Steve after another professional away display at Cheltenham

Crewe boss Steve Davis is targeting the first goal again this weekend at Cheltenham in the FA Cup. The Alex travel to Whaddon Road for our first round tie and Davis is looking for a similar professional performance like the one that saw us win 2-0 at Leyton Orient last week.

Crewe acquired the advantage of scoring the first goal in London, with George Cooper guiding his shot into the top corner after left-back Zoumana Bakayogo had managed to keep the move alive by reaching the by-line. It provided the platform to go on and win our first game in seven matches.

Steve told crewealex.net: “We managed to get the first goal last week and allowed us to control the game more. Leyton Orient had to come out and try and attack and we exploited those gaps and scored a second goal before half-time.

“We controlled the game for large parts but you could see the importance of scoring that first goal. It makes a massive difference because if you don’t score it then the other team will look to sit in and protect what they have. We have seen that a lot this season.

“Cheltenham did that to us when we went down there for the League game. We made some mistakes, they took their chances and we couldn’t find a way to break them down. It was similar to the way the game went for us at Orient.

“It is certainly harder to deal with if you don’t manage to get that first goal, so we will be looking to get it on Saturday. We have a game plan and if the players can execute it like they did last weekend then we have a really good chance.

He added: “We know it will be tough but we will work as hard as we can to make sure we get through.”