Harrogate Town 1-1 Crewe Alex 24-25 Review

The title refers to 2 key points. The feeling of drawing a game,. And the feeling of watching 2 injury prone players pulling up at Harrogate for the 2nd season in a row. Both have become all too common sights across this season. Both are the overriding feelings to take away from a performance which was a real positive and a step in the right direction in a lot of senses. So, the Alex now have to lick their wounds and try to build on this for another big game against Newport next week. This is my review of the Alex's 1-1 draw at Wetherby Road:

Chalk & Cheese

The first half was more of the recent stuff we've seen from the Alex. Slow, timid, a real struggle to create clear chances. And then switching off once and getting punished. And so the Alex's goalless streak in the first half of away games stretches to 18 games. The fans frustrations started to boil over, prompting Mickey to try and calm them down.

But the 2nd half was far more like the team we want to see. Quicker in their tempo, they came with a clear plan to beat Harrogate out wide and over the top. They got their reward when Holicek's great cross was nodded home by Chris Long for his 4th of the season. They created some great chances and Bogle and Lowery should both have done better, but Belshaw denied a returning Crewe hero a dream debut goal much like he did at Gresty Road last season with Charlie Kirk. But the 2nd half performance was much more like the Crewe of old. The question is can they build on it?

Inevitable

I'm sorry, but to hear Lee Bell say he's probably going to have to move in the transfer market for a striker is infuriating, as he should have been on this for weeks. Yes, Lankester's ankle injury is unfortunate. As is Kane Hemmings issue from Tuesday which saw him sat in the stands today.

But in watching both Long and Bogle pull up with muscle injuries in the latter stages of today's game, was there not a sense of "here we go again"? I said last week that they needed more help upfront given how unreliable both players were fitness wise. I didn't expect to be proven correct this quickly. You can't help but fear for the team that entirely predictable issues could well sink their season.

Missed Chances

The Alex really should have won this game. Yes, Harrogate had chances of their own, but the Alex easily carved out the best ones. Chris Long blasting over another 1-on-1 is poor, bobble or not. Bogle and Lowery also fluffing their lines when presented clear openings by Long. The 1.48 xG created today was the highest they've managed in an away game since Harrogate. It shows that whilst they miss Lankester, they can create good chances without him. The question is, can they follow this up with another positive attacking display against Newport?

Positive Impact

To end on a positive note, Connor O'Riordan continues to show why he was sold to Blackburn 12 months ago. He was immense and my MOTM for the 2nd straight game. All the attention though was on Tommy Lowery and he didn't disappoint. Ok, he couldn't top it off with a goal contribution, but he completed 11/13 passes, came close to a goal and was a key part in driving the Alex up the pitch. They'll have to manage him carefully as they can ill afford another injury at the moment. But his return was a good one.

Ref Assessment

Honestly, that's the 2nd good one they've had this week. Yes, a couple of the fouls from Harrogate should have been yellow cards, but whenever you walk away from a game not remembering the refs name, I'd say that's a positive.

Management Assessment

I'm sorry, but starting Williams at LWB just to fit him in the team is actively harming them. He does not need to start every week. Maybe Cooney was ill or not feeling 100%. But dropping him and moving Conway to RWB was a mistake. And flogging TRacey to the point where he might have gotten injured alongside Bogle and Long when it was obvious he was knackered about 10 minutes before he came off is poor judgement. You can't help but feel Bell is making things hard on himself with some of these decisions.

Player Assessments

Filip Marschall

I'm putting the goal on him, at least in part. He came and missed in a crowd of players and he wasn't even close to getting it. That's a poor mistake, but thankfully they haven't been common, so I'll let him off on this one.

Jamie Knight-Lebel

Another solid display where he didn't put a foot wrong for the most part. Not sure he was the one I would have subbed off.

Connor O'Riordan MOTM

Another commanding performance, he carried the ball really well at times and his run was the key part of the equaliser. He has come in after barely any game time and not missed a beat.

Mickey Demetriou

Solid enough, his clearing header unfortunately fell right onto Josh March's head for the opening goal. Other than that, he was fine.

Max Conway

Found a lot of space on the right but struggled to make the most of it. Looked a little better on the left, but his lack of consistent end product continues to bug me. We need more from him.

Joel Tabiner

Yes, the fans hounding him doesn't help. But this was just another typical Tabiner performance where he ran around for 64 minutes, had 32 touches and completed just 67% of his passes. Should we start to worry about him long term?

Max Sanders

Another solid game, but another where I ask if he needed to come off. Is he really incapable of going past the 80th minute given he played just 10 on Tuesday? They could have really done with that 5th sub when Long started to struggle.

Matus Holicek

He was out of the game in the 1st half and had he been subbed at the break, he couldn't have complained. But he stepped up big time in the 2nd half and got his 5th assist of the season with a lovely cross for Long.

Zac Williams

I asked after Tuesday, but his presence is hurting the team. Not in his performances, but in the fact that Bell is shoe horning 2-3 other players just to fit him in. Again, he should be dropped, as the other 3 CBs are out performing him.

Shilow Tracey

Ran his socks off and Harrogate's only answer was to hold him and foul him. He should have come off 10-15 minutes before he did, hopefully he didn't pick up an injury as they can ill afford that right now.

Chris Long

He giveth and he taketh away. Blasted over a 1-on-1, but then tucked away a lovely header and deserved an assist on the chances for Bogle and Lowery. But as usual, his body failed him and we know await an update as to how long he'll be out for.

Subs:

Omar Bogle

Lively when he came on, but he should have scored at least one. Seeing him clutching his hamstring towards the end is a big worry. But as with Long, not unsurprising.

Tommy Lowery

As I mentioned above, he was really lively when he came on. There were some levels of rustiness, which is to be expected. But if he can build on this in the coming weeks, we could be in business.

Jack Powell

He too got stuck in, but the team was running out of legs so there wasn't much more he could do.

Charlie Finney

Not a great cameo, he struggled. But when he doesn't play more than once every 2-3 weeks, how can he get any rhythm.

Ryan Cooney

Looked comfortable down the right hand side, although why he only played 10 minutes is baffling to me.

Overall Verdict

The performance is a real positive, even if the result and injuries were frustratingly familiar. Now we wait and see what the damage is with the attackers. And if Bell can pull off some last minute transfer business. Their season might depend on both coming up positive for them.