David Artell, the Crewe Alexandra manager, has praised the club’s supporters after they applauded the players off against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday. A gallant effort from the Alex players counted for nothing in the end, as Craig Mackail-Smith scored a stoppage time winner for the Chairboys but Artell says that the Alex faithful knew there had been an injustice in the game.
The Crewe boss shared the fans frustration after the referee failed to spot an obvious handball from Adebayo Akinfenwa in the creation of Wycombe’s second goal in their 3-2 win at Gresty Road.
Artell told the club’s official website: “The fans have been massive for us. They have been good to us and we need them more than ever. They have been magnificent and all I can ask them to do is to keep turning up and supporting the team.
“They do give the players a lift and at the end of the game on Saturday, they applauded us because they knew the players had given everything and there had been some injustices in the game. We all felt robbed by the referee’s decisions and I can only thank the fans for sticking with us. They were with us and hurt like us when they scored in stoppage time.
“We know that we haven’t given them too much to cheer about this season but they can see that we are really trying. I am sure it will turn around because we have good players. It has to and the fans can help with that.”