Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell was delighted that a team made up totally of Academy graduates once again won the game thanks to two Shaun Miller goals. Crewe won 2-1 against Gary Johnson’s Cheltenham to finish on 56 points and move us into 15th place in the league table. Artell was pleased that he have been able to end the season with three straight wins and show that we are moving in the right direction.
Following the deserved 2-1 win, Artell told the club’s official website: “I didn’t think there was much in the game but again we have been able to win it. I said it after the Morecambe game that there needs to be games like those if we want to be successful.
“There will those nip and tuck games but if you can win 20 of those 30 nip and tuck games and then win 8 of the rest then you have a great chance.
“They have given everything on what is the hottest day of the season and there were a few going down with cramp and those thighs, calves, and hamstrings would have been hurting but we have managed to get over the line. George Ray was walking on one leg at the end and Shaun was hurt.
“Shaun is a goalscorer and they were two good finishes. There was a mistake for the first one and it was a good finish and he got on to the loose ball for the second one after a good move and it was a great finish because he is a good player.
“I am not surprised that we have had a good run because we have a squad of players who are giving everything and we are moving in the right direction. No-one is getting carried away because we are 15th in League Two but we are fourth in the form table or whatever and we have to make sure that continues to the first week of August. It has got to carry on for the whole season.”
On naming an Academy XI for the second time in football history, Artell said: “It is what this football club is about. It is diminished if you don’t win the game but that’s the second time we have done it and the second time we have won.
“You don’t get that at any other football club and it is a hard thing to achieve in the modern era. I am not sure that it has been done ever and we have done it twice.
“That is why we are the third best Academy in the country and that’s not me saying that that’s the Premier League. The national press don’t talk write about that.
“We had the Under-9s on the pitch before the game and the parents know that this is the place to be if they want to see their players play professional football. They understand the pathway here.”