Steve left shell-shocked by heroic loss

Steve Davis couldn't quite believe his Crewe Alexandra side weren't in the hat for the Capital One Cup Third Round after a solid performance proved to not be enough as Bolton Wanderers came out 3-2 victors after extra time at Gresty Road.

Brad Inman gave the Alex the lead after just two minutes with a fine run and finish before Darren Pratley equalised midway through the half.

Jermaine Beckford looked to have won it for the Trotters in injury time, but Marcus Haber rose highest to ensure an extra 30 minutes in the eighth minute of added time before Beckford again struck with 106 minutes on the clock as Bolton held out for the win.

The Gaffer told the official website: “I hope the supporters enjoyed the entertainment on show tonight. We were excellent, but it didn’t go for us in the end. We battled away, played some great football and we’re unlucky not to be in the third round.

“The referee coming off didn’t help us. The momentum was with us at that point, and that helped them back into the game. But we showed some great spirit in the second half, went 2-1 down, and we deserved Marcus’ goal to take it to extra time. We came very close to pulling it off.

“The spirit is there, the spirit is good but what we haven’t got are results. If we can keep working and keep playing like we did tonight then that’ll come. They put everything into the game and come out without the victory – that’s how it is, but their heads are up and we’ve got to play like that week in week out. If we can play like that we’ll win more games than we’ll lose.

“Brad showed what he can do tonight – it’s up to me to get it out of him. He scored a good couple of goals in the U21’s and I changed it tonight, when he plays like that he makes opportunities and he can always get a goal. That’s the best game he’s had this season.

“We’ll have a look at George (Ray) tomorrow. He got concussion and he’s just got stitches under his eye now. Maybe we’ll need cover; we’re a bit short until Harry’s back. It’s a shame for George tonight because he was having a good game.

“We intended to bring Marcus (Haber) on at some point to try and get us a goal. He’s still in his pre-season really so he was a bit stiff yesterday, so we went with Vadaine from the start who did ok, but we’ll keep working on Marcus’ long-term fitness.”