Lee Bell is confident Crewe can dig themselves out of a barren run after the Alex boss praised the character of players for shaking off an early blow to draw with AFC Wimbledon.
John Kymani-Gordon’s close-range finish saw the Dons take a second-minute lead at Gresty Road, but Bell’s men hit back through a fine finish from Rio Adebisi and went the closest to winning an evenly-matched contest.
Crewe’s push for the top three had stalled in recent weeks with three defeats in their last four fixtures and for large parts of this game they laboured to break down their visitors, who dropped out of the top seven following the draw.
However, Bell saw plenty to be positive about from his fifth-placed team.
He said: “The players showed real character to get back into the game. It was a poor start the players settled into the game really in what were difficult conditions.
“It was an extremely windy day, but I thought we played them (conditions) better. And the pitch is bone dry, so I credit the players for sticking to what we were trying to do rather than trying to smash the ball down the pitch.
“It was a good free-kick that got us back into it and a really good strike from Rio Adebisi, who has been not far off from exceptional this season.
“I thought we edged it and if there was going to be a winner it was more likely to be us. I certainly didn’t want to lose the game. League Two is evenly matched and it only needs one team to put a run together at this stage of the season.
“Our recent home record should be better, but we’ve still got a game in hand over one or two [play-of rivals] and we’re in a confident place.”
Crewe were caught napping when Gordon was in the right place to finish Jack Currie’s powerful surge into the box.
But the Dons were slumbering too when they allowed Lewis Leigh to find Adebisi on the edge of the box with a short free-kick and the defender rifled a effort into the far corner to level things up in the 13th minute.
The Dons were without leading scorer Omar Bugiel through international duty and although Gordon grabbed his first goal since arriving at Plough Lane on loan from Crystal Palace in January, the visitors hardly tested Crewe keeper Tom Booth.
The same could be said for the hosts. Substitute Chris Long, returning after a long injury lay-off, blasted a late effort at keeper Alex Bass. The closest Crewe came to a winner came saw Conor Thomas glance a header over at a corner.
Dons boss Johnnie Jackson said his side may need to be more expansive in their final six games to secure a play-off spot.
“Crewe is a tough place to come and it was a close game. I was pleased with the efforts of the players,” said Jackson. “We tried to win it and went for it.
“We looked threatening in the opening period, but Crewe grew into the game. I was disappointed with the goal as we switched off at a free-kick.
“We’ve got six games to go and the players are giving it absolutely everything. We have got to try and win games as draws aren’t going to be enough for us, although this was a good result for us.”
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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