Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell hailed his side’s performance at the One Call Stadium this afternoon as the club’s ‘best this season.’ Crewe Alexandra won 2-1 thanks to a brace from substitute Callum Ainley and Artell says that his players deserve great credit for executing the game plan to almost perfection.

Following the 2-1 victory over promotion chasing Mansfield, Artell told crewealex.net: “I thought we were terrific and that is the best performance of the season for me. It wasn’t the best in terms of goals scored or the margin of victory but we controlled large part of the game.

“When we needed energy we had it. When we needed men, we had men and when we needed skill, we showed that to the win the game. We showed great ball retention to tire them out and we thought the longer we remained in the game, the more chance our quality would come through and we would have a chance to win the game.

“I can talk about game plans and all that but that is how it panned out this afternoon and the players deserve great credit for executing it.

“They stood up to their physicality and defended the set plays well. I didn’t think that we conceded the one goal that we did right at the death. The 14 players we had on the pitch were terrific for us. The three subs came on and gave us some extra energy.

And on match winner, Ainley, the gaffer said: “It is all about end product with Callum and that is the key. He did that today with his two goals. He is still 21 and needs a break from time to time. I think he played 11 games on the spin and we took him out because he looked a bit jaded and needed a rest.

“That is what happens when he has a bit of a rest and he comes back in revitalised. It is up to us manage our young players and know when they need a rest. 

“The centre-halves were terrific. They know where to stand and read the game so well."