Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell was pleased with his side’s all-round performance against Crawley Town.

The Railwaymen ran out comfortable 3-0 winners thanks to a brace from Chris Dagnall and another goal of the season contender from the excellent Callum Ainley.

It was no more than Crewe deserved and the scoreline should not discredit our performance after Crawley self-imploded in the second half and were reduced to ten men.

David Artell told the club’s official website: “It was a good win and we thoroughly deserved the three points. The performance was good and the result matched the performance.

“It was a bit cat and mouse for the opening 20 minutes but we slowly and surely began to turn the screw. Callum got us up and running with a wonderful goal and although we probably made poor decisions against nine men than eleven, I am delighted with the performance.

“Callum showed some glimpses of his ability before he suffered a cut eye on Wednesday night. He has a really bright future. It is all part of his development. He is getting better physically and lasting the games better. He still has a bit to go but he is improving all the time. He is catching the eye.

“Callum and George were the creative ones and they were creating chances for us all afternoon.

“The front two were a threat. Dagnall was there to put them in and you cannot underestimate the endeavour Jordan gets through.

“The opposition gave us a real helping hand this afternoon. When we had Brad on a yellow card at Blackburn, we took him at the half-time interval. It was hard enough with 11v11 without losing one.

“That is for Harry and his staff to work on and nothing to do with me. I am just pleased that we had the advantage before the two red cards. I thought we were the better team and we played the right way.

“The clean-sheet gave us a solid base and to a man they worked their socks off not to concede and I am pleased that we got the clean-sheet. They have had two efforts that have hit the crossbar but I thought we defended well throughout.”