Bradford 1 Crewe 5
It's only taken me a week to get round to it, but here, finally, is a report on the last game of the season. With neither side really having anything to play for, it was a chance for both teams to relax and play without pressure. Except, of course, there's always some pressure. The expectation from the Bradford fans, who have endured yet another frustrating season of under-achievement, and the away-day hoodoo that has seen Crewe lose their last eleven consecutive matches away from home.
As I had another engagement on that side of the country, I decided to combine the two and made the trip to my first away game for a while. First since Macclesfield, I believe.And I have to say, I'm glad I made the effort.
Despite having nothing to play for, Dario still fielded his strongest available side, the same side which had dispatched Stockport after a bit of huffing and puffing last week. There was no huffing and puffing in the Crewe ranks this week, as they strolled to a comfortable victory and inflicted their heaviest defeat of the season on Bradford.
Clayton Donaldson was obviously keen to get his name on the score sheet, to claim the Golden Boot, and when Crewe won a free-kick after only ten minutes in "Danny Shelley territory", he claimed the ball and took it, instead of letting Shelley hammer it. To no great surprise, Donaldson's effort came back off the wall. Fortunately, for the frustrated Crewe faithful, a goal was not long in coming. Shaun Miller saw his chance and challenged for a loose pass. The ball broke for him and he charged forward into the area and took the ball past the advancing keeper, with a fair amount of skill it has to be said. He then had the simple task of slotting it into the empty net. This only served to spark Bradford into action and they nearly equalised when James Hanson got on the end of a rebound from a save by Rhys Taylor, but he hit the bar and Crewe were able to clear the danger. Bradford did get a deserved equaliser though, when Artell fouled Speight in the area and Speight got up to put the resulting penalty away. Bradford put some more pressure on but were then caught on the break when Byron Moore took the ball up the right and put in a deep cross for Miller to notch his second from the edge of the area. Two minutes later Donaldson finally got his name on the score sheet when he got the ball on the edge of the area and turned to slip a shot past the Bradford keeper, who was possibly unsighted. Three one to the Alex and the stuffing was knocked out of Bradford on the stroke of half-time when Shelley hit a shot from distance that appeared to swerve through the Bradford keeper's hands.
Obviously, the last time Crewe were 4-1 up at half-time away from home, they went on to only manage a 5-5 draw with Chesterfield, so there were plenty of jokes about that in the bar during the interval. Clearly though, Bradford were not Chesterfield and were unlikely to pull off that sort of comeback. Indeed, they spent much of the second half mounting a serious rearguard action as they attempted to keep the score at a respectable level. Crewe had a fair few chances but the fifth goal didn't come till midway through the half. The ball pinged around the area from a corner before coming out to Shelley. His first shot appeared to hit a hand, but the ball came back to him and his second shot flew into the back of the net via a slight deflection. Thereafter, the game slowly subsided to a gentle close. Crewe tried to add to their total and Bradford were still looking to get something, but both sets of players seem to know that that was that. There was still time for Sarcevic to make another appearance and for Harry Davis to get a run out in the centre of defence, but there were few alarms on either side.
So, the away-day hoodoo was well and truly broken and, thanks to Barnet beating them, Crewe managed to finish above Port Vale, which was quite funny, given that a lot of their fans had been giving the big one when they were top of the table in November. Clearly, Agent Jim Gannon's mission there was a success! Not that Crewe have much to boast about. They might have beaten my prediction of mid-table (just!) but they could have done better and in the end that horrendous away run has cost them. Just one more win away and they would have sneaked into the play-offs...
So, the season is over, but the blog won't stop. there'll be a review of the season next week and then a look forward to next season. And then a few more blogs during the pre-season before getting back to the serious business of following the Alex.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Monday, 2 May 2011
Down the Dustpipe
Crewe 2 Stockport 0
A small measure of revenge for the Alex after Stockport County ensured their relegation out of League One a couple of seasons back. Stockport were all but mathematically down anyway but this defeat meant that not even a fluke result on the last day of the season would be enough to save them.
In truth Stockport could have been two goals to the good early doors but former Alex striker Anthony Elding showed the sort of touch in front of goal that had led to his release by the club. He brought the ball down excellently in the middle of the goal but somehow blazed wide from five yards. His team mate Greg Tansey then followed suit, wasting a glorious chance to open the scoring. The Alex recovered from those early scares and were soon creating chances of their own. Shaun Miller hit the near post from an acute angle, then put a free header wide when he looked certain to score, and finally saw the Stockport keeper make a good save. Thereafter it was pretty much even stevens. Both sides worked hard but neither was really offering us a cutting edge and we got to half time with neither set of fans particularly happy that it was goal-less.
The second half wasn't a great deal better, to be honest. Crewe were finding it difficult to break down Stockport's five-man midfield and Stockport lacked a cutting edge up front. In the end it was a bit of a relief when Lee Bell pumped a free-kick into the Stockport area and Goodall headed it past his own keeper. Donaldson added another well-taken goal three minutes later to make it two nil and thereafter Stockport's hearts weren't really in the game and it was fairly comfortable. We saw late debuts for Ollie Turton and Casper Hughes, who will surely be featuring more next season, and Sarcevic got another run out.
The final whistle went and that was it. All over at the Alexandra Stadium for another season. for those fans who only saw the home games, Crewe have had a fantastic season - only Chesterfield and Accrington have secured more points at home. Sadly the away form post-New Year has been the club's Achilles heel.
There's still the final matter of the game at Bradford next week, and here's hoping they can break the away hoodoo. I'm especially hopeful as it'll be my first away trip for a while.
A small measure of revenge for the Alex after Stockport County ensured their relegation out of League One a couple of seasons back. Stockport were all but mathematically down anyway but this defeat meant that not even a fluke result on the last day of the season would be enough to save them.
In truth Stockport could have been two goals to the good early doors but former Alex striker Anthony Elding showed the sort of touch in front of goal that had led to his release by the club. He brought the ball down excellently in the middle of the goal but somehow blazed wide from five yards. His team mate Greg Tansey then followed suit, wasting a glorious chance to open the scoring. The Alex recovered from those early scares and were soon creating chances of their own. Shaun Miller hit the near post from an acute angle, then put a free header wide when he looked certain to score, and finally saw the Stockport keeper make a good save. Thereafter it was pretty much even stevens. Both sides worked hard but neither was really offering us a cutting edge and we got to half time with neither set of fans particularly happy that it was goal-less.
The second half wasn't a great deal better, to be honest. Crewe were finding it difficult to break down Stockport's five-man midfield and Stockport lacked a cutting edge up front. In the end it was a bit of a relief when Lee Bell pumped a free-kick into the Stockport area and Goodall headed it past his own keeper. Donaldson added another well-taken goal three minutes later to make it two nil and thereafter Stockport's hearts weren't really in the game and it was fairly comfortable. We saw late debuts for Ollie Turton and Casper Hughes, who will surely be featuring more next season, and Sarcevic got another run out.
The final whistle went and that was it. All over at the Alexandra Stadium for another season. for those fans who only saw the home games, Crewe have had a fantastic season - only Chesterfield and Accrington have secured more points at home. Sadly the away form post-New Year has been the club's Achilles heel.
There's still the final matter of the game at Bradford next week, and here's hoping they can break the away hoodoo. I'm especially hopeful as it'll be my first away trip for a while.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
The KKK Took My Baby Away
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Sunshine Superman
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.
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.
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.
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