Miller’s on time to end Alex’s long wait
SHAUN Miller’s predatory second-half winner fired Crewe five points clear of the drop zone.
The Alex had seemed to be in freefall after picking up just one point from their previous six games, but Miller’s winner against in-form Colchester led to a collective sigh of relief amongst the home fans at the final whistle.
Alex boss David Artell is hoping this precious victory – his team’s first since New Year's Day – will prove to be a turning point.
He said: “That win has been a while coming.
“It’s more than we’ve deserved, though. After the last three performances, we do warrant the three points.
“We’ve played better in a lot of games recently and now won, so we’ll take this.
“There was some terrific character shown out there. There was real resilience and doggedness, too. It’s been a terrific victory.
“The players have got to stick in there and do their jobs.
“There are some tired legs out there, but they have all done their jobs in terms of digging in and gaining a win against a really strong Colchester side.”
It proved to be a dire opening 45 minutes at Gresty Road.
Eddie Nolan threatened a couple of times for the Alex in the early stages. He curled an effort wide from 25 yards, before then seeing a bullet header competently saved by U’s keeper Sam Walker.
The visitors threatened when Ben Stevenson’s long-range strike was saved well by Ben Garratt.
Crewe bagged their winning goal on the hour mark, with Miller drilling home from close-range after Perry Ng’s free-kick was deflected handily into his path.
Mikael Mandron went close for the U’s as they pressed for a late equaliser, while Luke Prosser nodded wide.
It wasn’t enough, however, and the U’s saw their play-off hopes hit as they slid to a first defeat in six games. Manager John McGreal was understandably frustrated.
He said: “We’d been making good progress of late, so this result has really set us back.
“We just didn’t create enough on the day and we’ve been punished for that.
“It’s been a tough spell for us, though, so I can’t be too critical of the lads. They always give everything to the cause. In this game we just didn’t produce enough.
“Fair play to Crewe. They’re fighting for their lives and they’ve dug in for an important three points.”