Following our 3-1 defeat at Kenilworth Road this afternoon, David Artell was disappointed that we couldn’t quite get something from the game. The Crewe boss admits that we were undone by two stunning goals from the Hatters but was pleased that his side kept going to the last.
Crewe had taken a 35th minute through Jordan Bowery after he converted superbly well in a personal duel with the Luton Town goalkeeper James Shea, but we were not given enough time to really build on that success with Danny Hylton and Elliott Lee turning the scoreline around before the half time interval.
Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu’s wonder strike five minutes into the second half made it a tough mountain to climb for Crewe Alexandra but credit to Artell’s side who tried everything they could to find the next goal.
Artell told crewealex.net: “I thought we gave it a real good go against a good side. Luton are a good side and they will deserve their promotion.
“Could we have got something from the game? Probably, possibly. We got into their box last ten minutes and they put on an extra centre-half, so that tells a story.
“They have hit two worldies against us and that is why they are up there. The first goal (Hylton’s) was a poor goal to concede from our point of view. We have worked hard on defending chances like that and we were disappointed with that. You hold your hands up to two of them but the first one, we cannot accept.
“I thought it was a good game to watch and they have scored two great goals that gave them that cushion. We scored a great goal through Jordan and we possibly should have scored some more on the day. We made a subtle change at half-time and had more of the ball and it gave us some more control but we couldn’t find that clinical edge.
“The referee has missed a sending off when their player has stood on Ben Garratt’s head and I was annoyed by that, but I am not going to be referee bashing. It was a foul on Ben for the screamer but the referee gave a corner.
“We gave it a go and the fans applauded us off, so they appreciated the effort the players put in. I think they can see the improvement we are making. From the New Year, we have been heading in the right direction and we have to keep moving in the right direction.
“There are three games left, three winnable games and nine points is our aim. “