David Artell said that the patience of his side paid off in the end as we finally unlocked a stubborn Grimsby Town defence to claim all three points this afternoon.

The Alex boss also praised the patience of the Crewe faithful for keeping with the players as we entered the final 20 minutes. Goals from Corey Whelan and Shaun Miller proved the difference over the 90 minutes, but we also had Ben Garratt to thank for denying Wes Thomas and JJ Hooper towards the end of the first half.

Following the 2-0 win over the Mariners, the Alex boss told the club’s official website: “I said earlier in the week that Grimsby would be a tough nut to crack and they were. They were very disciplined and dogged and difficult to break down.

“They haven’t conceded many goals of late and it is easy to see why, but we stuck at it, scored two really good goals and kept another clean-sheet.

“We nearly gift wrapped them two goals in the first half and Ben Garratt has done terrific to save them. He made two great saves to make sure we went in at 0-0. We just said to them at half-time, don’t give the ball away and be more expansive in your play. We were playing a bit tight in the first half and that helped them with their press.

“It was a bit of a bitty game and not as high on quality as we have shown in recent games, but once we got that first goal I thought we would go on to win the game. I didn’t think we were going to concede in the second half and there are a lot of positives to take from that.

“The fans were great with the players. They were not anxious in that last 20 minutes because they expect us to beat Grimsby at home. They were patient and that helped the players. It was if they knew it was coming.

“The goals were quality. It was a great pass from Kirky to get Corey in. He has drifted into the position; it was a great take and a good finish.

He added: “Shaun is off the mark. He had a similar header at Stevenage but didn’t quite get it right but you cannot give Shaun Miller too many chances like that before he sticks one of them in. He got across his man and it was a great cross from Ryan Wintle. “