Owen Dale excelled on his comeback to the Crewe starting XI last night and was understandably right up there with the contenders for Man-of-the-Match in the 1-0 win over Doncaster Rovers. The winger was a threat throughout and was exemplary in his defensive duties to help the team achieve a clean-sheet against another of the top six.

Boss David Artell praised the former Academy graduate for playing through the pain barrier for the cause in recent games because of severe bruising of his foot. Dale wanted to travel and be involved against Lincoln City at the weekend when he was even struggling to strike the ball without discomfort in training.

Following the club’s deserved 1-0 win over Doncaster, Artell told us: “Owen’s foot was a balloon after Blackpool. We actually thought he had broken his foot and that is why he didn’t start at Lincoln.

“He came on but he did extremely well to even be a substitute. He shouldn’t have been on the bench if I am honest with you but he wanted to be and he was quite brave there because it was obviously painful and causing him discomfort.

“We thought he looked bright when he came on and with those kind of injuries, the swelling can go down quite quickly.

He added: “His foot was still throbbing but I thought he was outstanding.  That right hand side is looking dangerous again with Rio coming in and playing really well as well in the last three games. Long may that continue.”