David Artell was delighted that his side’s perseverance finally paid off against Barnet at the weekend. Crewe Alexandra carved out a few chances but had been left frustrated by some fine saves from opposition goalkeeper Jamie Stephens.

It took the introduction of substitute Zoumana Bakayogo to finally open up a stubborn Barnet defence, with his excellent cross finding the in-form Chris Porter.

Following a hard fought 1-0 win, Artell told the club’s official web-site: “It was the worst performance but our best result. The previous performances before this one probably warranted more than we got.

“We had to raise the tempo and we did that in the second half. We added a bit more zip and were slightly better on the ball. That got us the victory in the end. There are things to work on, more so than the previous two games in a way but it was pleasing to get that first win.

“The two subs really made a difference to us. Zooms has made an impact and produced one moment of quality with the cross into Chris (Porter). It was a workman like 1-0 win at home and when you don’t play as well as you would like but still win, then that is not a bad base.”