A fantastic attendance of 5,301 saw Crewe Alexandra kick off the 2021/22 campaign with a 1-1 draw against Michael Duff’s Cheltenham side on Saturday. The Alex just couldn’t find enough in the second half to perhaps force a winner and a point apiece was probably a fair result over a 90 minutes of few chances.

Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell was delighted with the atmosphere created by the home support and the almost 400 travelling Cheltenham supporters.

Following the 1-1 home draw at Mornflake Stadium, the gaffer told us: “It was great to have the fans back and creating that type of atmosphere again.

“There is not one player who doesn’t want to play in front of a crowd and have that emotion transmitted from the stands. It helps them and it helped us as a team.

“Our best period in the game, when I felt we were really on top, came in that final 20, 25 minutes. It could have been the injection of the substitutes and slightly changing the way we were playing, or it could have been the fans and them really pushing us on. I think it was a bit of both.

“They were right behind us and it made a difference.”