Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell was delighted with the way his players responded to that defeat by Swindon Town by securing a deserved 2-0 win at fellow strugglers Chesterfield this afternoon. First half goals from Chris Porter and Charlie Kirk secured the points and lifted the festive spirit following the 3-0 loss to the Robins on Saturday. Crewe were good value for the win, defended well and recorded a third away win of the campaign.

Following the 2-0 win at the Proact Stadium, Artell told the club’s official website: “They were good today and the difference from Saturday is that they worked their socks off and were mistake free. We shot ourselves in the foot against Swindon and they didn’t have to work hard for their goals.

“This is how it has to be every week. They worked so hard and that is all I ask of them because if they do and they cut out crosses, apply blocks and take their chances then I would back my players against anyone in this league.

“We scored two good goals in the first half and created the two best chances in the second half and Jordan knows he should have stuck them away. It was a pleasing, away performance from us and I was delighted with them all.

“Charlie got his chance because he has trained well for the last few weeks. He trained properly and that is what got his chance to come off the bench. He took that so he got another chance today and he has taken that again. It’s not rocket science that is what it is about.

“Going forward and going backwards, he was faultless. It wasn’t just him, it was all of them. The two centre halves were magnificent and they didn’t really have that many chances. Ben has pushed one away towards the end but that was about it.”