Crewe Alex 3-1 Shrewsbury Town 25-26 Review - Bogle's Back Baby!

I'm not sure what to talk about in my pre-amble. Well, let's start by talking about the bizarre sight of debris flying off Rail House for the entire second half as an indivudal or individuals decided to have fun with the abandoned structure, all whilst a police van and dozens of officers stood outside. Got to admire the brass neck of said offender(s). I wasn't sure what was more interesting, that or the excellent game of football going on inside the stadium. Here is my review of the Alex's first win at home over Shrewsbury in front of fans since 1996:

A Hammering

Let's be real here, the Alex should have been out of sight at half time. Tezgel alone missed 3 good to very good chances, Agius missed another. It was 1-1, but it should have been 3 or 4. In the 2nd half, more came as Tezgel again saw 2 good openings go wide and James Connolly headed off the inside of the post. Even Bogle, who we'll come on to shortly, looked to have blew his 1-on-1 in the final few minutes. Had Shrewsbury blagged a result, it would have been daylight robbery.

But the Alex did find the quality to score 3 and they have now scored 11 goals in their last 6 games. And they've had to do so without Tabiner, Tracey and, for a few of the games, Josh March and Jack Lankester. They look dangerous in attack and back to their early season form once again.

Clean Sheet Drought

If there is one frustration, it's that they once again conceded and their hunt for a clean sheet extends to 12 league games. They looked shaky at times in the first half and in that brief spell between minutes 75-90 in the 2nd half and the goal they let in was a poor one from distance that they maybe should have stopped several passes before the shot even came in.

The best teams keep clean sheets consistently and the Alex, on their paltry 2, need to find a way to cut out the soft goals against.

Bogle's Back!

I must admit, it was a small surprise to see Omar Bogle on the bench, but then the injuries to Golding and Lankester made an opening for him. I was even more surprised to see him come off the bench in the final few minutes. But it's been a long time since I wanted to see a player score as much as him.

We don't know what has gone on off the field and I do get the arguments that it's none of our business. I slightly disagree as we pay every week to see them play, so a bit of transparency might not have been a bad idea.

But whatever has gone on to see him not appear until now is water under the bridge. Because all that matters now is what he does on the pitch in the remaining 31 games of the season. To see him break clear(almost fluff it) but keep his composure to slot in the game sealing 3rd must have been so so sweet for him and every Crewe fan should be delighted for him.

The fact is, the Alex are a better team with him fit and firing given March is out for at least another 4 weeks, Moult has been underwhelming and Tezgel can't do it all by himself. They need Bogle to find that form from 23-24 and hopefully this is small step on the way to that.

Consistency

Some fans, including myself, have been concerned about the trajectory of the team in the last couple of months and I don't think those worries have been fully allayed just yet. But what I'm hoping these back to back home wins do is help this team find a bit of consistency. Because that's been their biggest issue when you look at the season as a whole. Their wins have come in 3 chunks and their longest unbeaten run is 4.

What I hope we can start to see is them go on either an unbeaten run of 5+ games or more realistically, keep the losing runs to 1 before bouncing back with 2-3 games where they draw/win. With a mid-table Oldham next up, they have a great chance to do just that.

Response

And whilst we are in the business of praising individuals, I can't not praise Lee Bell. He had to know he was up against it after the MK defeat. 2 losses against Grimsby and Shrewsbury today and surely his goose would have been cooked. But he's responded with 2 wins, 6 goals and a likely top 7 spot after 15 games. He's found a winning formula and I just hope he can help guide this group to better days in the coming weeks, so that we don't have to speculate on his future.

Ref Watch

A couple of annoying decisions, but for the most part Mr Reeves was decent and I have no complaints. A rare thing indeed.

Management Assessment

Kept the faith with pretty much the same group and got his reward. I won't stop suggesting a couple of places where improvements could be made, but they've responded very well in the last 2 league games.

Player Assessments

Tom Booth

I did wonder if he was slightly to blame for the Shrewsbury goal, but I don't think so on rewatch. A quiet afternoon where he had little to do. What you want to see from your keeper.

Lewis Billington

I won't stop wanting to see him moved alongside Demetriou at CB, but he was solid at RB. That being said, when you see more production down the left and none from the right, it makes you question if adjustments can be made on that side of defence.

James Connolly

He still gives me heart palpitations, but I will admit that after a slightly shaky first half he was pretty good in the 2nd half as he won his headers and improved on the ball. Came very close with the header off the post.

Mickey Demetriou

An excellent performance once again, he'll have tougher afternoons against better attacks, but he was solid and didn't make many mistakes.

Charlie Finney

Such a shame to see him come off after what had been a decent first half an hour. He got an assist on Lunt's goal, his first senior assist since Hartlepool away in 22-23, 3 years ago. Hopefully his injury isn't a serious one and he can get back fit quickly, as he's just starting to find his feet.

Max Sanders

I'm going to pour cold water on people's delight at Sanders' displays by starting to worry about his contract situation. He's starting to play his way into League One interest I'm afraid to say. He's not perfect and his set pieces still need work, but this was another good game from him. His booking for time wasting was an unneeded one.

Conor Thomas

Made it through the 90 minutes, which is a pleasing development.

Tommi O'Reilly

Now up to 8 goal contributions for the season in all competitions with a lovely finish into the bottom corner just as the Alex were on top and needing to get that lead again. His first goal since mid-September will be great for his confidence. 6 goal contributions in his last 9 games in all competitions is a great return.

Owen Lunt MOTM

I said last week that I questioned about him in the number 10 role given his attacking struggles, but a goal and an assist here answers some of those. The assist he knew little about, but he took his first senior goal superbly. Was my man of the match, not O'Reilly.

Calum Agius

He was better today to be fair, getting more involved and being active down the left. That being said, he has to bury that chance in the first half with only the keeper to beat. He'll now go away with Wales once again, so I'm curious to see who starts on the left next week.

Emre Tezgel

Will be wondering how he didn't bag 5, let alone 1 or 2. 7 shots, a 0.78 xG, this was a strong effort and he's showing a superb engine, as evidenced by his late charge up the pitch in the 96th minute. He's starting to really find his feet in L2.

Subs:

Reece Hutchinson

Stepped in well after a scolding last week, he was good down the left in getting forward and trying to link attacks and get crosses into the box.

Matus Holicek

Only 8 touches in his 20 minutes on the pitch, but he'll likely start in place of Calum Agius next week, so he'll have a longer chance to try and keep his spot in the team.

Omar Bogle

Delighted for him after what must have been a very tough last few months. Back in from the cold, the question now is can he keep building on that and even start challenging Tezgel for a spot up front?

Overall Verdict

Another win and against their closest neighbours this season in L2 was very important has the Alex looking upwards and not downwards. As I mentioned above though, now the attention turns to next week and Alex fans asking if the team can make it 3 unbeaten for the first time since August.