David Artell says his side lacked the guile and craft to unlock the Yeovil defence this afternoon. Crewe couldn’t make their first half dominance count with Artur Krysiak saving smartly to deny Callum Ainley and Zoumana Bakayogo.
Crewe huffed and puffed but couldn’t find the goal we deserved for our first half performance and Artell admits that our threat fizzled out a bit in the second half. Harry Pickering went close with a well struck free-kick that clipped the crossbar in the opening minutes of the second period but we didn't test the Yeovil reserve goalkeeper Jonny Maddison enough.
After the goalless draw, Artell told crewealex.net: “There were positives to take from our performance, especially in the first half and it was a step forward. We are just disappointed that it wasn’t an even bigger step forward.
“We just didn’t quite have the guile, craft and disguise to find that winning goal. We played well in the first half but we were on to them at half-time because it should have been dead and buried. We played well, dominated large periods of the game in that first half but we came in at 0-0.
“We stuck at it, kept going but I thought we fizzled out a bit in the second half. We should have put the game to bed in the first half and that is the most disappointing thing.
“The clean-sheet was a real positive and I think they have had one shot that has flashed past the post. I would have taken that over 90 minutes. The back four were terrific and they were protected well by Greenie and Pickering. They were very good in there.
“We didn’t test their goalkeepers enough and with the chances we had, we didn’t take enough care. We had some crosses across the box that needed someone there to tap-in.
“With the possession we had over the 90 minutes, we should have created more chances and with the ones we did create, should have led to one or two goals. We played some good football at times, we passed the ball well and that is the way I want us to play. It is a step in the right direction but it couldn’t have been an even bigger one.”