[themaclad]

The Carling Cup draw paired Crewe and North End together for the third time in the past 6 years, this time the game is at Gresty Road. North End won the last two meetings however did not progress to the final whichin a way was disappointing.
Both sides failed to score on the opening day of the season, with Crewe drawing with local rivals Port Vale although according to reports Vale were the better side.
North End drew last season 1-1 with a late Beckford goal the return North End won 5-1 with a Garner hat trick. Always tricky to anticipate what sid we will put out given we are at Milton Keynes on Saturday, I would be surprised if it was the same side that played on Wednesday, possibly give the likes of Browne and Hugill a full game, but as with last season Grayson wants to do well in all competitions so it may be a strong side.
It will be as usual a youthful Crewe side under manager Steve Davis suspect they may wish to prove a point after last seasons hammering. I will be there so report sometime on Thursday.

[themaclad]

A 3-1 over Crewe at Gresty Road left North End as Lancashire's sole representative in the second round of this season's Capital One cup. After 13 minutes North End were cruising however the changed side needed a late third to confirm victory.
Crewe started slowly and were not helped by some extremely poor defending especially when keeper Garratt brought Hugill down in the box within the first five minutes, he could possibly have been sent off but was not cautioned by Mr Duncan, Hugill did the rest from the spot.(video of kick later) More hestitant defending left Keane 12 yards out to blast in number two.
North End were excellent for the next 15 minutes barely giving Crewe a sniff of the ball, a third goal looked on the cards however it didn't come and Crewe gradually began to get a toe hold in the game.
North End should have been out of sight 10 minutes before half time following a slick passing move which let in Hugill sadly he scuffed his shot horribly wide, within a minute Crewe had reduced the arrears when King fired into the bottom right hand corner from just outside the box..
The second half was probably shaded by Crewe in the early stages as North End struggled to cope with the home sides attacks however it must be said North End following Wright's substitution had only one recognised centre back on the pitch. Pickford made an excellent save from Haber's goalbound header. Crewe pushed and probed playing in their usual neat passing style but apart from couple of shots from Cooper did not really trouble the whites defence.
The introduction of Humphreys gave North End an outlet on the right hand side,from one of his pinpoint crosses Cunningham headed against the bar, another cross four minutes from time found Brownhill who made no mistake. and North End were through.
Useful work out for those who did not play Browne and Kilkenny being the pick and Hugill rampaging style is the reason Kevin Davies was not kept on.

Crewe: Garratt, Turton, Ray, Nugent, Guthrie, Inman (Cooper 63), Dalla Valle, Fox, King, Bingham, Haber (Colclough 63). Unused subs: Atkinson, Saunders, Baillie, Wintle, Richards.

Booked: Colclough 65

PNE: Pickford, Woods, Huntington, Wright (Humphrey 53), Vermijl (Davies 74), Browne, Kilkenny, Brownhill, Cunningham, Keane, Hugill (Garner 81). Unused subs: Johnson, Reid, Welsh, James.

Referee: Scott Duncan (Northumberland)

Attendance: 2,852 (681 PNE)

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https://youtu.be/my7ICt2IajQ