Crewe look to rebuild after Chesterfield rout as second-placed Barnet visit
Wednesday 28 October 2026 · By Hilary Longbottom
Crewe Alexandra have lost two league games in a row, and the second was a heavy one. A 5–1 defeat at Chesterfield on 24 October followed a 2–0 loss to Exeter City earlier in the week, and it dropped Lee Bell’s side from third to fourth in League Two.
All five Chesterfield goals came before half-time. Josh Koroma scored after three minutes and Tom Naylor made it two on six minutes. Fraser Bryden added a third on 19 minutes, Crewe defender Josh Stephenson put through his own net on 35 minutes, and Liam Mandeville scored in first-half stoppage time. Substitute Charlie McNeill pulled a goal back for Crewe in the 57th minute. The Derbyshire Times reported that Crewe’s goalkeeper, Tom Booth, had seen a Dilan Markanday effort hit his crossbar before the third goal.
Bell took the blame. “I can only apologise to the 720 fans that have travelled here. I got it drastically wrong,” he said. “It’s my responsibility to give the players information about the opposition. It’s my responsibility to set up the team to go out and win a football game and I take full responsibility.”
He was also generous about the opposition. “They’re quite comfortably the best team we’ve played in this division,” Bell said, before adding: “You have to just keep marching forward. They’re a solid group and I love them to bits.” He said he had to “make sure I deliver my messages and what I’m expecting of the team much clearer”.
Chesterfield assistant manager Danny Webb, who spoke after the game, said: “I’m sure Lee and his staff will say they were poor and they made mistakes, but I thought we probably provoked that a little bit.”
Crewe remain well placed. They have 21 points from 13 games, the same as Cheltenham Town, and the two sides are level on goal difference at zero. Cheltenham hold third place because they have scored more, 22 goals to Crewe’s 16. Crewe have both scored and conceded 16 times. Their league form guide reads draw, win, win, win, loss, loss.
Saturday’s opponents score more than anyone in the division. Barnet are second on 25 points from 12 games, three behind leaders Salford City with a game in hand, and they have scored 27 league goals, the most in League Two. They beat York City 3–1 at the Hive on Tuesday after coming from behind, and the game kicks off at 3pm.
Barnet’s Dean Brennan said after the York game: “We want to stop conceding goals and score more because this division can come down to one goal.” Kabongo Tshimanga, who scored the equaliser, has seven goals in six games, according to the club.
Crewe’s next cup match is at home to AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup first round on Saturday 7 November, with a 3pm kick-off.
Mornflake Stadium on Gresty Road has been Crewe Alexandra’s home since 1906. Visiting supporters will know it as a compact, all-seater Football League ground of about 10,100, rebuilt stand by stand through the 1990s. The nickname “the Railwaymen” is no marketing flourish: Crewe station sits a five-minute walk away, and you can often see the floodlights as you leave the platforms.
Away fans are allocated the Whitby Morrison Ice Cream Van Stand, the covered single-tier along the northern touchline. Capacity is around 1,680, with space for a handful of wheelchair users and carers. It runs the length of the pitch rather than behind a goal, so you watch the play side-on. Roof supports can interrupt the view in some rows; if the allocation is not full you can usually shift a few seats. Lower rows can catch rain. Crewe have been praised in the EFL’s Away Fan Experience campaign, which is reflected in generally well-run stewarding rather than luxury fittings.
Typical visiting prices in recent seasons have been around £28 for adults, £22 for over-65s and 17–19s, £13.50 for 12–16s and £1 for under-11s who must be with an adult. Carers are usually free. Buy through your own club at least three weeks ahead when possible. An away ticket office by the away turnstiles usually opens from midday on Saturdays and from 5pm on evening games, taking cash and card at the same prices. Turnstiles open an hour before kick-off; tickets are single-scan barcodes.
By rail, turn left from Crewe station, take the second left onto Gresty Road, and the ground is a short walk on your left. By car use M6 junction 16, then the A500 and A5020 towards Crewe station. Sat-nav postcode is CW2 6EB. A 564-space pay-and-display car park sits opposite the Boughey Stand and is first-come, first-served (recently quoted at about £5–£6). Many away drivers use the industrial estate off Weston Road, about a ten-minute walk. Watch matchday restrictions on nearby streets.
Pubs that routinely welcome visiting fans include the Corner Bar at the Royal Hotel, the Cheshire Inn and the Brunswick on or near Nantwich Road, plus the Brocklebank (Brewers Fayre) if you park on Weston Road. Takeaways line Nantwich Road; Bennie’s chippy opposite the home ticket office is a local favourite. Inside the away stand expect pies, burgers, hot dogs and hot drinks. Flags are allowed if they do not block gangways or signs.
The diagram above is schematic but close to the real proportions. The Boughey Stand on the south side is the giant: more than half the ground, with offices, changing rooms, shop, ticket office and hospitality. Opposite, your stand is much shallower. Goals sit in front of the two small ends: the KPI Recruiting Stand (Gresty Road End) to the west, home of the loudest Crewe support, and the smaller Family / Railway End to the east. That is why an away view is along the pitch, not behind a net.
Arrive early if you want a pint and a seat without a pillar. The walk from the station is the easiest arrival in the division. Treat the ground as a proper old Football League yard rather than a bowl, keep an eye on the weather in the lower rows, and you will understand why plenty of travelling support leaves Gresty Road in a decent mood even when the result does not.