Crewe Alexandra saw red twice in the first half this afternoon to present us with an almost impossible task in the second half here at Underhill. Crewe lost both their centre-halves in a 15-minute spell to dismissals and had to chase the game as well after Izale McLeod had converted the penalty following Artell's professional foul on the prolific Barnet marksman.
Adam Dugdale joined Artell in the dressing room for one of those hotly-discussed lunging tackles on Ricky Holmes after he had lost possession close to the halfway line. Some referees would give them and some wouldn't but Dugdale will know there was no reason for him to risk it considering where the ball was. It was a little harsh but in these modern days players are getting red cards for those type of challenges.
Despite the reduction in men, Crewe worked exceeding hard to keep the in-form Bees at bay but were finally undone on 77 minutes when Michael Hector stole in at the far post to convert Ricky Holmes' excellent cross.
Steve Davis had enjoyed the luxury of naming an unchanged team for the trip to Barnet this afternoon but Carl Martin was back on the substitutes' bench for Kelvin Mellor. AJ Leitch-Smith and Max Clayton were also in the squad with the fit-again Shaun Miller not making the trip south.
After an early wayward shot from Barnet's Sam Deering, Crewe Alexandra soon took control of the possession at Underhill. A confident Alex arrived in the capital on a run of three successive wins and it showed in our early play, as we sprayed it around and usually got the attack-minded Matt Tootle in behind Jack Saville down the Barnet left. Tootle was marking his 100th appearance for the club and was certainly a nuisance with his early ventures forward. He won an early corner that was wasted with a shorter one that was easily cut out.
The rampaging right-back then won another one which nearly produced the opening goal inside the first ten minutes. Ashley Westwood's centre dropped invitingly for Artell but his firm shot from 8 yards out was blocked and from the loose ball, the on-loan Greg Pearson could only screw his shot a yard wide of the target.
Some delightful one-touch football from the Railwaymen then saw Tootle in again but instead of perhaps trying his luck with a shot of his own, he attempted to play Byron Moore in but his pass was slightly over hit and forced the winger too wide.
Although Crewe were spending much of the game inside the Barnet half of the pitch, chances were few and far between and the Barnet goalkeeper Dean Brill wasn't being tested enough. Barnet were certainly working hard to prevent us getting in behind as much, although Nick Powell did muster a decent shot from 20 yards that drifted a yard wide of the mark.
Having being occupied on defending for much of the first half, Barnet did register a really good effort on target when the lively Deering laid off the perfect ball for his captain Mark Hughes to strike from just outside the Crewe box. He certainly caught it powerfully but his goal bound effort hit the head of his team-mate Ricky Holmes, who was stood in an offside position.
On 26 minutes, Pearson poked one over the top of the crossbar after being found superbly by Moore from the right. It wasn't the easiest chance to convert as the ball sat up but a chance nonetheless.
After appearing comfortable for the opening half an hour, the game instantly changed with the dismissal of Artell. Crewe were caught flat-footed when a long ball was played over the top and Izale McLeod, who had been kept fairly quiet, raced onto it. Artell lunged into a desperate tackle to stop him going through and the referee did not hesitate to point to the spot and show our centre-half the red card for a possession foul. McLeod slotted home for his 16th League Two goal of the season.
Crewe had to rethink at the back with Westwood moving to right-back, Tootle to left back and Harry Davis into the centre. It took us a while to re find our feet although Moore so nearly found Pearson inside the Barnet penalty area.
Things got doubly worst though on 43 minutes when Dugdale joined Artell in the dressing room. The defender had taken Holmes on close to the halfway line but was caught out. In trying to rectify the situation, Dugdale went into one of those debatable tackles and saw red for the first time in his career. There was no need to make the challenge in that area of the field and Crewe faced a second half with nine men.
It was no great surprise that a re-jig at the interval saw Carl Martin appear for the second period in place of Pearson. Steve Davis reshuffled his pack lining up with 4-3-1 with Moore the lone frontrunner. Martin now partnered Davis in the centre of our defence.
An early burst from Moore saw him run along the Barnet penalty area to find Lowry in enough space for him to shoot over the top of the Barnet crossbar. More great forward play from Moore then saw him carry possession into the Barnet box and his low cross was turned just wide by the in-coming Powell. It was awfully close and certainly increased the anxiety inside the home support.
Lawrie Sanchez elected to make a change with Clovis Kamdjo making way for debutant Jordan Obita. The on-loan youngster from Reading nearly scored with his first touch from a header via a corner, but Lowry was well placed to head clear. Barnet pressed looking for a killer second goal with Saville firing over and Mark Byrne shooting straight at Steve Phillips.
Obita had another decent effort deflected behind for a corner and Phillips showed real agility to tip Darren Dennehy's firm header over the top of the bar. The same Barnet player was then rather fortunate that his own goalkeeper read his chest back towards him.
Crewe were rather irate again with the officials when a clear handball inside the Crewe penalty area provided McLeod with a free header at Phillips. McLeod also had a close range effort blocked by Carl Martin. The visitors were hanging in on there, whilst also looking to release Powell or Moore in a forward position.
The nine men of Crewe Had worked exceptionally hard to keep Barnet at bay but with 13 minutes remaining our resolve was finally broken following a quality cross to the far post from Holmes. He produced an inch perfect delivery over Phillips and Michael Hector lifted it on the volley into the roof of the net.
With the Railwaymen slipping further behind, Crewe made a change with the hard working Powell making way for the fresher legs of Leitch-Smith. The final change saw Dan Shelley replace Lowry with the minutes ticking away. Holmes also came off for Barnet to be replaced by Charlie Taylor. There last change saw Sead Hajrovic replace Saville.
Legs may have been tiring, but Crewe still tried to keep the Bees out with Phillips saving smartly from Deering and quite brilliantly from a deflected effort from Byrne. The Crewe goalkeeper in wantng to protect our goals against column also produced saves to deny Byrne again and McLeod. In stoppage time, Davis then produced a fantastic last ditch tackle to deny sub Taylor a goal.
