A Luke Offord own goal and a brilliant Bersant Celina chip saw the Blues to a 2-1 victory over bottom club Crewe Alexandra at Portman Road. Offord turned a Sone Aluko cross past his own keeper in the third minute, then Celina added a fantastic second in first-half injury time. Chris Long’s 73rd minute goal for the Railwaymen made the closing stages more nervy than they ought to have been with Town having missed plenty of chances to put the game out of sight.

Aluko returned to the Blues’ starting line-up in an otherwise unchanged XI. Aluko, who missed the Rotherham game following his father’s death, started on the right with Lee Evans dropping to the bench.

Scott Fraser moved into the middle of midfield alongside skipper Sam Morsy, while Celina was on the left with Conor Chaplin behind lone striker Macauley Bonne.

Former Town academy youngster Ben Knight was among the Crewe Alexandra substitutes.

After the players taking the knee had been warmly applauded by the chilly but expectant Portman Road crowd, the Blues got off to a brilliant start, scoring in only the third minute.

After Janoi Donacien’s first ball across the area had been blocked, but Aluko tricked his way in from the right along the byline beating two men before his low cross was diverted into the net by Alex defender Offord.

Town maintained the early pressure with Aluko continuing to give Crewe left wing-back Rio Adebisi a tough time.

On eight, a free-kick from the right was nodded out for a corner ahead of Bonne. Following the flag-kick, Celina’s cross got caught under Zac Williams before keeper Dave Richards claimed with Town appeals that the defender had handled falling on deaf ears.

There was a scare for the Blues in the 14th minute when Crewe broke quickly from their own area but Long dallied over his pass and Oliver Finney eventually fell over his own feet when he finally received the ball.

On 16 Celina exchanged passes with Chaplin midway inside the Crewe half but the Kosovan’s through ball for Bonne was cut out by a defender.

Two minutes later, there was another shaky moment for the Blues which resulted in Long smashing a shot from the edge of the area which Christian Walton tipped over the bar.

Donacien spent a spell receiving treatment for what looked like a side injury with Kane Vincent-Young preparing to come on before the Town number 44 indicated he was OK to remain on the field.

With Town’s early game intensity having dropped - although with Aluko in particularl still looking dangerous when breaking - Crewe threatened again on 22 when Finney turned a half-volley over from the edge of the box.

Just after the half hour, Celina was clearly angered with Offord after an off-the-ball clash with the visitors’ defender. Referee James Oldham spoke to the pair but without showing any cards.

Town began to restore their earlier dominance, Bailey Clements making a dangerous run down the left before his cross was cut out, then on 36 Chaplin sent over a ball from the same flank which appeared to catch a Crewe player taking it away from Bonne, although the officials awarded the throw-in to the Railwaymen.

Crewe were next to threaten. Following a break down the right, Porter nodded across goal from the far post and Clements did well to get ahead of Finney and then the hastily retreating Celina was able to finally clear.

On 39 Tom Lowery blazed over from the edge of the area with the Blues again looking unconvincing at the back.

In the 43rd minute, with Town looking dominant again, Aluko played in Donacien on the right of the box and the full-back’s dangerous low ball was cleared from inside the six-yard area.

Town should have been two goals in front following the resultant corner. After the ball was cleared, Morsy struck a powerful shot which Richards saved but couldn’t hold. Chaplin dived at the loose ball and seemed certain to score but the ball arced just the wrong side of the post.

With the game in injury time and the half-time whistle only seconds away, Celina brilliantly took down a George Edmundson long ball 25 yards out before spotting Richards off his line and deftly chipping the keeper, the ball irresistibly dropping just under the bar into the top corner of the net to make it 2-0.

It was a goal up there with any the on-loan Dijon man has scored in either of his spells with the Blues and was his fourth of the season.

That was the final action of a half in which the Blues had started like a house on fire before their performance drifted allowing the opposition back into it, , as on a number of other occasions this season, but fortunately without the Railwaymen finding a serious chance from which they might have levelled.

Town got their foot back on the pedal in the latter stages and really ought to have doubled their lead through Chaplin, although it was one of those opportunities where a player throws himself at a loose ball rather than having too much time to think about where it’s going.

But they didn’t have to wait too long for the second via Celina’s moment of brilliance, which should have put the game out of the visitors’ reach.

Three minutes after the restart, Williams was booked for pulling back Aluko with Town having started the second period much as they had ended the first. Fraser’s free-kick looped into the box but just too far in front of Bonne and Richards claimed.

On 49 Clements got his name in the book for pulling back Lowery and in the wake of the subsequent free-kick Porter headed weakly towards goal and Walton was able to grab with little fanfare.

Aluko scuffed through to Richards from the edge of the box on 54, then within a minute Bonne curled wide after cutting in from the left.

Crewe swapped Scott Kashkent for Mikael Mandron in the 56th minute, seconds after Toto Nsiala had turned the ball behind with the visitors in a dangerous position in the Blues box.

Aluko went close to making it 3-0 in the 63rd minute when Donacien’s cross from the right was cleared into his path but his volley looped not too far wide. Two minutes later, Nsiala headed over at the back post from Celina’s left-sided corner.

Town immediately made a double change, Kyle Edwards and Evans replacing Chaplin and Aluko, who was given a warm ovation as he left the field after another hugely impressive display.

Celina moved to the right with Edwards on the left and Evans and Fraser ahead of Morsy in the centre.

Bonne should have made it 3-0 in the 68th minute after a superbly crafted Town move. Edwards fed in Celina on the right of the box and the former Manchester City youngster cut across to Bonne, who slammed over as he broke into the box at pace.

Crewe pulled a goal back out of nothing in the 73rd minute, Mandron cutting into the area on the right before hitting a low shot which Long diverted past Walton to his left.

Suddenly the Railwaymen saw a way back into the game and on 77 Mandron shot over. A minute later, Edmundson slipped on halfway and Crewe broke away on goal but Long scraped across the face and well wide.

Town might have done better a minute later when Bonne fed Edwards on the left of the box. The former West Brom man played in Fraser to his left but Richards blocked the Scot’s effort from a very tight angle.

The Blues threatened again on 81 when Edwards teed-up Celina on the edge of the box but his shot bounced wide.

Despite Town having had more than enough opportunities to put the game to bed, Crewe continued to have their moments. On 84 Long was slipped in on goal but Walton did well to divert wide, although the linesman’s flag had been raised. A minute later, ex-Blues youngster Knight was introduced for Regan Griffiths.

In the 86th minute Edwards made a strong run from deep into the area holding off a number of defenders before smashing his strike high and wide. Soon after, Edmundson was booked for impeding Richards as the keeper looked to clear following a Town corner.

Town found themselves under pressure in the closing moments with Fraser making an important challenge to clear the most significant moment of danger.

Seconds before the whistle confirmed Town’s victory, the midfielder played in Bonne but the striker was thwarted by Richards, taking his run of goalless games to five matches.

The Blues had more than enough chances to seal the three points during the second half but once again made the closing stages nervy for themselves. While the sides’ 6-4 from 2004 was never on the cards, the scoreline could easily have been something along the lines of 5-2.

Town once again showed their inconsistency within games, having spells where they were totally dominant, but without taking enough of their chances, then allowing the opposition to get themselves back into the match and have opportunities.

The highlight of the match was undoubtedly Celina’s goal, which is unlikely to be bettered in League One or many other divisions this season.

The win sees the Blues climb to 11th in the table, seven points off the play-offs and 11 from the top two ahead of two home cup ties, the Papa John’s Trophy game with Arsenal’s U21s on Wednesday and League Two Barrow in the FA Cup next Saturday.

Town: Walton, Donacien, Nsiala, Edmundson, Clements, Morsy (c), Fraser, Aluko (Evans 66), Chaplin (Edwards 66), Celina, Bonne. Unused: Hladky, Burgess, Vincent-Young, Evans, Harper, Edwards, Pigott.

Crewe: Richards, Offord, Long, Lowery, Porter (c), Finney, Griffiths (Knight 85), Sass-Davies, Williams, Kashket (Mandron 56). Unused: Jaaskelainen, Thomas, Gomes, Lundstram, Woodthorpe. Referee: James Oldham (Derbyshire). Att: 18,883 (Crewe: 225).

Photo: Matchday Images

Cakeman added 19:52 - Nov 28 Very pleased with the three points in a game that could have gone horribly wrong. Not for the first time we were absolutely brilliant as an attacking force for the first twenty or so minutes. Crewe could not get near our slick one touch passing and during this time our players showed great skill with movement and passing made through instinct. Then after that the players started to think about what they were doing and this slowed our game and allowed Crewe more time to shore up their defence. I think this is our problem, when we overthink what we are doing. Moments of brilliance such as Aluko for his amazing run and trickery with our first goal and Celina for his outstanding goal are prime examples. When we play to our instincts there is no team in league one that can live with us. Sadly we do it only for short periods in a game. The players don't need to get hung up on formations as they are capable of drifting in and out of positions across the park. Our management just need to drill this into them as it will raise confidence and ultimately produce many more points than we are currently picking up. PS I'm disappointed to still see so many negative comments about Paul Cook. We have just won the game and I would have thought that should be enough to be happy about today. Paul Cook may or may not be the man who takes us up. I hope so but let's give him a full season to see what he can do.

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dirtydingusmagee added 20:07 - Nov 28 well we will all be happy with 3 points , but for me it ends there, Nobody was giving Crewe a prayer yet there was little if anything to seperate the two teams. We are waaaaaay off a team looking to be promoted. Today was another performance reminiscent of PRE Cook times .I certainly dont see Town achieving anything this season now. Its just playing out the rest of the season and the usual hype and rebuilding next season , same song just different singer im afraid . New owners have done their bit, Cook certainly coming up short .

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Bert added 20:18 - Nov 28 Well, it is three points but our mojo is not what it was. I think we need Burns to spark the team into life but we cannot rely on a single person. Undoubtedly, Bonne is finding it harder to find the net but he is still one of our best assets. Whilst Cook has questionable tactics and I'm not totally convinced he has what is needed, today was more about the players not picking a pass and sitting back inviting Crewe to come out. We are where we are ….. and it is better than previous years but not yet good enough for supporters to feel confident about a play off place. Work to do. Well done Crew for making a game of it.

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Cakeman added 20:29 - Nov 28 PS I thought the number of supporters Crewe brought considering they are bottom of the league and the game was played on a Sunday was impressive.
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Scottydog added 20:39 - Nov 28 Somewhat bemused how a team bottom of the league played better football than us for portions of the game. Lot of potential in this squad but formation just doesn't look right for me. December to define the season in my opinion, need to be in those play off spots at least by new year
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warktheline added 20:58 - Nov 28 Stats and trends are strongly leaning towards another season in Division 1, unfortunately I really can't disagree !
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Monkey_Blue added 21:08 - Nov 28 Blues1…. What an utterly idiotic comment regarding the “Kit Man”. I know you like to think of yourself as all knowing and superior but you are regularly talking nonsense in my opinion. If Cook needed an extra coach but had budget for a second kitman he didn't want, why would he have to claim he hired a kitman? There is no employment laws that stipulate how many coaches you can have or how many kit men you have to budget for. If Cook wanted Carnegie as a coach but he'd used his “budget”… he could just have asked the bosses at Wigan to increase his coaching budget and decrease his kit man budget. There is no barrier to saying “I've hired a new coach”. So you have two options…. Cook lied to his own employers to hire a kitman he didn't need as a coach. The alternative is he lied in his interview because some who in carneys words had “been mates for years” didn't want to admit to his new employers, ITFC, that he was hiring a kitman as a coach. Which one are you picking? Please pick neither paint cook in a good light.

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Monkey_Blue added 21:10 - Nov 28 * Carney
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shakytown added 21:10 - Nov 28 The players just cannot get to grips with cooks system and he is trying to force them no matter what. everyone just looks lost and isolated. Another vey average performance from players who are capable of so much more but are being hamstrung by a stubborn manager. We cannot keep hoping the opposition will give us a goal or someone will do something brilliant it just does not work that way.

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VanDusen added 21:57 - Nov 28 Today was about 3 points. We got them albeit nowhere as comfortably as we ought to. But we got them. I'm happy - makes up a bit for the travesty of losing last Saturday when we really did put in a shift.
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barrystedmunds added 22:24 - Nov 28 It's just not “clicking” is it? We huff and puff to a win, which is always welcome, over a team already accepting relegation. If we don't put a run together soon, very soon, I see this season petering out to mid table obscurity. With every passing week I lose a little less confidence in PCs ability to get this considerably talented squad firing on all cylinders. More and more I think he may be the problem, hope I'm wrong..........

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runningout added 00:01 - Nov 29 As a squad players I would hope they are all hungry. Don't seem to be as going 2 nil up seems to bring on a hypnotic halt in any form of ruthlessness. Plus I'll say a positive WHEN we are on a winning run, we have a silly habit of mentioning it. That will guarantee the end of run and loss in next game. Similar to the “that will make a statement” result. It may do, but again your bound to fluff next game or two, or three.

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Steelmonkey added 00:03 - Nov 29 Three points for another shot shy Ipswich Town. Listened to Cooke's pre match interview talking about the things that the team have worked on since the Rotherham game, well sorry but I didn't see any sort of improvement against Crew. I'm all for the passing game but it's all too much tippy tippy football in the final third for me and when a a player gets into a shooting position and won't take the opportunity to do so it's costing us so much, can none of our team hit a ball cleanly instead of the scuffed, miss hit, no power efforts we sometimes see. I'd thought that I might have heard the last of “we've had a shot” chants but there it was at the Rotherham game. We are quite ineffectual on that front. I hope Wes Burns is on the mend, as it's no coincidence to me that Bonne's form seems to have dipped since he has been out of the team.

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Minneapolis_ITFC added 01:26 - Nov 29 What manager plays 4-2-3-1 at home against a bottom place team when you're - us -looking for a promotion push. Does Cook know any other way, seriously starting to fray the patience now. All right the team won, got three points, but by god seems we made hard work of it and the opposition might just have easily forced a tie or taken a point back from their trip. You can't base a season on one game alone but setting up that usual formation given the nature of the opposition and with a home advantage then going on to miss a number of chances and lo and behold allowing your opponents to very near take a score from it is arguably unsatisfactory. Seems Cook made some bizarre substitutions / tactics also at times today. You can only berate one individual so much but somehow can't see him surviving here by end of May. He's arguably the (what should be) most pivotal figure in helping the club make "progress" and as such, isn't really up to standard.

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dirtydingusmagee added 09:17 - Nov 29 really losing interest in Cook now, i cant stand listening to him in the interviews and his tunnel vision re ''tactics'' is getting us nowhere.
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DMDC added 09:56 - Nov 29 We are a poor side Mr Cook.
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BeattiesBackPocket added 15:35 - Nov 29 Started off well and if Bonne had his scoring boots on we could've been 4 goals up before they scored he missed 2 absolute sitters as did Edwards late on after some great skill. As much as it wasn't convincing that's not Cooks fault if we took our clear cut chances it could've been about 6-2! And monkeyblue moaning about it being a bottom of the table team well last year we lost at home to that bottom club and many others like it with players that monkeyblue said were good enough last year so he like some have a short memory indeed 🙄 Rome wasn't built in a day and a complete overhaul of the club WAS needed hence why some of those player monkeyblue bigged up are heading for non league down the road. We can't do the managerial merry go round every three months what we get someone new in then boom they get three months!? Not heard from monkeyblue during Wycombe and Portsmouth thumping snow he's back after back to back losses shock! 🙄

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BeattiesBackPocket added 15:37 - Nov 29 If we followed some on here throughout our history Robson, Lyall and Burley would've never had the chance to build and assemble a good side for promotion and some fantastic nights remember how they did after a few months 9-0 at Man Utd days like that?
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Monkey_Blue added 10:52 - Nov 30 BeattiesBackPocket…..you are talking about managers who managed when the environment was entirely different and the disparity in income was in no way as extreme. It's a strawman argument.
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Monkey_Blue added 10:58 - Nov 30 BeattiesBackPocket…. Which one of the last managers you mention had more or even equal resources to their competitors? Cook is operating in a more fast food environment where results are demanded quicker because the consequences of success or failure are more extreme. Most importantly Cook unlike the three you mentioned has every advantage over his rivals in terms of back up and financial support. Apples and oranges mate.

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Razor added 11:47 - Nov 30 What is the story with Norwood? Why does he not play Piggott----he will roy and fester on the bench----why buy him in the first place? Why play one up front against the bottom team? So much more----fear we are going nowhere with this man---another wasted season?
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Marinersnose added 12:53 - Nov 30 Well we certainly made very hard work of beating Crewe who at least tried to play football. This squad of players doesn't appear to have that killer instinct and after starting so strongly dropped off and in the end they were hanging on for the win. A win is positive the performance was as usual for a Cook team. Flashes of brilliance followed by poor ball retention and lack of quality.Fraser is getting the plaudits but for me he offers no protection for the fullback Bailey Clements who was too often left isolated and facing two opponents. Edwards has little end product but is excellent at tracking back which is essential in this system. Our midfield appeared sorted once Morsy arrived but for me we are still poor and his performances have dropped off. Chaplin flatters to deceive and shows why he struggled in the Championship. Time to give Barry and El Mizouni a run. Evans was rested and rightly so but again he was introduced and was poor in his distribution. Carrol or Harper have to be considered. Up top Bonne has been starved of service and as a result his confidence has dipped. Piggot should be given a chance but not as a lone striker as he clearly cannot operate in that role. We are still in touch with the top six but those who watch the team regularly will say that the team are easy to play through and struggling to beat even lower league teams. Edmundson has been an excellent signing and is at the level others should aspire to be at. (Consistent)

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BeattiesBackPocket added 22:56 - Nov 30 Monkeyblue I'm not disputing that cook is being backed to the hilt but it takes longer than 3 months with the complete needed overhaul over the squad. I can go back and show you saying how a lot if not most of the players who left were good enough yet none are being spoken about apart from maybe Dozzell some of which could be playing non league next season. You change like the weather I'm afraid. You cannot get rid of a manager after 3 months. Otherwise what next manager had 3 months then the next. I've witnessed 3 amazing games this season at Wycombe and Portsmouth as well as at home to Doncaste score lines I haven't seen in many years so we can show what we can do but to expect it every game is mental. We play like we've been playing together for years one game next like strangers. Against Crewe Bonne had 3 easy claw it chances as did edwards later in the game that's not cooks fault on another day they go in and we're spanking another side. Last season we lost these kind of games so for me I see improvement. My only criticism of cook would be a plan b but time will tell

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