Crewe Alex 1-1 Salford City 24/25 Review - The Ref Show

Look, we're in the 4th tier of English football. The standard of officiating is poor in the Premier League, what chance have we got of getting good refs this far down? Well, on today's evidence, no chance at all. I hope all the fans enjoyed watching Mr Sunny Singh Gill perform his best clown act today, it was very amusing. What's that? You paid to watch the players on the pitch? Well, Gill missed that message it seems. He was utterly horrendous from start to finish. There were too many wrong calls to go into them. He dominated the game and both sides can feel aggrieved at how he performed. Anyone, on to the actual game:

Matched Up

Salford were smart in how they set themselves up today. They went man for man against the Alex in midfield and out wide and nullified the space. In the last few weeks I'd felt the Alex had outmatched their opponents to good effect, but today it became a war of attrition, with neither team doing enough to get on top and force a winner.

The Dark Arts

And whilst Gill let Salford do it, the Ammies have well and truly mastered the dark arts under Karl Robinson. 23 fouls committed and honestly, it could have been double that. Pushes, pulls, grabs, tugs, you name it, they did it. It made for a frankly awful spectacle, but given they emerged with a point, I don't think they'll care.

Off It

The Alex weren't on it today. Right from the opening 5-10 minutes, you could tell they looked uncomfortable in all aspects of their play. They couldn't get anything going upfront, one Cooney header aside. They couldn't effectively press and get the ball off Salford in midfield and they looked shaky at the back. Yes, it wasn't a disaster of a performance and it says a lot that they can play poorly and still comfortably earn a point. But they weren't their usual selves and it showed.

Cooney!

I feel cheated of a pitch invasion to be honest. But in all seriousness, Williams' cross and Cooney's bullet header was one of the rare moments of attacking quality in the game for the Alex. But it was still a great move and finish for Cooney's first ever league goal. It was a sweet moment and a further sign of his dramatic improvement over the last month or so.

Point Gained

Does this feel like 2 dropped. A little bit, but when you consider how scrappy the game was, how off it the Alex were, how dirty Salford played and how useless the ref was, you'll take the point and move on to be honest. For all the criticisms, they never really looked like losing and probably looked the more likely team to score later in the game. If they can keep treading water by picking up points like this one whilst they wait for their attackers to get fit, then I'll take it.

Ref Assessment

Atrocious. Foul after foul not called, allowing players to block keepers kicks and then giving just 3 minutes of added time on at the end. It's incredible how low refs in the EFL can stoop too.

Management Assessment

They did what they could with the starting XI and I didn't necessarily disagree with the subs, but I wouldn't have minded seeing them change shape a little bit towards the end to give Salford something to think about. But having very few fit attacking options limited them.

Player Assessments

Fillip Marschall

Didn't have a lot to do, helpless for the goal. I wouldn't have minded him coming for a couple of more balls into the box, but overall he was fine.

James Connolly

Solid and didn't make many mistakes. Could he have come off late on for another attacker perhaps?

Jamie Knight-Lebel

It was like he'd never been away. Calm, composed and rock solid, although him and Demetriou will be having words as to how Woodburn was able to break free to score.

Mickey Demetriou

A few uncharacteristic mistakes, but he seemed to be struggling with something in the 2nd half. Fingers crossed it's nothing serious and he's ok for Tuesday.

Ryan Cooney

A close call for MOTM, but he was decent throughout the game, even if he became a bit isolated in the 2nd half. Took his goal really well, I'm delighted for him.

Kian Breckin

Did he have a knock, because his half time subbing felt a little odd. Ok, he wasn't having a great game, but he wasn't terrible either. We'll see whether he's in the squad for Fleetwood.

Max Sanders

Not his best game. I was surprised to see he completed 25/31 passes, as that part of his game felt off today. Does he keep his place for Tuesday now that Thomas is back fit?

Max Conway

A quieter game for him, he battles well but once again he fades in 2nd halves to the point where he has to come off. I feel for him having to battle in midfield.

Zac Williams MOTM

Just shades it over Cooney, he was excellent at LWB, even if it's not his preferred position. He put in a great cross for the goal and battled gamely to win headers and get forward.

Matus Holicek

I feel for him, working as a false 9 when it's clear he's not. Didn't have much impact when he moved deeper in the 2nd half, it's hard to justify him in the team at the moment.

Shilow Tracey

A standing ovation? Not for him, I thought he was fairly anonymous for the most part, not that I blame him given he's playing out of position, like a few others were today.

Subs

Adrien Thibaut

I love his fearlessness. He got stuck in and the way he tracked back to win a ball late on was great to see. Maybe roll the dice and start him on Tuesday?

Conor Thomas

Good to see him back and fully fit, given the way he crunched into that late tackle on the sideline. Does he start on Tuesday?

Owen Lunt

The roof would have come off had that late thunderbolt gone into the top corner. Made a few mistakes, but came close to winning it. Keep giving him minutes, they need all the help they can get in midfield currently.

Omar Bogle

Another welcome sight, he put himself about and gave the Alex some physicality up top. Probably too soon to consider starting him on Tuesday, but I'd hope he can play 30 minutes or more if needed.

Overall Verdict

Not a great performance from the team, but not a terrible one either. You'll take the point and hope for better at Fleetwood on Tuesday, which is another tough game. Fingers crossed we don't see Mr Sunny Singh Gill for a while.