Morecambe 0-1 Crewe Alex 24/25 Review - Unbeatable

Crewe Alex going to the Globe Arena/Mazuma Mobile Stadium or whatever it's called these days and winning. What else is new? Yes, it was a scrappy, nervy game and there is lots to unpack in terms of how they performed and what this win means going forward. But 3 points is 3 points. And their run of being unbeatable at this stadium continues. Here's what I made of the Alex's 1-0 win in Lancashire this afternoon:

Improvements

The Alex still need to improve their all round performances. Yes, a 1-0 win away from home is always welcome, but this was against a poor and struggling Morecambe side who've won once at home all season. And the Alex barely got past them. Harrogate won't be as generous as Morecambe were when they travel there in 2 weeks time. Nor will Wimbledon or Gillingham. The Alex have some tough away games coming up and they'll need to perform better than they did today to get results.

Clean Sheet

That being said, this was another dogged defensive display. They restricted Morecambe to very few clear opportunities and just 0.44 of xG. The back 5 were excellent and Marshall was solid. They fully earned their 11th clean sheet of the season and their first back to back away clean sheets since the end of last season, where they drew 0-0 at Accrington and won 1-0 against.....yep, Morecambe.

Subs Pay Off

For a few weeks now, I've criticised Lee Bell's subs. But today, he got his first 2 spot on. Ok, Jack Lankester's withdrawal was enforced, but whilst Omar Bogle was the obvious change, bringing on Chris Long for Max Sanders wasn't a switch I think many would have predicted. However, Bell made it and the changes worked out. The Alex carried more attacking threat and got their reward as Bogle fed Cooney down the right and his cut back found Long to roll the ball into the bottom corner for what proved to be the match winner.

I didn't like the lack of changes after the goal came, as I felt Owen Lunt or Jack Powell should have come on for Tracey to resolidify the midfield. But overall, the management can feel happy that their first 2 changes paid off.

Points = Prizes

At this stage of the season, points are arguably all that matters. I somewhat disagree with that statement, as with 20 games to go, you need to show sound fundamentals in order to win games consistently. But, they are very much on track. This 3 points puts them on 46, 2 more than they were on after 26 games last season. They stay 2nd and roll into back to back home games full of confidence.

Ref Assessment

I can see why Morecambe fans will feel he favoured the Alex, but I would ask about the foul on Lankester which forced him to go off, the missed handball in the 2nd half and a few other bizarre decisions that went against them. He was ok and didn't get any game changing decisions wrong.

Management Assessment

As I said above, they nailed the Long and Bogle changes. But I don't know why they didn't sure up the midfield after they went 1-0 up. Getting an extra body in there made all sorts of sense as the ball kept coming back at them, but in the end they didn't get punished. Did the starts for Tracey and Tabiner pay off? Debatable.

Player Assessments

Filip Marschall

Clean sheet number 11, he's just 5 off Clayton Ince's record of 16 from the 02-03 season. With 20 games to go, he needs 1 every 4 games. Can he do it? Solid despite having little to do today.

Jamie Knight-Lebel

A decent defensive display, but another silly booking. The rumoured return of Connor O'Riordan should put him on his toes.

Mickey Demetriou MOTM

A towering defensive display. He set the tone in the first half with calm passing and he was a rock at the back when the Alex were under pressure in the 2nd half.

Zac Williams

Solid, but the amount of bookings he's getting lately is a growing concern. 7 yellows from his last 11 starts now puts him on 8 and just 2 off a suspension.

Ryan Cooney

A very close contender for MOTM, his run and pull back for Long's goal was a welcome return to goal production for him. I bet registering an assist must have been sweet against his former team.

Matus Holicek

Battled well and improved as spaces started to open up in the 2nd half. But he struggled to create anything, aside from a shot in the first half.

Max Sanders

Kept things ticking along nicely in midfield. Did he really need to come off when he did? I get he was on a booking, but can he not be trusted to give you 10-20 more minutes?

Joel Tabiner

Was involved, but all I remember were some poor corner routines, the highlight being a short corner he received back and then swung in a cross which ended up out of the penalty area. I don't think he deserved to start. And I don't think he did enough today to warrant another next week.

Max Conway

His usual lively self, but again, in the light of Cooney's 5th assist of the season, I want to see more attacking output from him.

Shilow Tracey

Another who was energetic without creating much. Worked hard both at striker and on the left after the tactical change.

Jack Lankester

Cut a frustrated figure, his ankle injury is a big concern. Hopefully it's nothing serious and only a minor issue. If he's out long term, it should step up the Alex's need to find a creative attacker in the transfer window.

Subs

Omar Bogle

A real handful off the bench, his hold up work was superb and he was heavily involved in the goal by feeding Cooney.

Chris Long

Took his goal really well. I don't think we need to rewrite history though. If you can stomach him missing 23 games for the fact he will score 5-10 goals in the 23 games he does play, that's fine. But there is nothing wrong with wanting them to move on and find a more durable player either. He owes the club a big 2nd half of the season. 2 goals in his last 4 appearances is a good start.

Jack Powell

Came on for a couple of minutes, so can't comment.

Charlie Finney

See Powell.

Overall Verdict

A win's a win. 3 points whilst playing well is worth 3 points whilst playing poorly. I'd like to see more intent going forward as the attacking play remains inconsistent. But when you have a defence as good as theirs, they'll always have a chance in games. A good win with the points banked. Move on to another struggler in Accrington.