Crewe boss Lee Bell hailed a “really big win” after his side picked up three points with a narrow 1-0 victory over Morecambe at the Mazuma Stadium to move a step closer to sealing a League Two play-off spot.
Elliott Nevitt’s goal 20 minutes from time gave the Alex the victory which virtually ended any lingering hopes Morecambe had of sealing a top-seven place.
Bell said: “It was a really big win for us after a bad run of results.
“Morecambe are a really good team and I like the way they play so to get the win in really difficult conditions that made it hard for both teams to play their normal games was great and with other results going our way it was a good night.
“It was another good night for Elliott Nevitt who has been outstanding all season and I can’t speak highly enough of him but all the lads have worked so hard and deserve to be where they are.”
The only disappointment for Crewe was that they ended the game with 10 men as Lewis Leigh was given a straight red card for a wild tackle on Joel Senior in the final minute.
Nevitt scored the only goal of the game with 20 minutes to go when he slid home a loose ball at the far post after a left-wing shot was blocked.
It was a rare moment of threat in the game which was dominated by a swirling wind.
Morecambe manager Ged Brannan admitted that his side would have to win all their three remaining games to have any chance of sealing a play-off spot.
He said: “I thought we played well in the first half and created a few chances but couldn’t get the breakthrough we needed with the wind.
“It was really hard for us to get out of our own half in the second period and that was disappointing. They scored with their only real chance of the game and we couldn’t get the chance we needed to level things.
“We are all disappointed because the play-offs will be difficult to reach now but I can’t fault the lads because they have given their all.”