Crewe Alexandra manager, David Artell, has praised both sets of supporters after the club had a memorable night against Premier League side Aston Villa. The Alex didn’t sit back at home and went out to have a real go and make a game of it in front of almost 7,200 fans.

In the end, Aston Villa’s extra quality in the final third shone through in the League Cup second round, as they ran out deserved 6-1 winners at Gresty Road – but we did ourselves proud by registering 17 shots on the Villa goal. Ryan Wintle scored our consolation goal at 5-0 following a really decisive run through the heart of the Villa defence.

Artell hailed both sets of fans after a memorable night in South Cheshire: “The fans came out in terrific numbers. It isn’t often we have a Premier League side at home but I thought both sets of fans were brilliant.

“The Aston Villa fans were loud and so were our fans. They kept going to the end and I was pleased for them that we managed to score a goal. We deserved to do that and with some better finishing, we could have scored a few more.

“The fans were absolute class. They are a knowledgeable bunch and they know where we  are and where a club like Aston Villa are in terms of their budgets and what they have spent on players this summer.

The boss added: "They were a class above at times but they were going to be with the players they have but we gave it a real go and the big difference was that Villa were ruthless in front of goal.”