Crewe Alex 1-1 York City 26-27 Review - Flip Side

I'm going to format this match review slightly differently for a change. Because today was a game of contrasting emotions. Yes, there was probably more positives than negatives to take out of the game, but it was still a game with both. So, I'm going to, for one game only, do a positive point and contrast it with a negative. Here is my review of the Alex's draw with York:

Positive: 5 unbeaten

Last season, the Alex's longest unbeaten run at any stage was 5 games, between the end of January and February. They managed it once. They simply lacked the consistency to put runs together and it felt like every other week the manager was asking the group to bounce back from a poor result. Well, through the first 5 games of this season, they've equalled that streak from last season. That has to be a positive.

Flip Side: Too many draws

On the flip side, this game made it 3 without a win, which isn't terrible, but is slightly frustrating. What is better? 1 win and 2 defeats? Or 3 draws? Because they equal the same number of points when all is said and done. Had they beaten the Vale but lost to Walsall and York, would we feel better of worse about where they are right now?

Does their inability to not win a game where the opposition don't implode via a red card or a keeper brain fart concern you? Yes, they've played 2 sides in the Vale and York who are expected to challenge and a Walsall side that look lively under new management. But does a lack of wins in these 3 games perhaps suggest their place is once again just under the play-offs, battling to make their way in?

Positive: Chances Created

The old line goes that you'd be worried if your side weren't creating chances. Through 3 games, the Alex most definitely have created enough chances to say they should have scored more than the 3 they did bag. Today they managed 6 shots on target and 17 shots total, decent totals all things considered. Given they are still trying to coax form out of a number of their players in the attacking areas, how they attacked in this game gives me hope for the future.

Flip Side: Chances Missed

However, they should have been out of sight before York even got a sniff of getting back into the game. They scored early and then passed up chance after chance to extend their lead. March blew 2 great openings, White could only weakly roll one into the keeper from a good position, Hutchinson and McNeill had chances. They have to press their advantage when they are on top. 2-0 for York, even with their quality, is a long way back.

Positive: Strong Start

And let's talk more in general about that opening 20-30 minutes. They were outstanding, even better than they were on Tuesday. They played with a high intensity, high press, quick ball movement. Again, they could have put the game had they put their shooting boots on. Play that way against the weaker teams in the league and they'll give someone a right pasting.

Flip Side: Regaining momentum

However, we knew they weren't going to be able to maintain that early momentum throughout the game and so it proved as things started to slide in York's favour. The Alex couldn't keep it going and as soon as they let York back in, they conceded. That is what good sides will do to you and they were duly punished.

They almost fell behind until the 4 subs pulled things to a more even keel. Having a good 30 minutes is great. Having a bit of a struggle through 15 minutes is fine. But they never quite got their old energy back in the 2nd half and how they go about doing that is something for Bell to look in to.

Positive: Subs

Bell gets a lot of criticism from fans for his use of his subs bench, but he got it spot on today. Yes, 2 of the first 4 changes he made were enforced, but given he rotated 40% of his outfielders in one go, they didn't become disjointed or disorganised. In fact, they grew back into the game and it really helped them reverse what he been growing York pressure. Even Kyle Ure came on and did ok. Knowing he has options to turn to from the bench must be reassuring for Bell, especially given he has Thomas and Lunt potentially available to them from next week onwards.

Flip Side: Gassed/injuries

The concern of course comes from how lacking in fitness some players still seem to be. Lankester as one example looked gassed by half time. Others seemed lethargic early on and ran out of puff well before the 90 minutes was up.

Then there were the forced withdrawals of both Holicek and Hutchinson. Both have had decent starts to the season and both players coming off are concerning. With Holicek, we know he's had injury issues in the past, so hopefully this wasn't a reoccurence of one of those past issues.

Hutchinson though is the bigger problem. He's been the picture of durability through his first 14 months at the club. He almost never comes off. Again, fingers crossed he felt something about to go and came off before it did. The Alex can ill afford to lose either player right now.

Referee Assessment

How on earth it took him 90 minutes to book Williams was a joke given he spent the entire game fouling Josh March and then dived when Thibaut slid in but never touched him. He was wildly inconsistent throughout.

Management Assessment

Good enough I suppose. Trying their best to rotate players and coax some of the strugglers into form. They would have taken 9 points from a possible 15 to start the season. Fingers crossed they can start to really settle things down and find their preferred starting XI.

Player Assessments

Tom Booth

Nothing he could do for the goal, but he made 5 saves, most of them simple ones, but they still needed making. A good solid game for him as he battles to keep Lawlor from taking his spot.

Lewis Billington

What a goal that would have been. Switched to the left after Hutchinson went off, that mazy jinking run just needed the finish. He looks more lively off the left where he can cut inside, but again, his end product in attack is frustratingly inconsistent.

Josh Stephenson

Fine, although I'd like to see his role in the equaliser, as Newby seemed to find himself in far too much space. All things considered though, he was ok.

Luke Offord MOTM

Took his header really well for his first Alex goal since November 2023. Solid in his defensive work and good on the ball. The very early front runner for player of the season I'd say.

Reece Hutchinson

It doesn't sound like the issue which forced him off was too bad, but you never know with these things. He coped well against the lively Joao Felix before he came off.

Calum Agius

It's been a tough few weeks for him as he's come under heavy criticism and whilst he's still not quite where you'd like him to be form wise, his corner for Offord's goal was outstanding. He really needs a confidence boosting goal soon though.

Matus Holicek

Another all action display, but again, I will keep banging the drum to get him out of midfield, which I know has been a struggle because Offord has been mostly stuck in defence, White has been in and out the team and Thomas/Lunt have been injured. Hopefully his move further forward is coming soon and hopefully whatever he came off with today isn't anything that is going to see him miss time.

Joe White

Another really positive display. It said a lot about his performance that even Scott Lindsay shook his hand when he came off. He's getting better and he should have done better with that 1st half chance. But it's coming slowly, with his performances noticeably improving week on week.

Jack Lankester

Like a few others, some really positive play in the first 30 minutes, but he couldn't sustain it and it wasn't a surprise to see him come off. I prefer him off the wing, but the Alex need him to start chipping in more. 5 games with nothing on the stats sheet isn't good enough I'm afraid, regardless of how much football he's missed.

Josh March

I'm not going to go mad with a player that has 3 goals in 5 games, but he has to score that chance just after they took the lead. He buries that as he should and the result might have been very different. Still, he won't score every week and it's a positive that he was in the position to have that chance.

Charlie McNeill

Meh. I can't say I'm sold. There are some good moments, but too often I'm left wanting more. For me, if they want to start 2 up top, it has to be Thibaut alongside March with McNeill as a sub.

Subs:

Mickey Demetriou

No surprise that he came on and the defence instantly settled down. They need him starting games, but it's good that they've been able to rotate him and have him come off the back in these last 2. If it helps keep him fresh for the 2nd half of the season, I'm all for it.

Joel Tabiner

Some positive flashes in a central midfield role, but I just wanted a bit more decisiveness from him. That one moment when he couldn't work out whether to shoot or cross in the box was frustrating, but he was a threat when he came on.

Adrien Thibaut

More effective than McNeill, he was a real nuisance for the York back line. Him forcing Williams into conceding a corner was really smart play. If they want to go with 2 up top next week, he should start.

Jordan Gibson

He too looked brighter than he has done in previous games. Some of his skill was excellent. Like I said with Lankester though, they need more from Gibson.

Kyle Ure

Finally given another opportunity after 2 unused sub appearances, I thought he looked a bit more settled. I'm going to keep asking for him to start, just to see if he has the defensive midfield qualities they are lacking a little bit at the moment.

Overall Verdict

I'll take the point and another game unbeaten, even if I am a touch frustrated that they couldn't win any of these last 3. Still, I think enough players are trending in the right direction form wise to not be too concerned with that. However, fail to beat Colchester next Saturday and there will be a bit of pressure on the Shrewsbury home game. Maybe there shouldn't be, but I think there will be. Let's see what next week brings first.