The Sentinel

ARTELL PRAISES HIS ‘MAGNIFICEN­T’ ALEX PLAYERS DESPITE DEFEAT

- Michael Baggaley CREWE ALEX

CREWE Alexandra manager Dave Artell took heart from his team’s performanc­e at Ipswich Town, even though the 2-1 defeat kept them bottom of League One, now seven points from safety.

Artell’s side made life difficult for themselves by conceding after just three minutes when Sone Aluko’s shot was deflected into his own net by Luke Offord.

Bersant Celina doubled Ipswich’s lead with a superb 25-yard lob in first-half stoppage time, but Crewe fought back after the break and pulled a goal back on 73 minutes when Chris Long latched on to Mika Mandron’s ball into the area to score his third goal in three games.

Artell said his side gave Paul Cook’s Ipswich the initiative with a slow start to the game but, that apart, was hugely encouraged by the performanc­e.

He said: “It is a hard result to take because I thought the performanc­e was magnificen­t, after 10 minutes really.

“We have come to a team that is going to be there or thereabout­s - Paul Cook knows how to get promotions - and we passed the ball terrifical­ly well.

“We are shooting ourselves in the foot. We shot ourselves in the foot for 25 minutes at Wimbledon and shot ourselves in the foot for 15 to 20 minutes here. But we are getting better.

“The fans were magnificen­t. They were magnificen­t on Tuesday night and they were magnificen­t today. They have clapped us off. I think anyone who has been here today can see that we are improving.

“I think they can see that we are trying to do the right things and go the right way because we have dominated the ball for the last half an hour of the game.

“We have scored a wonderful goal and probably should have got at least a point, in fact definitely got at least a point.

“It makes it difficult if you give them a goal start. Then their lad has scored a wonderful goal, you can’t take anything away from that.

“Is it preventabl­e? Well it is because it came straight from a goal-kick. But

sometimes you have to doff your cap and say ‘well played’.

“But, from 15 minutes on, I thought there was nothing in the game from that to half-time. They didn’t deserve to go in two up.

“Then in the second half I thought we were magnificen­t. I thought we dominated all half, we scored a great

goal and we are disappoint­ed that we haven’t even taken a point.”

Artell, whose side are at home to Doncaster in the EFL Trophy on Wednesday, said now his players have to learn from the Ipswich defeat.

He said: “The players deserve huge credit for how they played, but we gave them a goal start. There is no getting around the fact that we gave a good Ipswich team, who play well, play the right way…we gave them a goal start.

“If you do that at any ground, certainly a ground like this with 18,500, then you know it is going to be a difficult afternoon.

“We have to cut out that silly mistake or two that we have had in the last two games.

“I have just said to the players, if we understand the state of the game, the tactical understand­ing of where we are at.

“After 45 minutes, the board has gone up, so make sure you are going in 1-0 down not two, from a goalkick.

“You don’t need to play football when their goalkeeper is about to shell it into our half. Win the header, win the second ball, put it near their goal somewhere and get back on the halfway line, and do that until half-time.

“You go in 1-0 down and you regroup and have a few words of advice.

“We conceded two in quick succession at Wimbledon in midweek and we have conceded early here today. It is understand­ing when to play and how to play in those moments because we were always going to have large periods of the game.

“If it’s 0-0, I will always back us to win the games and, if it’s 1-0, to get something out of the games.

“But when you are coming from 2-0 down then it’s a long way back.

“If we cut that out then we are going to be fine playing like we have played today.”

 ?? ?? UPBEAT: Crewe Alex manager Dave Artell says his side produced a good performanc­e in the defeat at Ipswich.
UPBEAT: Crewe Alex manager Dave Artell says his side produced a good performanc­e in the defeat at Ipswich.
 ?? ?? TOUGH LUCK: Luke Offord scored an own goal in the defeat at Ipswich.
TOUGH LUCK: Luke Offord scored an own goal in the defeat at Ipswich.

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