Crewe Alex 0-2 Doncaster Rovers 23/24 Play-Off 1st Leg Review - So close, yet so far

I'll start off by making a change for this review. I won't be posting ratings. I did that last time and some people got offended, perhaps rightly so. So I'll write the reviews as normal, but won't attach a score. Let's go through the game as diplomatically as I can.

Chances

The Alex will be kicking themselves for not making the most of their early momentum. Elliott Nevitt and Rio Adebisi had presentable headers they could have done better with. But perhaps the biggest moment was when Tracey pounced on a slip by Doncaster and broke through on goal. He had to find the end product to either score or find the wide open Nevitt with a pass. In the end he did neither, his cross came too late and was blocked.

Chris Long had a header in the 2nd half which went narrowly over, but those first half chances cost them dearly.

Mistakes

The Alex were wasteful at one end and they made too many mistakes at the other. The opening goal was a catalogue of mistakes, stemming from poor passes to not tracking runners. That led to jitters which could have seen them concede a 2nd before half time. The 2nd did arrive shortly after the break and it was from a catastrophic mistake from one of their best performers in Demetriou.

They were the standout moments, but there were plenty of times where the Alex's touch, movement, decision making and composure just went right out the window. You can't hope to win any game with that amount of errors, a lot of them unforced.

Better

Doncaster are a better team than the Alex. Miles better. After weathering the early storm, they got their noses in front and in truth, never looked in any danger of letting it go. They easily mopped up in defence, were more controlled in midfield and were far more effective going forward. This didn't look like a contest between 2 teams who finished level on points with each other. There looked like there were leagues of difference. Donny cruised after getting the 2nd goal and have one foot, one arm and most of their body in the final at this stage.

Mentality

The harshest thing I'll say about this Crewe team is, they looked so beaten after the goals went in. There was no grandstand finish, no big push. They limply allowed the game to peter out and never looked like getting back into it. And in truth, that's how it's felt since they fell to Morecambe 2 months ago. The belief seems to have totally gone. Even some scrappy draws and a couple of wins haven't been enough to turn things around.

I keep saying it, but regardless of what happens on Friday, Bell has a big job not just improving the depth and quality of his squad, but getting to the bottom of why the mentality of the group, with experienced players throughout, just looks so broken right now.

Miracle

The Alex need a miracle. It can be done, it has been done. But them going to the Keepmoat and winning by 2 clear goals just to force extra time feels like a task well beyond their capabilities at the moment. Still, it's not over yet. Now we see if this group has anything left in the tank. They'll need to show every ounce of it to get to Wembley.

Ref Watch

He was wildly inconsistent. Identical fouls committed by each teams would sometimes draw a whistle, sometimes they wouldn't. It was a bizarre performance, although he didn't have any big decisions to make thankfully.

Management Rating

I won't savage them. I will just politely ask how Charlie Kirk never got on the pitch. That was utterly baffling and I just don't get it. I also don't think they let the first tactical change marinate before they made another. They are too quick to change from Plan B to Plan C at times I think.

Player Reviews

Max Stryjek

Made some fairly routine saves and could nothing about the goals. Not to blame for the defeat in any way.

Ryan Cooney

Lost the ball in the build up to the first, but the worse mistake was not tracking Craig for the cross. Hooked early, again.

Lewis Billington - MOTM

Was one of the few standouts. Made some key blocks early on and not a lot he could do for either of the goals.

Mickey Demetriou

Battled well, but his mistake for the 2nd goal was crippling and cannot happen from a player of his experience and quality.

Zac Williams

Not terrible, just not sure he was needed to start when they could have gone 4-3-3 and given Donny more to think about going forward. He was average.

Rio Adebisi

His usual all action self, but not his most effective of games. Like a few in the squad, he looks totally gassed.

Josh Austerfield

Another tough afternoon. It's clear he desperately needs an anchor in midfield to use as a marker for where he needs to be and what he needs to do. Without Offord and Thomas, he looks lost.

Joel Tabiner

Copy and paste Austerfield's comments here. Not at the races, couldn't affect the game in any meaningful way as Craig, Bailey and Biggins controlled the midfield.

Matus Holicek

Had a nice run and shot in the first half, but he, like Austerfield and Tabiner, didn't get involved enough and struggled to influence things.

Elliott Nevitt

Had a few half chances, but nothing noteworthy. Got frustrated as the game wore on, which is understandable.

Shilow Tracey

Rinse and repeat I'm afraid. When you desperately needed him to find that moment of quality, he couldn't. I'll ask this question: if he was out of contract this summer, would you offer him a new deal?

Subs

Conor Thomas

Nice to see him back, but for all the simple square balls he made, the one time he tried a forward pass, he massively overhit it out of play. Still, he got stuck in at least.

Courtney Baker-Richardson

Ran around a bit, but couldn't do much as the heads dropped around him.

Chris Long

Struggled to get a touch, although he did flick a header over the bar. He gets less on it and it might be a goal.

Aaron Rowe

I'm saying nothing.

Overall Verdict

Yes, it's only half time. Yes, 2-0 is hardly an insurmountable scoreline. But for this Crewe team, which look tired, deflated and ultimately, beaten, it might as well be 5-0. Still, there are still 90 minutes to go and an early goal on Friday changes the whole complexion of the game. Can the Alex go down swinging, or will their season end in a whimper?