Testy Red Devils are dashed by Dagnall

CREWE manager David Artell celebrated his 50th game in charge by guiding his side to an emphatic win over nineman Crawley – and he is hoping the victory can be a sign of things to come.

Late first-half goals from Callum Ainley and skipper Chris Dagnall, who netted in either half, saw Crewe go three points clear at the foot of League Two in a fiery encounter, with Crawley who had captain Jimmy Smith and Jordan Roberts dismissed in the second half.

Artell said: “It was a good win, a good performance, and the result matched the performance.

“We have seen the opposition give us a massive helping hand and I’m thankful that we took advantage when we were in front.

“If we play the right way, we’ll have a chance in any game.

“We have taken our chances and it showed, we deserved it. We’ve got to do it again next week against Swindon by building on this win.”

The visitors went close when Josh Payne’s strike deflected off team-mate Thomas Verheydt to thump the crossbar while Crewe’s Jordan Bowery scuffed wide.

The Railwaymen were frustrated when keeper Glenn Morris was only shown a yellow card by referee Ben Toner shortly before the break after he had brought down Ainley.

Midfielder Ainley opened the scoring for Crewe on 40 minutes, latching onto George Cooper’s crossfield pass and cutting in from the left to arrow into the top corner.

It was 2-0 five minutes later when Dagnall met Cooper’s free-kick from the right to plant home a powerful header.

After the interval, Crawley aimed to get back into it, though the task was made worse when Smith received a red card for an offthe-ball incident, the Red Devils skipper appearing to catch Lowery with his arm.

Roberts was sent off with five minutes left, picking up a second yellow card for fouling Ainley before Dagnall tapped home to complete his double in the final minute to round off the rout.

Crawley boss Harry Kewell said: “We always feel confident in football.

“We are a good footballing side and we believe we had clear-cut chances in the game.

“I thought we started the game well.

“We had our chances but full credit to Crewe – they worked hard, they got around us, and they frustrated us throughout the game and deserved it.”