Rotherham 3 Crewe 1
Well, there certainly ain't no sunshine at the Don Valley Stadium. That's twice I've gone there and twice that it's tipped it down with rain. As per last year I took my Dad, but this year he drove and my cousin and his son came with us. Can't say it was any better a day out though.
With the rain already falling when we set off, it steadily got worse as we got closer to Sheffield. By the time we'd found somewhere to park I was dubious that the game would actually go ahead. Last year, the pitch hadn't looked like it was draining properly and I had little confidence that things would have improved. I was right - there were groundsmen out forking the pitch virtually up to kick off. Their efforts were not in vain though and the game went ahead.
The first half was fairly dismal to be honest. Rotherham had the majority of the possession and the territory but they couldn't really create any clear cut chances. Crewe looked to break forward when they got the chance but with both Miller and Donaldson missing the strike force lacked a cutting edge. With neither side looking likely to score, a draw at half time would have been a fair reflection. Sadly though, Crewe showed their usual vulnerability to crosses, as the Rotherham winger was given enough time to put in a low cross, which found it's way to Fenton, who stabbed it home from close range.
One nil down at half time and playing in terrible conditions, things didn't look good for the Alex. However, they worked hard in the second half, created a few more chances and got back in the game. Just after the hour mark, AJ Leitch-Smith latched on to a through ball from Lee Bell and, despite looking slightly offside, turned inside the defender and rolled home a shot from the edge of the area. Parity and just reward for the work that Crewe had done in the first fifteen minutes of the half.
As the second half wore on both sides had opportunities to add to their tally. For Crewe, Leitch-Smith couldn't hit the target from an acute angle and then Shelley rolled the ball wide when he looked odds-on to score. Up the other end, Newey blasted a free-kick against the Crewe wall and Law sky-ed the rebound. With six minutes to go, disaster struck for Crewe. A long ball upfield was headed on into the Crewe penalty area and with Taylor and Ada both hesitating, Le Fondre nipped in between them to lob the bouncing ball over the keeper's head. Tootle made a desperate attempt at a clearance but the ball had already crossed the line before he hooked it out. Worse was to come. With two minutes to go, Artell attempted to play the ball out down on the touchline, only to be robbed by Taylor who took it into the area and hit an unstoppable shot into the top corner. From playing reasonably well and looking like getting a hard-earned point, the Alex once again shot themselves in the foot. I'm blaming my Dad, of course - I don't think he's seen a Crewe win since that last game of the season against Coventry in 2005. Mind, they have been poor since then, and he only gets to three games a season at most.
Post-match, we had to take a bit of a detour to get back to the car park due to the stewards sending all the away fans out at the opposite side of the ground to where we entered. It was a bit of a ramble over a railway bridge, then a canal bridge and a splash down a wet canal tow path. The good news though was that my Dad decided he wouldn't be going back, so if Crewe play there next season, there's a chance I might see a win!
The upshot of the defeat, combined with last night's results, is that Crewe have slipped out of the play-off positions and are now four points adrift. They do have games in hand on some of the teams above them but with tough games against Gillingham, Stevenage and Bury coming up, I'd rather they had the points, to be honest. Anyway, back to the lucky walk on Saturday morning, hoping it works against a resurgent Gillingham team.
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Friday, 4 February 2011
Look Out, There's a Monster Coming
Northampton 6 Crewe 2
Can't say that that was the best Tuesday night I've ever spent. Having won free tickets and coach travel in the Crewe ASi Christmas Raffle, I was looking forward to a first trip to Northampton in a long while. The last time I went there they were playing at the County Ground. The day started well with a couple of beers and lunch in the pub before boarding the coach. As is usual with the Sandbach Travelling Alex coach we stopped off at a pub on the way. In this case it was the Cherry Tree at Catthorpe. I settled in for a few pints of Ringwood's Boondoggle (very nice) but somehow got suckered into a game of dominoes. Serious dominoes with money on it and everything. Well, it was close but my partner and I just missed out in a tight best-of-three series. At one all and with both teams just needing one point to win, we were getting the hurry up as the coach was about to leave. A rushed last hand saw the opposition sneak home and take the money.
Worse was to come though. Much worse. For starters, the coach driver managed to miss the turn off the motorway to the stadium and then travelled another three miles before turning round, meaning we arrived at the ground with about five minutes to spare. (Not sure why anyone was surprised tho - getting lost seems to be a regular occurrence on the Fordy fun bus.) I had to collect my tickets from the ticket office, so the late arrival wasn't ideal. Still, I picked them up and got into the ground in time for kick off. and Crewe promptly took the lead when the Cobblers keeper let AJ Leitch-Smith's effort squirm through his hands and into the net. If the ref had blown the whistle there and then it would have been a decent day. Unfortunately there was another 88 minutes to be played and things rapidly went downhill for the Alex.
The first came from some decent play by Northampton but Pat Ada unaccountably threw himself to the floor instead of marking Shaun Harrad and Harrad made the most of his opportunity from close range. Harrad then won a rather fortunate free-kick just outside the area. Rhys Taylor positioned his wall to cover the near post and then stood behind it, obscuring his view of the ball, which duly went in at the far post. From one up, Crewe were two down in a matter of minutes. The rest of the half was much more even though as Crewe recovered their composure. Despite lacking the pace of Moore and Donaldson up front, Crewe were still creating chances with Miller providing the main threat. Miller it was who duly won a penalty shortly before half time. It was definitely a penalty, but his theatrical dive was a bit exaggerated to say the least. Westwood stepped up to take it, but his low penalty was too close to the keeper, who blocked it easily, and saw the rebound scrambled out for a corner. Crewe couldn't make the corner count either and within a minute Northampton had a corner of their own. Crewe have been vulnerable from the set-piece all season and Northampton's Beckwith had a free header to put Northampton 3-1 at the break.
If the calamitous defending in the first half had been galling, things turned simply embarrassing within three minutes of the restart. Barely a minute into the second half, Crewe got very caught out trying to play the offside trap against a Northampton free kick. Whilst it could be argued that at least three players were offside, the ball never went anywhere near any of them. Instead Holt, in yards of space and onside, took the ball into the area and slipped it past a hopelessly exposed Rhys Taylor. Two minutes later, Westwood was dispossessed in the middle of the park and Osman ran twenty yards unchallenged before letting fly a shot into the top corner that Taylor had no chance with. Game over. From one up to five one down in about 35 minutes. Most of us were left shaking our heads in disbelief. The rest of the second half was a bit more even but clearly Northampton had taken their foot off the gas a bit. With Miller having gone off injured at half time, Crewe were lacking a cutting edge and were finding it difficult to create chances, although the forward line did look more threatening with the introduction of Powell and Sarcevic just after the 70 minute mark. Northampton were really doing a lot either, but then they didn't have to - Crewe could be relied on to gift them another chance. and that chance duly arrived in the 80th minute. Northampton attacked down the right and rolled in a harmless looking cross. Bell, the covering player in the area, then slipped on his backside and the ball bobbled past him to McKay, who couldn't believe his luck, but made no mistake with his finish. The sixth goal was the cue for a lot of Crewe fans to head for the exits. Can't blame them but they did miss Sarcevic's debut goal for Crewe - a well-taken shot from the edge of the area after neat interplay with Grant.
In the end, it was embarrassing, but not because Crewe were thoroughly outplayed but because they gifted Northampton some seriously soft goals. All six of them were entirely avoidable, although given Crewe's weakness from corners at least one was inevitable. The penalty miss was also frustrating - Crewe must have missed more penalties than anyone else this season.
Got to put this result behind them though and hope that it really was just one of those days when everything that could go wrong did. We shall see how the side bounces back against a Rotherham team that managed to lose to crisis-stricken Port Vale on the same night Crewe were self-destructing against the Cobblers. The bad omen for this though is that I'll be taking my Dad to the game and he hasn't seen Crewe win in nearly six years...
Can't say that that was the best Tuesday night I've ever spent. Having won free tickets and coach travel in the Crewe ASi Christmas Raffle, I was looking forward to a first trip to Northampton in a long while. The last time I went there they were playing at the County Ground. The day started well with a couple of beers and lunch in the pub before boarding the coach. As is usual with the Sandbach Travelling Alex coach we stopped off at a pub on the way. In this case it was the Cherry Tree at Catthorpe. I settled in for a few pints of Ringwood's Boondoggle (very nice) but somehow got suckered into a game of dominoes. Serious dominoes with money on it and everything. Well, it was close but my partner and I just missed out in a tight best-of-three series. At one all and with both teams just needing one point to win, we were getting the hurry up as the coach was about to leave. A rushed last hand saw the opposition sneak home and take the money.
Worse was to come though. Much worse. For starters, the coach driver managed to miss the turn off the motorway to the stadium and then travelled another three miles before turning round, meaning we arrived at the ground with about five minutes to spare. (Not sure why anyone was surprised tho - getting lost seems to be a regular occurrence on the Fordy fun bus.) I had to collect my tickets from the ticket office, so the late arrival wasn't ideal. Still, I picked them up and got into the ground in time for kick off. and Crewe promptly took the lead when the Cobblers keeper let AJ Leitch-Smith's effort squirm through his hands and into the net. If the ref had blown the whistle there and then it would have been a decent day. Unfortunately there was another 88 minutes to be played and things rapidly went downhill for the Alex.
The first came from some decent play by Northampton but Pat Ada unaccountably threw himself to the floor instead of marking Shaun Harrad and Harrad made the most of his opportunity from close range. Harrad then won a rather fortunate free-kick just outside the area. Rhys Taylor positioned his wall to cover the near post and then stood behind it, obscuring his view of the ball, which duly went in at the far post. From one up, Crewe were two down in a matter of minutes. The rest of the half was much more even though as Crewe recovered their composure. Despite lacking the pace of Moore and Donaldson up front, Crewe were still creating chances with Miller providing the main threat. Miller it was who duly won a penalty shortly before half time. It was definitely a penalty, but his theatrical dive was a bit exaggerated to say the least. Westwood stepped up to take it, but his low penalty was too close to the keeper, who blocked it easily, and saw the rebound scrambled out for a corner. Crewe couldn't make the corner count either and within a minute Northampton had a corner of their own. Crewe have been vulnerable from the set-piece all season and Northampton's Beckwith had a free header to put Northampton 3-1 at the break.
If the calamitous defending in the first half had been galling, things turned simply embarrassing within three minutes of the restart. Barely a minute into the second half, Crewe got very caught out trying to play the offside trap against a Northampton free kick. Whilst it could be argued that at least three players were offside, the ball never went anywhere near any of them. Instead Holt, in yards of space and onside, took the ball into the area and slipped it past a hopelessly exposed Rhys Taylor. Two minutes later, Westwood was dispossessed in the middle of the park and Osman ran twenty yards unchallenged before letting fly a shot into the top corner that Taylor had no chance with. Game over. From one up to five one down in about 35 minutes. Most of us were left shaking our heads in disbelief. The rest of the second half was a bit more even but clearly Northampton had taken their foot off the gas a bit. With Miller having gone off injured at half time, Crewe were lacking a cutting edge and were finding it difficult to create chances, although the forward line did look more threatening with the introduction of Powell and Sarcevic just after the 70 minute mark. Northampton were really doing a lot either, but then they didn't have to - Crewe could be relied on to gift them another chance. and that chance duly arrived in the 80th minute. Northampton attacked down the right and rolled in a harmless looking cross. Bell, the covering player in the area, then slipped on his backside and the ball bobbled past him to McKay, who couldn't believe his luck, but made no mistake with his finish. The sixth goal was the cue for a lot of Crewe fans to head for the exits. Can't blame them but they did miss Sarcevic's debut goal for Crewe - a well-taken shot from the edge of the area after neat interplay with Grant.
In the end, it was embarrassing, but not because Crewe were thoroughly outplayed but because they gifted Northampton some seriously soft goals. All six of them were entirely avoidable, although given Crewe's weakness from corners at least one was inevitable. The penalty miss was also frustrating - Crewe must have missed more penalties than anyone else this season.
Got to put this result behind them though and hope that it really was just one of those days when everything that could go wrong did. We shall see how the side bounces back against a Rotherham team that managed to lose to crisis-stricken Port Vale on the same night Crewe were self-destructing against the Cobblers. The bad omen for this though is that I'll be taking my Dad to the game and he hasn't seen Crewe win in nearly six years...
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Take It Easy
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.
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.
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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