Oldham Athletic - Crewe Alex 25-26 Review - One of the Those Days

You look at most 0-0s and assume it was probably a dire game with very little happening in it. You'd instantly skip the highlights and move on to the next fixture. But today's game, from a neutral point of view, was a great watch. Yes, the quality in the final third for both teams was missing, but it was a real battle and plenty to keep you interested. Here is my review of the Alex's first 0-0 draw of the season:

Missed chances

It's becoming a bit of a pattern. Hey, creating plenty of chances is a real positive for sure. At Harrogate, they had enough to have scored 3 or 4. Grimsby and Shrewsbury, enough to score more than 3 in each. And then today, hitting the woodwork twice, flashing balls across the box, dragging efforts just wide. It's 100 times better than most of what we saw last season and teams are starting to realise what a threat the Alex pose on the attack.

But those chances being missed is also becoming a bit of a pattern now. Tezgel is up to 6-7 big chances missed over the last 2 games after hitting the bar today. Sanders putting 2 wide, Lunt hitting the post. The best teams are able to put away even one chance today and come home with 3 well deserved points.

Mitigating circumstances

That being said, I can forgive them at the moment for a couple of reasons. One is how short handed they are in forward positions. Moult and Rankine are hardly in brilliant form and they are the only options off the bench right now. The Alex are without Josh March, Jack Lankester, Calum Agius and Omar Bogle from the short term absentee list. Even 1-2 of those players being available to come on might make the difference.

And they were playing a side that defensively gives up very little and don't concede. At all. For the Alex to come into Boundary Park, do everything but score and feel hard done by is a testament to their progress in the last few weeks.

Subs?!

I might understand why Bell was reluctant to introduce subs today, but I totally disagree with it. Jake Caprice on the Oldham right was on a yellow card for the entire 2nd half. The Alex were crying out for someone with a bit of pace to come on, run at him and maybe trick him into a 2nd yellow. But Dion Rankine remained unused until 7 minutes from time, when the Alex had lost some of their energy and momentum.

Louis Moult coming on with 2 minutes to go also seemed a waste of time. Look, they have just gone 3 unbeaten, so I don't want to keep banging on. But I felt Bell missed the chance to be proactive, get Rankine on 10 minutes sooner and see what he could do.

Clean Sheet

We can grumble about a few things, but the biggest positive today was the clean sheet, their first since mid-August and their first on the road all season. Yes, it was against a side with the joint worst attack in the division, but they all count. Booth was only really troubled once, in the 2nd half from a close range Manny Monthe header. The rest of the time it was a strong defensive effort from the back 4 which kept Oldham out.

After struggling for weeks to put in a consistent defensive display, today was a well earned blank in the goals against column.

Unbeaten Run

The 2nd biggest positive today has to be the fact that unlike Gillingham, where they similarly battered the Gills but got sucker punched late on, there was no heartbreak. They were able to come away with a point, which was the least they deserved. It now extends their unbeaten run to 3, their longest since August.

It was another game where they were the better side, which is also a big plus. Both their clean sheet and unbeaten run will be put to the test next week against the always dangerous Chesterfield, but I asked for them to start showing some consistency. And to a certain extent, they have.

Ref Assessment

Did let things get a bit silly at times and I felt he gave Oldham a lot of 50-50 calls in the 2nd half, but overall I don't think he had a terrible game in his EFL debut.

Management Assessment

The subs is my only gripe. Maybe they were scarred by making subs in previous games that backfired or maybe they just don't rate Moult and Rankine very much. But the team was crying out for fresh legs and I feel they missed an opportunity to get them on sooner.

Player Assessments

Tom Booth

His distribution was frustratingly poor all afternoon, but his save from Monthe was outstanding. A well earned clean sheet.

Lewis Billington

More of the same. Solid and consistent at the back, rarely makes a mistake. But struggles with the offensive side of his role.

James Connolly

Found it tough against Oldham's physical front men, but didn't make many mistakes, so I can't complain.

Mickey Demetriou

A warrior once again, he spent the last 20 minutes visibly struggling with an injury but he refused to come off. Fingers crossed he can shake off that issue and get fit for next week, as the Alex can ill afford him to be out right now.

Reece Hutchinson

A good attacking performance, his crosses and balls into the box couldn't be turned home. His cross for Lunt's header deserved more.

Max Sanders MOTM

Excellent once again, I thought everything good the Alex did came through him. His final balls were just a little bit off.

Conor Thomas

2 90 minute games in a row, we're entering unheard of territory for him.

Tommi O'Reilly

Didn't get a chance, but was bright and lively throughout. A decent display, if just lacking that end product, not that he was alone in that regard.

Owen Lunt

Up until his header off the post, this was the Lunt we've seen for most of the season. Effective, but lacking end product. Still, that header is a couple of inches to the right and we're talking about 2 goals in 2 games. So unlucky.

Matus Holicek

Not sure how he stayed on for the 90. Didn't test Caprice often enough. I get he's had a disrupted season so far, but they need production from him going forward, as with Calum Agius' struggles, they are getting little their left hand side in attack.

Emre Tezgel

Definitely should have scored with the effort off the bar and should at least have hit the target just before halftime. He's getting into the right positions and getting fed, he just needs that clinical edge now.

Subs:

Dion Rankine

Hit and miss, but then he got 13 minutes. It's not enough.

Louis Moult

Barely even worth coming on with 2 minutes of normal time left.

Overall Verdict

Both a pleasing and frustrating performance and result in equal measure. You'll take the chances created, point and clean sheet. But you'll want to see better finishing and more cutting edge going forward. Let's see if they can banish some demons against Chesterfield next week.