Lee Bell saluted the resilience of his players as Crewe grabbed a stoppage-time winner following a lacklustre display in a 3-2 victory against Doncaster.
The high-flying Railwaymen played second fiddle to Grant McCann’s Rovers for long periods and were pegged back by Joe Ironside’s second-half header after having come from behind to lead at the break through goals from defenders Luke Offord and Connor O’Riordan.
Just as the visitors looked to have earned a point their strong second-half showing deserved, giant centre-half O’Riordan grabbed his second goal of the game when he fired in from close range.
“We showed tremendous resilience and we battled throughout the game,” said Bell. “I am always confident we can get something from games like that and the lads can come up with something. They work so hard and wins like that are so important to get when you’re not quite at your best.
“That was Luke’s first goal in the league this season, while in training I call Connor ‘Tore Andre Flo’ as he always scores goals. The main thing though is not who scored but that we got a win when the performance was below par.
“Doncaster are a very aggressive team and we didn’t spot at first that they were nullifying us man for man all over the pitch. But we overcame that and showed great resilience to get the win. We’re heading in the right direction and we’ve got to keep going if we want to do something this season.”
Crewe’s win was their fifth in their last six outings, but they fell behind early on when West Brom loan striker Mo Faal took Ironside’s pass and blasted a fierce low shot past keeper Harvey Davies.
Bell’s men levelled when Offord played a one-two with Aaron Rowe to surge clear in the box and drive an effort out of the reach of Jones (29). O’Riordan took his first from a difficult angle after taking advantage of a ricochet off a Rovers defender after Mickey Demetriou had delivered a long throw just before the break (44).
Ironside had Rovers back on terms after the interval (57) with a powerful glancing header, from James Maxwell’s cross, arrowing into the top corner as the visitors dominated much of the second half during which efforts from Ben Close and substitute Tommy Rowe almost secured the lead.
But Crewe had struck in stoppage time to win their last home game against rivals Notts County and they repeated the feat when Rio Adebisi crossed to the near post and O’Riordan evaded a defender to tuck home a close-range finish (90+2).
Doncaster boss Grant McCann admitted that while losing late on was a blow, he was delighted with his side’s performance.
“If we keep playing like that then we will get our just rewards. We just came off it a bit at the end and got punished. But we know that we’re a match for any team in this division,” said McCann.
“We have our moments away from home where things are not going our way. But I don’t think Crewe tested Louis Jones at all in the second half, but the one chance they had they scored from it.
“We had numerous opportunities and created so many chances in the second half that I thought we were going to win the game. But from what we were like down at AFC Wimbledon a fortnight ago, when we were powderpuff, that was chalk and cheese. I said to the boys after ‘if we are going to get beat that is the way to get beat’.”
'I want to be the best player at the Copa America' – Colombia's James has sights set on glory
James Rodriguez wants to be the Copa America's standout player, and is going some way to being just that.
Colombia reached the semi-finals with a thumping 5-0 defeat of Panama on Saturday, with James taking a starring role as Los Cafeteros claimed their biggest Copa Ameria win.
James scored a penalty and supplied two assists, including a delicious ball for Luis Diaz to make it 3-0 just before half-time.
The former Real Madrid playmaker, who hardly featured for club side Sao Paulo last season, has now created five goals at this edition of the tournament, equalling the record haul for assists (since Opta began collecting such data) at the Copa America, alongside Lionel Messi's five in 2021.
And having missed out on a call-up to Colombia's squad in 2021, James made it clear he plans on being the tournament's standout performer.
"A tough match, they are very strong, but we played well, we knew how to score the goals quickly and that gave us control of the match," James said.
"Did I want to be the best player of the Copa? Yes, I wanted to have a very good Cup, help my team-mates to go far.
"We are going until the last day, let's hope we can reach that great final that we all want, we are going through a good moment too.
"The most important thing is still to come. We hope to reach the final."
Saturday's match was the second time James has directly contributed to three goals in a competitive match for Colombia, after scoring and providing two assists against Japan in the 2014 World Cup (4-1), in which he won the Golden Boot.
Colombia are now unbeaten in 27 games, matching their best such streak, and will face Uruguay, who overcame Brazil 4-2 on penalties, for a place in the final.
Trust the process, says Pickford after penalty shootout heroics for England
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford preached "trust the process" after his penalty shootout heroics against Switzerland.
Pickford got down low to keep out Switzerland's first spot-kick, denying Manuel Akanji.
While the 30-year-old could not prevent the Swiss scoring from their next three attempts, England stayed perfect through the shootout, with Trent Alexander-Arnold holding his nerve to send Gareth Southgate's team into the Euro 2024 semi-finals.
Pickford has now saved four of the 14 penalties he has faced in shootouts at major tournaments, twice as many as all other England goalkeepers combined saved between 1990 and 2012 (two out of 36).
Images shared widely on social media showed Pickford's water bottle had a list of each of Switzerland's penalty takers, and a direction in which he should dive.
And the Everton shot-stopper explained how he had to adapt his routine slightly in Dusseldorf, though he still trusted his process regardless.
He told ITV Sport: "The referee didn't let me do my usual process so I've had to adapt. I like to give the lads the ball, it helps me with a bit of focus, and staying calm, but I could only do it on the first one – luckily I saved it!
"I trust my process, what I do, with my mentality, that I'm going to save at least one for the lads.
"But massive respect to the lads that stood up and took one and to score in the way they did – huge credit.
Two lads making their major tournament debuts in this tournament, and then Bukayo [Saka] coming off the back of 2021 and stepping up – it shows the character in our squad.
"We've got a quick turnaround but we're still here, and that's what we want and what the nation wants."
For just the second time in their 10th shootout at a major tournament, England scored every single one of their penalties in the shootout (5/5), also doing so against Spain at Euro 1996 (4/4).
Penalty shootout victory over Brazil was winning in Uruguayan style, says Bielsa
Uruguay showed their character and the national team's "style" in their penalty shootout win over Brazil, so says Marcelo Bielsa.
Fifteen-time Copa America champions Uruguay progressed to the semi-finals at Brazil's expense with a 4-2 victory in the shootout after a 0-0 draw in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Uruguay, who have quickly adapted to Bielsa's full-throttle attacking approach, had to play out the last 20 minutes with 10 men after Nahitan Nandez was sent off for a lunge on Rodrygo.
It meant the usual offensive tactics had to make way for defensive ones, though from Nandez's red card onwards, Uruguay limited Brazil to just two attempts.
"Everything that happens, happens Uruguayan style, because the players are the ones that give their all to the team," Bielsa said.
"It was a match with very little goal opportunities, highly contested, very close, even with very little changes in possession.
"When we were one man down, we decided to dedicate ourselves to defending in our half.
"So holding on to that result as the Uruguayan team did shows the profile of Uruguayan football.
"They were very calm in the penalty shootout that demands not only accuracy but also character."
Uruguay have now kept three successive clean sheets, while they limited Brazil to 0.58 expected goals (xG), and their defensive resilience has pleased Bielsa.
"I am a bit more drawn to the offensive than the defensive game, but in a match that was as tight as this one, we created one more opportunity than our opponent and we defended well," Bielsa added.
"I do think that defensively, not because I achieved it but because the players are inherently good at defending, that they are very good at keeping a clean sheet."
This is the first time Uruguay have reached the semi-finals of the Copa America since the last time they won the trophy in 2011.
La Celeste had endured three consecutive quarter-final appearances without advancing, with two of those being decided by penalties (2019 and 2021).
Uruguay will face in-form Colombia, who hammered Paraguay 5-0, in the last four.
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