Crewe fall on the wrong side of the line as unbeaten run comes to an end.

David Artell says his Crewe Alexandra side 'were not quite at it' this afternoon as our recent unbeaten run came to an end. Exeter City ran out 2-1 winners to keep their own play-off hopes very much alive and Crewe never really showed enough quality in the final third to get back in the game for a second time after Chris Porter had cancelled out Jake Taylor’s deflected opener.

Following the 2-1 defeat and the end of our seven game unbeaten run, Artell told the club’s official website: “I thought it was two evenly matched sides but we were not quite at it this afternoon. It wasn’t our usual self and we fell on the wrong side of the line today.

“I don’t think that it was result oriented because we played okay but just lacked that bit of quality or right decision making in the final third.

“We started well and they didn’t have a kick but then they get a corner and the ball ends up in our net. I think it has taken a deflection and it is unfortunate. It rocked us a bit and our final ball was poor.

“At the start of the second half, we put in some decent delivery and Chris Porter doesn’t miss them. It is a terrific header and again it was a fairly even game and not much in it.

“They hit the post and then from their third shot on target, it was got in. They have managed to come away from one side of the pitch to the other and Greenie was in recovery mode and he has bend it into the corner.

“I thought they were fairly comfortable after that and they are a good side. They used their experience as League Two campaigners to see it out.

“But we had too many examples of our final ball letting us down and we didn’t get over the right side of the line. It was those fine margins and today we didn’t have it on our side but that is to take nothing away from Exeter because they are a good side.

“The lads didn’t give up. That doesn’t happen but we tried to change things up with but we didn’t quite know how or understand how to get back into it again and that was the most disappointing thing.

He added: “We weren’t quite good enough today.”