Manchesterfootball.info pays a visit to Gresty Road to see how Crewe Alexandra reacted to Saturday’s 6-0 home defeat by Oxford United, their heaviest home loss since 1973.
CREWE ALEXANDRA 0, PORTSMOUTH 0
Goalless draws involving Crewe Alexandra are almost as rare as rocking horse droppings as the well-worn saying goes.
But manager Dave Artell will have no complaints about their stalemate against Portsmouth given three days earlier they had been hit for six at home by Oxford United.
Crewe displayed grit, determination and resilience following that setback and deserved the draw against promotion play-off chasing Pompey to avoid a fourth straight home league loss.
By contrast Pompey were left to reflect on a penalty miss from John Marquis which denied them two further points which could well prove costly in their quest for a top-six place.
You only have to flick through Crewe’s results to see they don’t do goalless draws.
This was Crewe’s first 0-0 in Sky Bet League One at home for just shy of 18 months – against Colchester in October 2019 – and their last 0-0 in the league was at Forest Green Rovers in November 2019.
This fixture, rearranged from February 13 when it was postponed through a frozen pitch, represented a challenge for both clubs.
The Railwaymen needed a positive response from the capitulation against Oxford United when they conceded five of their goals in a 14-minute spell either side of the break.
Artell, who ordered his players in for extra training on Sunday, reacted by making six changes.
In the case of Pompey, manager Danny Cowley needed a response to Saturday’s surprise home defeat by Burton Albion.
It was the first blemish on Cowley’s record after he won his first four matches after winning all four matches after succeeding Kenny Jackett.
Crewe, whose back four were aged 19, 19, 20 and 22, defended resolutely in an opening period lacking quality.
They were only troubled a couple of times, both in the six minutes of added time, when goalkeeper Will Jaaskelainen made important saves to deny Jack Whatmough and Marquis.
Crewe also had a couple of decent chances when Tom Lowery glanced a header narrowly wide, and Antony Evans’ free kick was deflected narrowly wide for a corner.
The second half sparked to life just before the hour when Pompey won a penalty after Ronan Curtis, put clean through, was brought down by Jaaskelainen.
To add to the drama, referee Darren Drysdale took what seemed an eternity before pointing to the spot.
But in keeping with the game which had a distinct lack of quality, a weakly-hit kick from Marquis was relatively easily saved by Jaaskelainen as he failed to score a 17th goal of the season.
Jaaskelainen was Crewe’s hero again moments later with a superb saved to his left to turn Ryan Williams’ goalbound shot around the post for a corner.
Late in the game Tom Lowery and Owen Dale both fired wide for 15th placed Crewe and sandwiched in-between a chance for Pompey substitute George Byers who also failed to hit the target.
But on reflection it was a match that almost had 0-0 written over it from the first whistle.
Indeed, most entertainment was provided by a lone fan outside the ground continuously ringing a bell and cheering throughout as he peered through one of the exit gates.
He must have been starved of live football over the last 12 months to be so vociferous as there was little about this match to get excited about.