David Artell praised the character of his Crewe Alexandra side after we saw a 2-0 half-time lead wiped out within minutes of the second half.

Crewe had to dig deep after such a frenetic opening of the second half and had arguably our best performer on the night, Ollie Lancashire, scoring a winning header from a Tom Lowery free-kick.

Following an enthralling 3-2 win at Gresty Road, Artell told us: “I was 40 back in November. I am 52 now!

“I think I won’t speak to them at half-time and leave them out there in the rain! That needs sorting out for sure.

“To concede two goals so early in the second half, we had to show some real character and courage and I don’t mean just scoring again and winning the game, because we had to really dig in and stick at it.

“Our centre-halves, were absolutely outstanding. I think that is the best performance from a pair of centre-halves here for a long time. They were excellent.  

“We had to deep dig at times and that is a big win for us, it really is. They have earned their extra day off. We will patch them up because we were down to the bare bones a bit and go again on Saturday.

“It will be another tough game against them."