Lee Bell cast his admiration over Charlie Colkett’s finishing as the former Chelsea youngster got Crewe off to a winning start in 2023 against Tranmere.
Bell – who was registering his first success since being confirmed as the club’s permanent manager last month – also showered praise on midfielder Regan Griffiths, who was making his first start since last March, as well as his side’s gritty display three days after a 3-0 home thrashing at the hands of Carlisle.
This time his players produced a tenacious effort to get the edge in a game that Micky Mellon’s side had dominated until Colkett’s 34th-minute strike.
“You can’t question the effort of my players and we set them up in a way that was effective as we knew what the game would be like. Their standards don’t differ much from game to game and it’s just been intensity levels and things like that, but they hit that today,” said Bell.
“We knew playing like that was going to give us the best chance of winning.
“It was unbelievable technique from Charlie [Colkett] and he has got real quality and I’m hoping the injury he has picked up isn’t too bad.
“Regan [Griffiths] looked like a 30-year-old playing in the middle of the pitch. He has bided his time and shown his professionalism to come in and last a game like that. Now he has got to produce it every week.
“Our strikers had chances and they should have scored. They know that and they have got to try and put them away. So we’re not getting carried away as we want to breed a winning mentality.”
Tranmere swarmed forward early on and Kieron Morris unleashed a drive from 20 yards which home goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo turned around, while Elliott Nevitt prodded an effort wide of the near post.
But Colkett’s well-struck volley from the edge of the box flew over Rovers goalkeeper Ross Doohan for the game’s outstanding moment.
Crewe defended well and snuffed out most of what Rovers could muster after the break, although substitute Joel Mumbongo should have done better with a near-post header he thudded high and wide.
Joel Tabiner and Bassala Sambou, who slid a shot the wrong side of the post after being put in the clear, should have put Crewe out of reach.
Rovers boss Mellon admitted: “We were so much on top until Crewe scored, but you have got to take your chances when those opportunities come up.
“To be fair to Crewe they got their blocks in and worked really hard. We weren’t good enough to put the ball in the net. Their goal was disappointing as it was a poor header before the lad struck it really well.
“Attacking-wise we didn’t have anything else and we tried to juggle it around a bit and get Jon Nolan on the ball. But if you don’t take the first goal then it is going to be difficult.
“It would be good to have some more attacking options and we will see if we can do that in the next few days and weeks, but we will need to shift some players out before we do that.”
