Crawley Town 0-1 Crewe Alex 25-26 Review - Back in the Hunt?

What a filthy game that was. I wasn't there, but fair play to the hardy Alex fans who did make the long trip down. It wasn't a pretty game and the conditions played a part in what was a poor spectacle. But who cares when the Alex are coming home with 3 points to cap off a superb last 2 weeks where they've banked 8 from a possible 12, gone 4 unbeaten, 3 of them against teams either around them or well above them and from 3 long away games. This is my review of their win at Crawley:

Tactical Switch

Eyebrows were raised at Bell switching to a back 3. But for the 4th game in a row, the tactics were spot on as the Alex were by far the better team. There were moments when the system seemed to paying too much respect to Crawley, but they constantly found pockets of space to build attacks.

Bell's masterstroke though was to leave on Tommi O'Reilly. He looks shattered at the moment and as the game approached the last 15, leaving him on seemed like the wrong call. But the manager's patience was rewarded as the Villa loanee jumped into a counter attack and volleyed in superbly for the match winner. I do think they need to look at getting him on the bench for a game or two to charge the batteries, but when he can pop up with moments of magic like this, how can you?

Deserved

Make no mistake about it, this was a fully deserved win for the Alex and the only negative was that it wasn't more. Granted they struggled to fully test Chapman in the Crawley goal in the first half, but they were by far the better side and for once, the gap in the table between the 2 sides was showing.

In the 2nd half, they started to lose momentum, but they were able to regain it really well and from the moment they got their goal, they never really looked like conceding and should have wrapped it up late on. But it was a superb away display after a tough week for travel.

2 in 3

Another clean sheet?! What is this madness?! After managing 1 clean sheet in their last 25 league games before last Saturday, they've now managed 2 in their last 3 games. This defensive display was arguably their most impressive. Off the back of all the events of the last few weeks against an inform and confident Crawley, they gave up just 0.21 xG against, their lowest of the season by a fair margin.

Given they've been guilty of giving up at least one big chance on a weekly basis, to go and blank a side who've only been blanked once at home all season and not since August is incredibly impressive. Too often, the attack has had to bail out the defence this season. It's nice that in the last week, the defence has been able to bail out the attack.

Turning Point

There was a sinking feeling when Harry McKirdy wriggled into space on the hour mark and fired past Lawlor. The Alex had been wasteful with their opportunities and they looked set to pay the ultimate price. But we can thank number 99 Danilo Orsi, for needlessly touching the ball in from a yard out with a combination of his hand and hip. It seemed to be heading in anyway, so what on earth he was thinking by even going near it, I don't know.

Looking back, it sucked all the energy and momentum out of the home side and they managed just 2 more shots in the rest of the game. Could that moment be a turning point in the Alex's play-off charge?

Back in the Hunt?

I'm writing this as the 3pm Saturday games are still taking place, so we don't know what the top 10 in League Two will look like just yet. But make no mistake about it, the Alex are back in the hunt for a top 7 spot. They'll need to avoid any further injuries and hope Lankester, Sanders and Tezgel return by the end of the month(although we've seen projected timelines for returns slip back and back in some cases). They still have tough games in the coming weeks against unpredictable sides in Gillingham and Fleetwood, then a very difficult trip to Swindon. But for now, we can dare to dream.

Ref Assessment

I thought he did give a few soft fouls the Alex's way, but his spot of Orsi's handball was bang on.

Management Assessment

The players have been giving their all lately and I think the management can take a huge chunk of credit too. Their been pretty much faultless in each of the last 4 games. It's excellent to see.

Player Assessments

Ian Lawlor

He only had one taxing save to make and he made it well. Aside from that, it was another quiet afternoon. 2 clean sheets in 7 games is an impressive return.

Lewis Billington

What else can I say that I haven't already? 6/10, solid, dependable, made no big mistakes. All you can ask for as he shifted to the RWB spot.

James Connolly

Connolly alongside Demetriou looks really good. Him away from Demetriou...not so much. Still, he was mistake free and even avoided silly unnecessary free kicks.

Mickey Demetriou

Excellent on his return to the starting XI. A free week to rest his knee will be gratefully received I'm sure.

Alfie Pond

A bit shaky today. Some of his passes were off target and he made a couple of bad giveaways. But that's par the course given his lack of experience.

Reece Hutchinson MOTM

In a game crying out for quality, he was the one to find it with a brilliant cross for O'Reilly's goal. That was his 5th assist and his 3rd in 4 games. In what has been a tough few weeks, he's shown up and then some.

Owen Lunt

His usual combative self, but clearly still lacking fitness as he was brought off after just over an hour. Like a few, I'm sure he's delighted to have a free week to rest up.

Jack Powell

He's done really well in the last few weeks on the whole, especially in the last 2 to replace Max Sanders. He too is lacking fitness, but he's dug in and given them a steady presence in midfield.

Tommi O'Reilly

It's a funny old game isn't it? Yes he'd been the Alex's only creative spark in the game, but I felt he was lacking end product. But none of that matters when he fires in a superb winner.

Matus Holicek

I'm seeing a lot of praise for him and whilst he's done ok since his return from injury, I still find the lack of end product from him frustrating. Since the turn of the year, he has 1 goal contribution, whilst Agius has 4 and O'Reilly has 3. Still, he has given them some energy and he too will likely benefit from no midweek game.

Josh March

He struggled throughout. A hooked effort in the 1st half was as close as he came. The lack of attacking depth is killing them, because you'd love to roll with Tezgel right now and give March a rest, but he has to keep starting. The decision to hook him was the right one.

Subs:

Conor Thomas

Broke up play nicely and kicked off a few counter attacks with some nice passes.

Adrien Thibaut

He's a pest, but he couldn't find any attacking joy.

Calum Agius

I'm glad they gave him the afternoon off to recharge. They need him to step up more on the road, but he was lively in his cameo.

Charlie Finney

I get they need fresh legs, but I'd have preferred to see Moore or Dancey on instead of Finney, because had Finney made a mistake that cost them a goal, social media would have gone ballistic. Yet had it been Moore or Dancey, they would have been forgiven.

Overall Verdict

An outstanding win given the circumstances. As the manager alluded to after the game, they will rest up now and enjoy a free week before getting ready for 2 massive back to back home ties.