Crewe Alex 3-0 Harrogate Town 24/25 Review - Thunderous Performance

Is there a metaphor for the heavens opening up whilst the Alex are rolling to a comprehensive win? There must be one in there somewhere. Whilst things in the sky got progressively more gloomy today after the game kicked off in glorious sunshine, the Alex were the total opposite, putting in a display oozed confidence, skill and excitement to record one of their finest wins of the Lee Bell era in terms of how fans want to see the game played. Here is my review of today's events:

Commitment

The usual staples of Lee Bell football were there. The players put in a hell of a shift all afternoon, with heroic efforts at both ends as they came determined to not just win, but win to nil and win by a fair margin. Nobody shirked or went hiding, even the subs came on and put in some ground to ensure the win was protected.

This was epitomised by the 3rd goal, which came from a positive Tracey run in behind and Hemmings outmuscling the defender to the rebound and forcing it home. The Crewe of old wouldn't have had players doing that up 2-0 in the final stages. It was a dramatic shift in their approach and it paid off.

Flowing Football

But the biggest positive today was the style, which has been a hot topic in recent weeks, even during the previous wins. Alex fans have grown accustomed to attacking football and expect a bit more than just winning games, rightly or wrongly. Well, everything we could have asked for was delivered and then some. This was the first time since last November that they managed 19 shots in a winning performance.

They were in control for pretty much the entire match bar the wobble around the 84th minute. They made good runs, made smart decisions and created chance after chance. They scored 3, but on another day(and had Bogle/Long been fit), they could have scored 4, 5 or even more. This was the Crewe Alex they can be, if they're allowed to be. Let's hope we see more of it in the coming weeks.

Defence

3 straight clean sheets, 3 straight home clean sheets. Those aren't flukes against bad teams, they've been hard earned. Today, Marschall could have got the deckchair out for most of the game, given how untroubled he was. But when he was called into action, he made 3 top saves to preserve the clean sheet. That's the sign of a great keeper and he looks a million miles away from the player MK Dons fans promised us we were getting.

His defence too deserve heaps of credit, winning headers and battling to limit Harrogate to very few clear sights of goal. Things will get more difficult for them as they approach October and the games start to increase in frequency, but Chesterfield apart, this looks like a rock solid back line.

More Intent

I think it was fair to start asking whether the front line were going to turn up and produce, given their less than stellar numbers so far. Well, they all answered that. 2 goals for Hemmings, a goal and an assist for Lankester, Tracey and Tabiner a menace throughout. This is what happens when you don't play a double pivot in midfield. Max Sanders might consider himself harshly dropped, but getting Lankester in the team and pushing Tabiner into midfield was a positive move and it more than paid off for the management.

Confidence

This win should do wonders for the confidence of the group as well. They now get to travel to a demoralised Newport and potentially grab a 5th straight win before the really tough tests come. But today was the line in the sand for what they can achieve. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure they had this in them. Yes, a woeful Harrogate played their part, but let's not take any credit from the Alex, who'd have beaten most L2 teams today.

They want to be considered a play-off team and if they play like they did today, there is no reason why they can't be. So, let this be their template for how they should set up in the future. League Two is full of average sides. There is nobody to fear, no Stockports or Wrexhams. They can be a match for anyone, so hopefully this is the start of new look Crewe team. One that can beat anyone.

Ref Assessment

He had a shocker. Hemmings having his shirt pulled all game, buying their diving and tactical free kicks, then bizarrely watches Holicek get chopped down and gives nothing. He was atrocious in a game that wasn't difficult to manage.

Management Assessment

They got the tactical set up spot on. Time and time again, players were picking up the spaces in between the lines and wide open areas. This was a masterclass of management and one we need to see more of.

Player Assessments

Filip Marschall

Nothing to do then makes 3 top class saves in a row. He's been excellent and long may it continue.

Jamie Knight-Lebel

Controlled and unworried by Harrogate's limited attack. He'll have tougher tests in the next few weeks.

Mickey Demetriou

Rinse and repeat with him. Leader, warrior, legend. Maybe should have scored from his early chance which hit the bar, but he was masterful once again.

Zac Williams

Starting to consistently show the form we only saw glimpses of last season. Still think there is another level he can go to, but him getting down the left to support Conway was pleasing to see.

Ryan Cooney

Who is this player? He's like a different guy to the one that struggled last season. He's getting forward to join attacks, keeping it simple with his defending and impressing a lot at the moment. Keep it up Ryan!

Conor Thomas

He was strong and did his usual defensive work well. Even more surprisingly, he helped set up Lankester for the 2nd.

Joel Tabiner

Getting back to his best as he's finding more of the ball and starting to make things happen with it, even getting on the end of a couple of chances. He's trending in the right direction.

Max Conway

Not my MOTM but still another excellent display. He's confident on the ball, makes smart decisions going forward and in defence, he's pretty solid too.

Shilow Tracey

A pest and a threat throughout, the only nitpick it you'd have loved to see him stick away that late chance. But his run was what forced the goal, so you can't criticise him too much.

Kane Hemmings

Superb. Battled his butt off all game against defenders who clearly wanted to do the shirt swap early, given how much time they spent ripping it off his back. Grabbed 2 goals, one a well taken corner finish and the third was scored through sheer determination. 3 goals in 2 home games for him now.

Jack Lankester MOTM

I've questioned him after a slow start to the season, but this was the version of him the Alex hoped they were getting. A nice lay off for the opener and a well taken 2nd, plus an all round brilliant performance capped off an easy MOTM level game.

Subs:

Matus Holicek

Lively when he came on, how did didn't win a free kick in the corner I don't know.

Max Sanders

Only thing I can think of him doing was a lung busting close down and tackle late on, which showed even the subs were dialed in.

James Connolly

Not a lot of time to do anything, got stuck in to keep the clean sheet.

Kian Breckin

Same for Breckin. He'll get more chances to impress once the midweek games come around I'm sure.

Overall Verdict

Fantastic, outstanding, brilliant, superb. Give me another synonym and it applies. Best home win in a long time, best all round win in a long time. Now the trick is to repeat that and see if they can go for that rare 5th win in a row at Newport. See you in South Wales.