Gritty away display from the Alex to get back to winning ways at the New Meadow
David Artell says his Crewe Alexandra side showed a real gritty side of their game to come away from a tough game at Shrewsbury with all three points. Artell told his players prior that it was not going to be pretty at times but he was pleased with the clean-sheet and the victory from the New Meadow.
The Alex got their noses in front thanks to Owen Dale’s strike in the first half and showed some real resilience and the other side to their game to make sure the points were secured.
Following the 1-0 win, the Alex boss told crewealex.net: “Shrewsbury make it really difficult for you and they can overrun you at times. They have done it to teams higher than us in the league, so we knew it was going to be tough.
“It was a really tough night but we prepared the players for the game and told them that it wasn't going to be pretty at times and we would have to show a different side to our game. It was a dogged, real gritty performance and it was result from 1-18 tonight. It’s a clean-sheet for everyone not just the back four and goalkeeper because they have all put in a real shift.
“We got our noses in front, like we did on Saturday at Ipswich, but this time we saw it through. Saying that we were a bit unfortunate to concede on Saturday because it came via a tackle.
“We started poorly and that can’t happen after 45 seconds or so where the ball has bounced four times from a throw in and he is through on goal. It was a let off that one but after that they had a few long shots that we would expect Dave to save, if they had gone in there would have been questions to answer but I didn’t think he had a lot to do on the night.
He added: "Owen came on on Saturday and played at 100mph and I had a chat about it with him and told him relax and make sure he was calm and got his techniques right again. He did that, he came in at the far post and rolled it in and it has won us the game. He will get the plaudits for the goal but it was a good all round performance from them all.
“Tonight it was a terrific, proper away performance.”