Crewe Alex 1-0 Morecambe 24/25 Review - The Cooney Show

The first home win, no matter how it comes, always feels sweet doesn't it? There was a real feeling of relief today when Kane Hemmings penalty hit the net and the full time whistle went 75 agonising minutes later. It was a tough afternoon for the Alex, but they got their first home win, recorded back to back home clean sheets and back to back league wins. Here is my review of a tense nervy afternoon at Gresty Road:

The negatives

I'm going to bundle them all up together. They won narrowly over a very limited Morecambe side who look set to trouble the bottom 2 this season. They needed a soft penalty award to do so. They continue to play a very negative system, set up to pinch 1-0s and struggle to create chances. A wins a win, but they'll need to be far better when they come up against some of the better sides in the division.

Stats

But, as I mentioned in the opening, the Alex hit some much needed markers. Their first home win and home goal since mid-March. Their first back to back clean sheets at home since February. Their first home half time lead since Morecambe, ironically. The Alex are recovering from the lowest of lows after Chesterfield. And hopefully, bit by bit, they are rebuilding that confidence and style. There is a long, long way to go, but there were some flashes of their old selves today.

Ryan Cooney?!

Cooney has become the brunt of a fair bit of criticism. His performance against Liverpool in the BSM Trophy encapsulated his tenure at the Alex. Some good moments followed by some catastrophic. But today, he was incredible. I'm serious, incredible. He drove forward well to create attacks and defensively he was immense. Go look at his defensive stats on FotMob, ridiculous. Against his former team, he was outstanding. Hats off to him.

7 points

I mentioned it in my preview and now it's come to fruition, I'll mention it again. The Alex now have 7 points from their first 5 games. Last season, they only had 6 at the same stage. Ok, the goals for and against is very different and the feel around the place isn't the same, but they've battled their way to 3 games unbeaten and that deserves some credit.

Identity

Is this what the Alex are? The Chesterfield one off aside, they have played 4 other games and recorded 0-1, 0-0, 2-1 and 1-0 results. Are they a defensively solid team that looks to pinch goals as and when they can? Is that something fans can get behind? Something that the players will embrace? Is that even the way Bell wants to play? I can imagine fairly strong nos all round. Well, it's nice to know that whilst we all hope for more attacking intent(and players) from the start of games and more goals and style, they can always fall back on this current identity.

Ref Assessment

Woeful. The penalty award was soft and I'd probably be angry if he gave that against the Alex. But some of his 50/50 shouts were hilarious. And I'm not usually this guy, but I can't help but feel a lot of them favoured Morecambe. Just a dreadful performance.

Management Assessment

Can they keep playing a 5-3-2 at home? Can they keep winning games 1-0? At what point are the shackles going to come off and we see them switch to a more progressive system. Those are questions I'm sure a lot of fans have.

Still, they named the starting XI that nobody would have agreed with at 2pm and it worked, as did the subs, which at the time felt bizarre. They deserve credit for the win, but you wonder if and when they'll take that next step.

Player Assessments

Filip Marschall

He almost got caught out in the 2nd half, which would have undone what was another excellent display from him. He made a couple of good saves, made some good catches and his kicking was generally decent. He just needs to be careful when playing out from the back. Oh and if his defenders could stop giving him horrendous passes as well, that would be appreciated.

Jamie Knight-Lebel

Another excellent game from the youngster. This must be a real shock to the system, as I bet he's never had to deal with players like Lee Angol and Marcus Dackers in youth football. He stood up to the challenge well and was a rock next to the other defenders.

Mickey Demetriou

Another captains performance from the leader of the team. He puts his body on the line each week and takes a battering, but he keeps coming back for more. If only a certain attacker were built like him...

Zac Williams

Another solid effort from Zac, but another game where I do wonder if, in the name of becoming more expansive, he doesn't need to start. It would be harsh in his current form, but compromises have to be made somewhere. Still, he was decent.

Ryan Cooney MOTM

Incredible. Runs, passes, decision making, defensive work, all outstanding. The key now is for him to kick on keep performing like that.

Joel Tabiner

Seemed to be pushed deeper and to the right in what looked like more of a 3 man midfield. He got on the ball more and was more of a factor in the game before he ran out of gas. Better from him, but he still needs to keep pushing.

Conor Thomas

Solid in the centre of the 3 in midfield, he did his defensive duties well. But as with others, if they want to expand their style and became more attack minded, does he need to make way? Does he have to start games every week or can he be a bench option to protect leads?

Max Sanders

Moved to the left, he was ok. His set piece(which looked overhit initially) helped set up Demetriou's penalty award, but that's 3 out of 5 games where he's come off early. The Alex look to need him to last longer in games.

Shilow Tracey

Not as involved as last week, he still worked his socks off and gave it his all. But with Chris Long's injury, we might have to see more of him upfront.

Kane Hemmings

One of several who had a great game. He was lively throughout, holding up the ball and trying to make things happen. He took the penalty really well and he came close to a 2nd in the 2nd half. A great effort.

Subs

Jack Lankester

Had a bit of impact when he first came on, then once the Alex went into protect mode he couldn't get a touch. When do we see him start, as they look more creative with him out there.

Matus Holicek

Made some nice moves on the counter attack, but like some of the others, he was involved in firefighting for the last 10-15 minutes.

Omar Bogle

Held the ball up well and had some half openings which he couldn't turn into a chance. Still, it was a decent home debut from him.

James Connolly

Came on at what looked like LB and got stuck in with headers and challenges, which is good to see after some early struggles from the start of games.

Kian Breckin

He probably should have come on with Connolly, given Tabiner was exhausted by that point. There wasn't much he could do in 12 minutes of game time.

Overall Verdict

It's a win and that's great. But I don't think they're going to win another 18 games playing like that. They've rebuilt the confidence and got a couple of wins under their belt, which is fantastic. But now the question has to be: What's next? Will they keep playing like this or will we see them improve as an attacking unit? That's the big question as they go into another winnable game at Accrington next Saturday.