Boss admits that his side got a get-out-jail card late on against Morecambe to grab a point.
David Artell felt that his Crewe Alexandra side got a get-out-jail card this afternoon after Chris Porter was shoved in the back for a penalty in the 94th minute.
Porter stepped up to covert the penalty and salvage an away point for the Railwaymen. Crewe led 1-0 at the break but found ourselves 2-1 due to two good strikes from Andrew Tutte via a free-kick and from veteran Kevin Ellison.
Following the 2-2 draw, Artell described it as one of our worst displays as the season. He told the club’s official website: “We weren’t very good and I feel relieved and disappointed because we haven’t played anyway like we can but still have a point. We have played 100 times better than that this season and come away with nothing. For me it was one of our worst performances of the season.
“I had a go at them at half-time because we were not playing like we can. We couldn’t pass water and our decision making wasn’t good enough. After a really poor start we managed to get the goal but we told them at half-time what Morecambe would do.
“They were the aggressors in the second half and were on the front foot more and we didn’t cope with the greater intensity. The first goal came from a free-kick and I told the referee that he had got it wrong. It isn’t rugby and the play went on for three or four seconds when he played the advantage. That is an age in football and it isn’t our fault that they didn’t take advantage of the advantage. You cannot pull it back because he didn’t score. He was given the opportunity to do so.
“I thought Chris Porter was our best player by some distance and he deserved his goal. The centre-halves were decent but for a few moments but overall we didn’t play anyway near the standard.
“With five minutes to go or whatever it was at the end, I would have snapped your hand off for a point and seven points from 12 over the Christmas period but I am disappointed with the performance and we will go over it again on the video tomorrow and then with the players on Monday.
"At Stevenage when we drew 2-2 last season it felt like a win, this one feels nothing like that. It feels like a get out jail one."
The manager also revealed that loan players, Corey Whelan and Kevin O’Connor will be returning tot their respective clubs next week and that Brad Walker will report to training with Crewe on Monday as nothing has been finalised in relation to his future at Wrexham.