Mat Sadler accused his Walsall players of giving Crewe a “leg up” to come back into the game after they let a two-goal lead slip in a 2-2 League Two draw at Gresty Road.
The Saddlers were thwarted by a stoppage-time leveller from Alex midfielder Jack Powell, whose cross evaded everyone and sailed into the far corner of the net.
Earlier the west midlanders had looked impressive when building a lead through a first-minute effort from Freddie Draper and Isaac Hutchinson’s superb strike before the half-hour mark.
Elliott Nevitt hit back for Crewe on the hour, but Sadler’s side appeared to have quelled the home response and were heading for their second win of the campaign before they were shocked by Powell’s late intervention.
“I thought for 60 minutes we were brilliant and we really understood our game plan. We should have been three or four up comfortably,” said Sadler.
“But Crewe have been 2-0 down twice before this season and we gave them the opportunity to come back again.
“The frustrating thing for me is that we were comfortable, but we gave them a leg up to get back into the game when they hadn’t deserved it. Yet even after their first goal, we dampened things down and the crowd were having a go at them.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t deal with a ball into the box and we have to improve on that. We had some fantastic pieces of play and we showed we are a proper team, a really good unit.
“Isaac drove it forward and Ryan Stirk controlled the midfield while Freddie and Danny Johnson were a handful.”
Crewe boss Lee Bell said: “I thought we tried to play but we had too many below par in the first half. Elliott’s goal got us back in it and he took it really well.
“I’m giving up on the added time now and it seems they’ve (the referees) been told to cut back on it.
“I thought we’d get longer than that and with that extra time we might have been able to push for a winner.
“We’ve got a small squad and we are a couple short in areas we want to strengthen. But every professional at the club will get their opportunity.
“We have to carry on going in the right direction and we will use the free week to prepare well for the next one.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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