Lee Bell praised Crewe’s players for shrugging off an injury crisis to return to winning ways at Gresty Road.
A penalty seven minutes into stoppage time converted by the Railwaymen’s leading scorer Courtney Baker-Richardson settled a tight affair with the late drama also including a change of referee and a 12-minute hold-up for crowd trouble.
Referee Simon Mather pulled up with a muscle injury in the closing minutes and his stand-in awarded the spot kick after Notts County winger Jodi Jones attempted to block Ryan Cooney’s volley in the box. The ball was adjudged to have hit Jones’ arm and Baker-Richardson slotted the kick into the corner past Sam Slocombe.
“It was a courageous decision by the stand-in referee as he had just come on. I thought it was a penalty straight away and it was taken really well by Courtney, who kept his cool,” said Bell.
“It was important we put in a good performance and we got back on the horse after losing to Stockport in our last home game.
“I thought it was a really enjoyable match with two really good teams. I thought there could have been more goals in the game. We could have been two up in the first half and if we had then Notts couldn’t have any complaints.
“I am so proud of the players, as while we are struggling for numbers with eight or nine out we have put in a good performance.
“They had a strong 15-minute spell in the second half, but we made changes and we tried to hold a high line and that’s what led to the goal. It’s a really great win for us.”
Crewe were the better team in the first half when dangerman Shilow Tracey blasted wide and Baker-Richardson screwed an effort past the far post.
But after the break County dominated and carved out the game’s clearest chances. Macauley Langstaff, who was thwarted by Crewe keeper Harvey Davies in the first half, curled an effort just past the far post.
Veteran striker David McGoldrick looked to be in on goal before he was thwarted by a last-ditch tackle by Connor O’Riordan.
At the other end Cooney’s lob landed on the roof of the net in the dying minutes before the full-back’s effort triggered the penalty award, which was followed by a lengthy hold-up as police were called in to control a section of the visiting fans.
County manager Luke Williams said: “It was a shame as the referee pulled a muscle and there’s nothing you can do about that.
“But I think it probably benefited Crewe as they had some recovery time [when the referee change was made] and they engineered a brilliant break from which the penalty came.
“I was far away from it, but it looks like it’s bouncing, Jodi is attempting the block and it’s gone under his arm.
“It was a drab game with very little to get excited about. I was hoping for a better performance and the first half was quite difficult for us. I felt we dominated the second half and threw everything at the game, but ultimately we didn’t do enough to win the game and we should have seen the game out.”
Milan derby defeat played part in nervy Udinese win, says Inter boss Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi believes a hangover from Inter's derby defeat to Milan ultimately impacted his team's display against Udinese.
Lautaro Martinez scored twice as Inter held on for a nervy 3-2 win over Udinese on Saturday.
Davide Frattesi put Inter in front after 43 seconds but Christian Kabasele levelled in the 35th minute before Martinez scored either side of half-time, with Lorenzo Lucca setting up a grandstand finish.
The victory came six days on from reigning Serie A champions Inter losing 2-1 to their city rivals in dramatic fashion at San Serie.
"We came across a healthy team, who got 10 points and were undefeated at home," Inzaghi said.
"However, we always kept control of the match, it's a shame about the ending where you know there can always be a negative episode."
"The two goals are two goals that we should have avoided.
"Our opponents are very dangerous when they show up in the area. We should have done better as a team in both goals, Lucca flew towards our goal with a two-goal advantage, we will have to work better when not in possession.
"[But] it had been almost two years since we lost a derby and it had been two years since we prepared for a match with such difficulties because losing a derby is not like losing a normal match."
Inter did at least snap a run of three games without a win in all competitions, with Martinez grabbing his first Serie A goals since May in the process.
"In the derby he had a good game where he got used to exploiting the chances he had," Inzaghi said.
"[A scoring drought] happens, we were all waiting for his goals. The fact that he has returned to scoring is important for everyone."
Flick shoulders the blame after Barca's capitulation at Osasuna
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick took the blame following Saturday's shock 4-2 defeat at the hands of Osasuna.
Flick made a call to rest some of his key players and duly paid the price as Osasuna claimed their first LaLiga win over Barca since 2020.
The former Germany and Bayern Munich boss had been aiming to become only the second Barca coach, after Gerardo Martino, to win his first eight LaLiga matches in charge.
Yet Barca were firmly second best at Estadio El Sadar, with Bryan Zaragoza's double propelling Osasuna to a deserved victory, with the visitors only able to muster 0.68 expected goals (xG).
"You have to accept these defeats. We didn't play very well. I think it's my responsibility," Flick told Movistar Plus.
"[With the changes] I tried to protect the players, because they have been playing a lot of minutes. But I didn't expect us to play like this.
"We made a lot of mistakes and Osasuna did well. Although in the second goal I think there was a foul at the start of the action, I'm not entirely sure because I haven't been able to see it yet, but that's what I've heard.
"To score four goals against us is too much, but I've told the team that we have to keep going. It's a busy schedule and we are on the right track."
Flick was referring to a challenge by Osasuna midfielder Lucas Torro, who stood on Pau Victor's foot, in the build-up to Zaragoza scoring their second goal in the 28th minute.
The goal was given as neither the referee nor the VAR saw an infringement.
"For me it is a clear foul," a visibly frustrated Pedri told Movistar Plus.
Pedri also shrugged off the suggestion Flick's changes were the cause of Barca's issues.
He added: "It's normal to make rotations, there are a lot of matches. It's no excuse. We had to go out with 11 players and the score at half-time penalised us.
"The first half we were not good. We didn't come out to the game well. In the second half we deserved a bit more, but goals came when we were at our best.
"We had to go for the game. We had to go for everything and on the counter-attack they hurt us."
Inter Miami 1-1 Charlotte FC: Messi scores but Suarez miss proves costly
Lionel Messi scored but Inter Miami failed to puncture Charlotte FC's resolve as they were held to a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Messi netted with a brilliant, low strike from the edge of the area to drag Miami level in the 67th minute at Chase Stadium.
His equaliser came 10 minutes after Karol Swiderski had diverted in Brandt Bronico's effort to give Dean Smith's Charlotte an unlikely lead.
Miami thought they had a penalty just after Messi's equaliser, but after consulting with the VAR, referee Ramy Touchan amended his decision to award a spot-kick for a foul on Diego Gomez, with that call also sparing Adilson Malanda from receiving a second yellow card.
Charlotte substitute Patrick Agyemang had a goal disallowed for offside as the frantic pace continued, though the best opportunity for a winner fell to Miami star Luis Suarez, only for the former Barcelona and Liverpool forward to slice over from point-blank range.
The draw leaves Miami needing to win all three of their remaining regular-season matches to break the single-season MLS points record of 73, which was set by the New England Revolution in 2021. Charlotte, meanwhile, are not sure of their place in the playoffs just yet.
Data Debrief: Miami's Messi problem?
Messi scored, had 10 shots, got five on target, had 15 touches in Charlotte's box, and created two chances for his team-mates, yet Miami could still not get over the line.
The issue for Gerardo Martino is, it is becoming a trend when the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner plays - and he will always play when he is fit, of course.
It can hardly be considered Messi's fault, but Miami have now won only one of the last six matches he has featured in dating back to late May (D3 L1). In the 13 matches Messi has missed in all competitions in that time, Miami have posted a record of W10 D0 L3, and it is a worrying drop-off heading into the playoffs.
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