ball was cleared to Bell, who lifted it back in and on to the head of the on-rushing Donaldson, who put his header across goal and in off the far post. It was a magnificent header - directed to about the only place where the keeper couldn't have saved it. Cue scenes of joy and delirium as Crewe came from behind to win for the first time this season.
Now if only they can stop the losing streak on the road....
Wednesday 20 April 2011
Grimly Fiendish
Crewe 1 Lincoln 1
With the play-offs having all but disappeared last weekend at Barnet, this game had little riding on it for Crewe, whatever the boss might have said. Lincoln, on the other hand, were still scrapping for points down amongst the dead men.
In a dire game, in which both sides struggled to create chances, Lincoln's midfield worked hard at closing down the Crewe midfield and the Lincoln front two were constantly pressing the back four, starving them of the time they usually have. Crewe have found it difficult to break down sides that defend in numbers and Saturday was no exception. Joel Grant had Crewe's only shot on target in a dismal first half. Lincoln weren't creating much either and were mostly shooting from distance. One effort hit the bar but that was about as close as they got.
With my mate Dan having declared that the second half couldn't be any worse, it duly was. After only two minutes Lincoln took the lead. A corner to the back post was hooked back in and a hopefull swing of the leg was enough to divert it in off the post. Thereafter Lincoln reverted to plan A and Crewe huffed and puffed to little effect. Indeed, the lads were fortunate to get back in the game when the referee awarded them a penalty that looked harsh on the Lincoln defender. Donaldson wasn't bothered though as he stepped up to score his 25th goal of the season. With the game level Lincoln looked quite happy with a point and Crewe looked clueless. In marked contrast to the spanking of Cheltenham a fortnight earlier, there was no pace, no snap in the passing and no movement off the ball. It looked like most of the players were already thinking of their summer holidays, to be honest.
The final whistle signalled the end of the remote possibility of reaching the play-offs and that was it. Another season of League 2 football beckons, barring an absolute miracle. With many of the current players likely to move on at the end of the season and a greater reliance on the younglings next year, many fans are already fearing the worst. I'm not, but then I'm sometimes naively optimistic when it comes to the Alex....
With the play-offs having all but disappeared last weekend at Barnet, this game had little riding on it for Crewe, whatever the boss might have said. Lincoln, on the other hand, were still scrapping for points down amongst the dead men.
In a dire game, in which both sides struggled to create chances, Lincoln's midfield worked hard at closing down the Crewe midfield and the Lincoln front two were constantly pressing the back four, starving them of the time they usually have. Crewe have found it difficult to break down sides that defend in numbers and Saturday was no exception. Joel Grant had Crewe's only shot on target in a dismal first half. Lincoln weren't creating much either and were mostly shooting from distance. One effort hit the bar but that was about as close as they got.
With my mate Dan having declared that the second half couldn't be any worse, it duly was. After only two minutes Lincoln took the lead. A corner to the back post was hooked back in and a hopefull swing of the leg was enough to divert it in off the post. Thereafter Lincoln reverted to plan A and Crewe huffed and puffed to little effect. Indeed, the lads were fortunate to get back in the game when the referee awarded them a penalty that looked harsh on the Lincoln defender. Donaldson wasn't bothered though as he stepped up to score his 25th goal of the season. With the game level Lincoln looked quite happy with a point and Crewe looked clueless. In marked contrast to the spanking of Cheltenham a fortnight earlier, there was no pace, no snap in the passing and no movement off the ball. It looked like most of the players were already thinking of their summer holidays, to be honest.
The final whistle signalled the end of the remote possibility of reaching the play-offs and that was it. Another season of League 2 football beckons, barring an absolute miracle. With many of the current players likely to move on at the end of the season and a greater reliance on the younglings next year, many fans are already fearing the worst. I'm not, but then I'm sometimes naively optimistic when it comes to the Alex....
Monday 11 April 2011
The Brute Choir
Barnet 2 Crewe 1
Another away day and another defeat. No longer a surprise, unfortunately. Whatever hoodoo has struck the Alex on the road since they won at Shrewsbury at the start of January shows no sign of being lifted. Ten consecutive defeats and edging towards the worst away run since 1956, when the Alex lost twelve in a row. (Still a long way from the 24 consecutive defeats the Alex racked up back in the mid-1890s, but that's of little consolation.)
I wasn't there to witness it though. A little run-in with gout during the week had left me limping and I had little enthusiasm for a long day in London with a sore foot. Instead I took in Nantwich Town's penultimate home game of the season, against North Ferriby United. Nantwich are battling relegation and needed a win to ease their fears. Luckily for them Crewe Alex loanee Jason Oswell popped up to net twice and give the Town all three points. Oswell's first goal was a tap-in after the North Ferriby keeper had parried a shot. It came just before half-time but was just reward for Nantwich's domination of the first half. North Ferriby came back into the game in the second half, but after 76 minutes Nantwich got a deserved second when Oswell rose to power in a header at the near post. There was still time for Nantwich to concede a goal and endure a nervy finish but in the end they held on for a deserved three points.
Back to the Alex next week, at home to Lincoln, and then a busy weekend over Easter with Crewe at home on Good Friday and Nantwich on Easter Saturday. Both sides are away on Easter Monday, but I reckon I'll be spending the day on the settee recovering from the Nantwich Jazz Festival....
Another away day and another defeat. No longer a surprise, unfortunately. Whatever hoodoo has struck the Alex on the road since they won at Shrewsbury at the start of January shows no sign of being lifted. Ten consecutive defeats and edging towards the worst away run since 1956, when the Alex lost twelve in a row. (Still a long way from the 24 consecutive defeats the Alex racked up back in the mid-1890s, but that's of little consolation.)
I wasn't there to witness it though. A little run-in with gout during the week had left me limping and I had little enthusiasm for a long day in London with a sore foot. Instead I took in Nantwich Town's penultimate home game of the season, against North Ferriby United. Nantwich are battling relegation and needed a win to ease their fears. Luckily for them Crewe Alex loanee Jason Oswell popped up to net twice and give the Town all three points. Oswell's first goal was a tap-in after the North Ferriby keeper had parried a shot. It came just before half-time but was just reward for Nantwich's domination of the first half. North Ferriby came back into the game in the second half, but after 76 minutes Nantwich got a deserved second when Oswell rose to power in a header at the near post. There was still time for Nantwich to concede a goal and endure a nervy finish but in the end they held on for a deserved three points.
Back to the Alex next week, at home to Lincoln, and then a busy weekend over Easter with Crewe at home on Good Friday and Nantwich on Easter Saturday. Both sides are away on Easter Monday, but I reckon I'll be spending the day on the settee recovering from the Nantwich Jazz Festival....
Monday 4 April 2011
Too Hot
Crewe 8 (EIGHT) Cheltenham 1
Having comprehensively crushed the opposition in the charity quiz up in Hough on Friday night, it was up early for a walk round the classic "Barnet" route up on Bickerton Hills. It's a fair measure of my basic lack of fitness that I still find this route hard work, despite having gone round it a few times this season. This time round, there were a couple of brief pauses up at the top and then it was pretty much non-stop to the finish, including the final killer ascent back up Coppermine Lane. I was pleased to make it all the way up the lane without stopping, although I have to admit we weren't going particularly fast at that point. And clearly the gods of luck were pleased with my progress, for they rewarded me with the most comprehensive victory I've seen since, er, we beat Barnet 7-0 after my first lucky walk.
This was the first of the seven cup finals, that Lee Bell had claimed the team had to face following their woeful defeat at Hereford and whilst most fans were hopeful of victory, most were also sceptical of the team's chances of winning all of them. This feeling grew after seeing the team changes - Murphy out injured, Pat Ada dropped to the bench and Tootle and Grant back in the side. And Taylor back in goal ahead of Phillips. What we, the fans, didn't know was that Cheltenham's back four was about to have a really bad day at the office and their midfield was going to struggle to cope with Crewe's pace and movement.
Crewe started off brightly and after only three minutes, Miller put Donaldson through the offside trap and he duly dispatched his chance to open the scoring. Six minutes later Ashley R Westwood (the young one) chipped a pass over the top of the defence, Donaldson, in an offside position, didn't chase it and Miller nipped past him to knock the ball beyond the keeper and make it 2-0. A great start, certainly better than I was expecting. It put me in mind of the Burton game, where Crewe blew them away in the opening half hour. However, unlike Burton, Cheltenham had no answers to the problems posed by Crewe's movement and pace. With Blanchett and Tootle bombing forward from full back, giving the side some of the width it has lacked in recent weeks, Miller, Grant and Shelley were all able to find room in the middle to pick up the ball and use it. Miller was particularly sharp, I thought. On the half hour or so, Shelley picked up the ball on the right and swung in a beautiful deep pass-cum-cross over the defence, which Donaldson latched on to and knocked past the exposed keeper to put Crewe three up. Three minutes later Crewe finally managed to do to Cheltenham what many other teams have done to them, and score on the counter-attack from a corner. Taylor claimed the corner, rolled it out to Miller and he charged up the field. With the defence back-pedalling frantically, Miller slipped the ball to an unmarked Grant, who flicked it past the keeper for 4-0. Unbelievable, Jeff.
I was nervous at half-time, thinking back to previous games when Crewe have been comprehensively ahead and then sat back on the lead, with varying consequences. Although Cheltenham had been probably the poorest side I'd seen at Gresty Road, it was not beyond the realms of possibility that Crewe would shoot themselves in the foot.
The nerves increased when Cheltenham pulled a goal back two minutes after the restart. Could be an unlikely comeback be on the cards? Luckily, no. Tootle capped a fine display by latching on to a Shelley pass and getting to the byline and cutting the ball back for young Westwood to tap in from about a foot. Four goal cushion restored and things just got better and better. Donaldson duly completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after a careless handball in the area. Then Grant charged at the Cheltenham causing mass panic. He got a fortunate rebound in an attempted tackle to keep possession in the area and the keeper saved his initial shot. Unfortunately for the keeper, the ball rebounded across the area and Grant picked it up again to bury it and notch Crewe's seventh of the game. Finally with a couple of minutes left, Donaldson was brought down in the area for a blatant penalty. Well, we thought it was blatant but the referee took an age to make his mind up. Donaldson graciously handed the ball to Grant who completed his own hat-trick by sending the keeper the wrong way. Eight goals for the Alex. The first time I've seen the Alex score eight since they thumped Hartlepool in the Auto Windscreens Trophy back in 1995. (I missed the other occasion in recent times when they put 8 past Doncaster in the same competition.) The team rightly deserved the applause they got at the end of the game.
Some people seemed to think there was some significance in the fact that manager Dario Gradi had been at home unwell, but to be honest, I could have been stood on the touchline for the game and Crewe would still have won at a canter. The training ground work, including Donaldson's extra work on his finishing, clearly paid off and the team that Dario undoubtedly picked showed us a glimpse of just how good they can be on their day. Only another six days left for them to be equally good on and here's hoping they can break their dismal away sequence and come back from Barnet with all three points. It won't be easy against a rejuvenated Barnet side that are fighting relegation but if Crewe can be as clinical as they were on Saturday, the dream will still be alive for another week.
Having comprehensively crushed the opposition in the charity quiz up in Hough on Friday night, it was up early for a walk round the classic "Barnet" route up on Bickerton Hills. It's a fair measure of my basic lack of fitness that I still find this route hard work, despite having gone round it a few times this season. This time round, there were a couple of brief pauses up at the top and then it was pretty much non-stop to the finish, including the final killer ascent back up Coppermine Lane. I was pleased to make it all the way up the lane without stopping, although I have to admit we weren't going particularly fast at that point. And clearly the gods of luck were pleased with my progress, for they rewarded me with the most comprehensive victory I've seen since, er, we beat Barnet 7-0 after my first lucky walk.
This was the first of the seven cup finals, that Lee Bell had claimed the team had to face following their woeful defeat at Hereford and whilst most fans were hopeful of victory, most were also sceptical of the team's chances of winning all of them. This feeling grew after seeing the team changes - Murphy out injured, Pat Ada dropped to the bench and Tootle and Grant back in the side. And Taylor back in goal ahead of Phillips. What we, the fans, didn't know was that Cheltenham's back four was about to have a really bad day at the office and their midfield was going to struggle to cope with Crewe's pace and movement.
Crewe started off brightly and after only three minutes, Miller put Donaldson through the offside trap and he duly dispatched his chance to open the scoring. Six minutes later Ashley R Westwood (the young one) chipped a pass over the top of the defence, Donaldson, in an offside position, didn't chase it and Miller nipped past him to knock the ball beyond the keeper and make it 2-0. A great start, certainly better than I was expecting. It put me in mind of the Burton game, where Crewe blew them away in the opening half hour. However, unlike Burton, Cheltenham had no answers to the problems posed by Crewe's movement and pace. With Blanchett and Tootle bombing forward from full back, giving the side some of the width it has lacked in recent weeks, Miller, Grant and Shelley were all able to find room in the middle to pick up the ball and use it. Miller was particularly sharp, I thought. On the half hour or so, Shelley picked up the ball on the right and swung in a beautiful deep pass-cum-cross over the defence, which Donaldson latched on to and knocked past the exposed keeper to put Crewe three up. Three minutes later Crewe finally managed to do to Cheltenham what many other teams have done to them, and score on the counter-attack from a corner. Taylor claimed the corner, rolled it out to Miller and he charged up the field. With the defence back-pedalling frantically, Miller slipped the ball to an unmarked Grant, who flicked it past the keeper for 4-0. Unbelievable, Jeff.
I was nervous at half-time, thinking back to previous games when Crewe have been comprehensively ahead and then sat back on the lead, with varying consequences. Although Cheltenham had been probably the poorest side I'd seen at Gresty Road, it was not beyond the realms of possibility that Crewe would shoot themselves in the foot.
The nerves increased when Cheltenham pulled a goal back two minutes after the restart. Could be an unlikely comeback be on the cards? Luckily, no. Tootle capped a fine display by latching on to a Shelley pass and getting to the byline and cutting the ball back for young Westwood to tap in from about a foot. Four goal cushion restored and things just got better and better. Donaldson duly completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after a careless handball in the area. Then Grant charged at the Cheltenham causing mass panic. He got a fortunate rebound in an attempted tackle to keep possession in the area and the keeper saved his initial shot. Unfortunately for the keeper, the ball rebounded across the area and Grant picked it up again to bury it and notch Crewe's seventh of the game. Finally with a couple of minutes left, Donaldson was brought down in the area for a blatant penalty. Well, we thought it was blatant but the referee took an age to make his mind up. Donaldson graciously handed the ball to Grant who completed his own hat-trick by sending the keeper the wrong way. Eight goals for the Alex. The first time I've seen the Alex score eight since they thumped Hartlepool in the Auto Windscreens Trophy back in 1995. (I missed the other occasion in recent times when they put 8 past Doncaster in the same competition.) The team rightly deserved the applause they got at the end of the game.
Some people seemed to think there was some significance in the fact that manager Dario Gradi had been at home unwell, but to be honest, I could have been stood on the touchline for the game and Crewe would still have won at a canter. The training ground work, including Donaldson's extra work on his finishing, clearly paid off and the team that Dario undoubtedly picked showed us a glimpse of just how good they can be on their day. Only another six days left for them to be equally good on and here's hoping they can break their dismal away sequence and come back from Barnet with all three points. It won't be easy against a rejuvenated Barnet side that are fighting relegation but if Crewe can be as clinical as they were on Saturday, the dream will still be alive for another week.
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