Bell praises Crewe sub Uwakwe’s telling contribution

Crewe boss Lee Bell hailed Tariq Uwakwe’s response to being dropped after the ex-Chelsea under-21 hopeful’s late equaliser snatched a point at Harrogate.

Uwakwe was starting his second successive match on the bench after being hauled off during the half-time break at Crawley.

But, after being hailed from the dugout, Uwakwe grabbed his first goal in 39 outings for the Railwaymen to secure a 2-2 draw at Wetherby Road following his 89th-minute strike.

Just six minutes earlier, Dan Agyei’s penalty had reduced the deficit after Jack Muldoon and Kazeem Olaigbe had put the hosts in the ascendancy and, on Uwakwe’s contribution, Bell said: “He’s been out of the team for the last couple of games but he made a real impact when he came on.

“We changed to 4-4-2 and he came inside to where he needs to be between the posts to finish smartly underneath the keeper’s body.”

Bell added that he was pleased to give the travelling fans something to cheer after they had voiced their dissatisfaction prior to the late fightback.

“The players showed really good spirit,” the Gresty Road chief reasoned. “There was a lot of fans at the game and I was getting pelters from behind me so it was pleasing to send them home half-happy and I thought the performance was one of our best recently.

“We got up the pitch well and were just making wrong decisions and needed to pick the right passes, which we did at the end. You would always take a point after being 2-0 down coming away and I hope the fans saw the desire the players showed for the club.”

Harrogate boss Simon Weaver has now seen his struggling side keep just one clean sheet in their last 16 home games, but insisted that a back four consisting exclusively of transfer-window signings – including Anthony O’Connor who clipped Agyei’s heels for the game’s pivotal spot kick – will improve matters at that end of the pitch.

He said: “I know we have got a good defence now but we are still integrating them and there will be bumps along the way.

“I have players in there who have 900 league games to their names between them and, whilst I’m disappointed that we didn’t maximise our chance to get three points, I know we have a better squad now.”

Weaver went on to praise 33-year-old striker Muldoon who has scored in back-to-back games since signing a new two-and-a-half year deal last week.

“He’s on fire and his new contract was well-deserved,” the Sulphurites’ manager said of Muldoon. “He’s also got my back and said that when he signed it.

“That means a lot to me and shows the togetherness we have at the club and need, because it looks like we are in a fight with three other teams for survival, but we’ve got to go for it, like we did in this game, and relish every challenge ahead.”