- Railwaymen defeated at home
- Bell’s men remain in fifth spot
- Strycek makes debut for Club
Crewe Alexandra were beaten 3-0 by Grimsby Town at Mornflake Stadium.
Goals from Toby Mullarkey, Curtis Thompson and Denver Hume sealed the points for The Mariners.
Elliott Nevitt went closest on a disappointing afternoon for the home side, but they could not find a way through.
Crewe stay fifth in League Two but their buffer in the Play-Offs was reduced to six points.
Lee Bell made three changes to the side that won at Morecambe in midweek, and all were enforced.
Tom Booth and Shilow Tracey missed out through injury, and Lewis Leigh started a four-match suspension.
Booth was replaced by keeper Max Strycek, who was signed from Wycombe on an Emergency Loan and met his new teammates just before kick-off.
Charlie Kirk and Aaron Rowe came into a three-pronged attack along with top-scorer Nevitt.
David Artell, in his first return to South Cheshire, named fellow ex-Crewe Alex defender Mullarkey in his Grimsby defence but left Callum Ainley on the bench.
Justin Obikwu cleverly beat a couple of defenders but Lewis Billington got a vital deflection on his shot, which went for a corner.
Nevitt had a firm strike deflected wide, and another saved by keeper Jake Eastwood, as the hosts asked questions at the other end.
On 30 minutes a super diagonal ball by Mickey Demetriou found the feet of Nevitt but Harvey Rodgers got across to make a block.
Grimsby hit the front on 38 minutes when Mullarkey got to a long throw from Doug Tharme and Strycek couldn’t keep it out.
After a slow start to the second half, the visitors made it 2-0 just before the hour when Thompson volleyed home following a corner.
Strycek got down well to palm an Obikwu strike around the post, and Donovan Wilson fired over the bar.
On 83 minutes Nevitt charged down an Eastwood clearance but the keeper was able to scramble back and clear before the ball crossed the line.
A swirling Matus Holicek cross found Charlie Finney at the far post but his volley was deflected and ended up in Eastwood’s arms.
The Mariners had the final say when Hume arrived on the end of a cross from the right and bounced the ball into the top corner.
Crewe (3-4-3): Strycek; Billington, Demetriou, Williams; Adebisi, Cooney, Austerfield (Tabiner, 54), Holicek; Kirk (Finney, 54), Rowe (Agius, 61), Nevitt.
Subs not used: Lenarcik, Kempster-Down, Woodcock, Sant.
Booked: Cooney, Kirk
Grimsby (5-3-2): Eastwood; Smith, Mullarkey, Tharme, Rodgers, Vernam (Clifton, 82); Green (Hume, 82), Holohan (Andrews, 88), Thompson; Rose (Wilson, 22), Obikwu (Ainey, 88).
Subs not used: Auton, Eisa.
Booked: Mullarkey.
Referee: S Mather.
Attendance: 5,665 (611).
