Irate Artell tells boo boys to stay away

DAVE ARTELL rounded on the boo boys who targeted some of his players after Crewe’s seven-game unbeaten run came to an end.

Goals in either half from Jake Taylor and Matt Jay, either side of Chris Porter’s strike, secured Exeter the points at Gresty Road and moved them into the top seven.

The home faithful targeted frontmen Jordan Bowery and Charlie Kirk when they were replaced by Owen Dale and Shaun Miller late on and angry Crewe boss Artell raged: “I heard boos at half-time too and they (fans) can stay away for all I care. If they are not happy with our home performances then they want to get their heads tested. If they want to boo Jordan and Kirky they want to give their heads a wobble.

“If they have had a bad day at work and, I am sure they have, then I will come and boo over their computer or assembly line.

“They don’t need to do it and I think the lads have got some credit in their bank and I am going to defend them.”

Crewe had been in good form since Christmas picking up six wins from 10 games, five of them at Gresty Road. They hit back through Porter’s header soon after half-time to cancel out Taylor’s deflected effort which handed the visitors a seventh-minute advantage.

But neat play from Jay restored Exeter’s lead with the youngster’s low finish flying across keeper Ben Garratt into the far corner.

The visitors could have eased their passage as Randell Williams was thwarted by Garratt with a far-post block in the first half and the same player thumped a home post after the break.

The Grecians were without Nicky Law and striker Jonathan Forte remained on the bench, but stand-ins Jay and Ryan Bowman made their mark to earn their manager’s praise.

“Credit to Ryan who came in and led the line well. He was physical, but he’s mobile which is one of the reasons we signed him,” said boss Matt Taylor.

“Matt Jay’s finish was a sign of real quality, although maybe we got a little bit of luck for the first goal.

“Crewe could become a rival for the play-off places and it was important to put a marker down.”