Opposition view: Artell says Cobblers got what they deserved after Crewe's last-gasp winner

Crewe Alexandra manager David Artell was relieved his side's relentless pressure eventually told deep into stoppage-time against Northampton on Saturday.

Ricky Holmes put Town ahead early on but Crewe dominated the contest and levelled through Owen Dale eight minutes after half-time before Ryan Wintle completed the comeback with a 94th-minute winner.

“It was no more than we deserved," said Artell. "If it was a boxing match, it would have been stopped after an hour. If we scored four, five or six, I don’t think they could have complained.

“We gave away a sloppy goal from a set-play early on. Northampton pride themselves on their set-pieces and we have conceded a goal from one after three minutes. It wasn’t the ideal start but I would much rather concede after three minutes than with three minutes left.

“We stuck to the game plan, we went over one or two things at half-time and I don’t think the sending off made the difference either. The pattern was set way before that and I sensed it was coming. We had enough chances before that but the players kept going and it paid off for us.

“We kept going and the players deserve great credit for that and it took a knockout punch in stoppage time to settle it. I am just delighted for the 2,000 fans who were here to see it.

“The fans saw that Northampton were time wasting from midway through the first-half and maybe that plays a part in the officials giving it five minutes rather than four, I don’t know."