Graham Turner's thoughts after the 1-0 win over Crewe Alexandra
Graham Turner Post Crewe Alexandra
By Matt Johnson
Graham Turner breathed a long sigh of relief after his Town side ended their run of six games without a win thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Crewe at Greenhous Meadow.
Luke Summfield’s header two minutes before the interval was enough to seal a win that see’s the Shrews rise three places in the League One standings and, crucially, out of the relegation zone.
“We were desperate for that victory,” said Turner. “It will do the confidence a bit of good ahead of Tuesday’s match.
“You can see the fragility of things late on in the game. You could see the anxiety. We were dropping deeper and deeper and fighting a bit of pressure. I thought we broke quite well once or twice and maybe should’ve done better but we defended in our box quite well.
“It was great to win it, get the three points and climb out of the bottom four. We know where we are, we know what we’re about and we need to make sure we build on this victory as quick as we can.”
Crewe could consider themselves unfortunate not to have been awarded a penalty in the first half before Town took the lead, but Turner was quick to recap on situations in previous games where decisions had gone against his team.
“From where I was stood I didn’t have a clear view of it [penalty claim] but there was a big appeal from their supporters and my first thought after a quick look at the referee was one of thanks that he didn’t give it.
“There have been some strange decisions and we have been unlucky in one or two games. But we have to be fair and say that we were lucky against Walsall when we took the three points and maybe a little bit fortunate today, but I think we protected Chris Weale ever so well.”
Looking ahead to Tuesday night’s clash with high-flying MK Dons, Turner is confident that the victory over Crewe can ignite a much needed confidence boost into his dressing room.
“The win is a boost for everybody connected with the club. It makes a massive difference and we couldn’t ask for a bigger challenge now than MK Dons. They’ve got some very good players and they’re currently on a good run, I think they’ve won four out of four.
“They’re one of the best sides in the league. They’ve beaten top teams recently, so we’ll have to come out and match ourselves against them – that is the challenge.”
Snap up your tickets here for the MK Dons crunch clash.