Alex Morris delighted with Ray's leadership qualities as captain at Kidsgrove.

Alex Morris says that centre-half George Ray would have benefitted greatly from completing 90 minutes against Kidsgrove Athletic on Monday night. Ray captained a very young Crewe side and helped guide us to a hard fought 1-1 draw against some seasoned semi-professional.

Morris, who took the side to Staffordshire was pleased with Ray’s mature contribution at the heart of the defence, especially as he partnered non-centre-halves, Ryan Wintle and Ollie Finney.

Morris told the club’s official web-site: “It was a good work out for all of them against some seasoned semi-professionals. It was competitive and they had to cope with that. They would not have been used to playing in front of a crowd and having fans not agree with decisions of the referee.

“I was pleased with George. It wasn’t really the intention to play him for the full 90 minutes. We wanted to see how the game developed and I am sure in the end he will benefit from coming through his first 90 minutes of pre-season.

“We needed his experience and leadership qualities and he certainly helped guide the younger players through, some of whom were scholars. He helped them get through and that was pleasing to see.”