Crewe Alex 2, Huddersfield Town 0

Sep 4 2006 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Turning Point

IT would be easy to point to the sloppy defending which preceded both the Crewe goals, but Andy Booth's missed chance on 32 minutes was crucial. Had Town taken the lead at that stage, as seemed certain when the ball broke to the Town legend eight yards out, then they may well have gone on to better things, but Ben Williams made a fine save.

How they rated:

Matt Glennon Made some excellent saves, particularly two with his feet to deny Varney, and was easily the pick of the side. Rating: 7/10

Andy Holdsworth Two cracking pieces of defending prevented goals early on, but he was muscled off the ball before Crewe's second. Rating: 6/10

Danny Adams By his own admission had his poorest game since joining the club, slipping far too often which didn't help. Rating: 4/10

David Mirfin One fine goal-saving tackle early on but found it tough going against Crewe's quick and inventive front line. Rating: 4/10

Nathan Clarke An off day for Town's stand-in skipper as Maynard and Co dragged the defence this way and that. Rating: 4/10

Gary T-Fletcher Curled an early chance over the bar and then struggled to be a major influence, eventually being taken off. Rating: 5/10

Michael Collins Did some good things in a midfield which was second best to Crewe's and he kept working hard right to the end. Rating: 6/10

Mark Hudson Produced some testing corners and an odd good free kick but, in open play, he was well below his best form. Rating: 4/10

Danny Schofield Quite creative and dangerous for a spell in the first half, he was sacrificed to get Abbott into the action. Rating: 6/10

Andy Booth Should have scored on 32 minutes following a Holdsworth cross from the right, but the keeper made a great save. Rating: 5/10

Luke Beckett Frustrating match for him. Not even a sniff of a chance as Crewe had the bulk of possession and chances. Rating: 5/10

Spotlight on the Ref:

STEVE TANNER from Somerset had a good match. In very slippery conditions he allowed the game to run and was sensible in his dealings with offending players. He could easily have awarded a penalty against Nathan Clarke and red-carded him in the first half, but he allowed play to go on and Maynard scored. Handled it well throughout.

Crewe Alexandra: Williams, Otsemobor, Jones, Roberts, Baudet, Cox, O'Connor, Varney, Maynard (Rodgers 74), Jack (Lowe 82), O'Donnell. Subs not used: Tomlinson (Gkp), Rix, Moss. Bookings: Maynard.