Results more important than performances for Crewe boss Dave Artell

Posted Sunday, February 18, 2018 by PA

Dave Artell said he was delighted to end a run of six games without a win – but admitted Crewe have performed better in defeat than they did in their 1-0 victory over Colchester.

The Railwaymen had slipped within one place of the bottom two after a torrid sequence of results since the turn of the year, but had hard luck stories to rue, including throwing away a two-goal lead to lose at Swindon.

A previous home encounter with Yeovil finished goalless after a strong penalty appeal was turned down and the visit of play-off chasing Colchester seemed to be heading in the same direction with few clear chances created.

That was until striker Shaun Miller finished on the hour mark, scoring for the first time since rejoining Crewe on loan from Carlisle, to lift the Railwaymen six points above the relegation zone.

Artell said: “It was more than we deserved for the last couple of performances.

“We certainly should have had more points than we’ve had – we played far better than we did today at Accrington on Tuesday, but lost.

“The lads showed resilience and doggedness and they all did their jobs well.

“I can’t remember Colchester having a shot on target, we ran our socks off and there were plenty of tired legs at the end.”

The only moments of note in a drab first half saw Callum Ainley force Sam Walker into a near-post save, while the visiting goalkeeper also tipped Eddie Nolan’s header onto the roof of the net.

But for once in a while fortune smiled on Crewe and when Ainley blasted a free-kick into the U’s wall, the ball ricocheted kindly for Miller to fire home.

“Shaun was Johnny on the spot there and he deserved his goal,” praised Artell. “And the back four has kept two clean sheets in three games now and we know if we are going to get out of it we couldn’t keep conceding goals at the rate we were in January.”

Colchester’s best effort was an early shot from Drey Wright which forced Ben Garratt to palm the ball around the post.

Boss John McGreal admitted his side had fallen well below the standards they had set in recent games.

“You can’t just turn up and not put in the hard work as teams like Crewe are at the bottom end of the league and they are fighting for their lives,” said McGreal, who revealed that leading scorer Sammie Szmodics was out with a back problem.

“I thought the first half was flat, it looked a 0-0 game. It was a flat performance and the second half wasn’t good enough even though I brought all three subs on.

“But they are a group of players who tend to bounce back and we have got a challenge and targets that we want to achieve this season.”