Proud but gutted over Crewe game, says Lee

ATHLETIC manager Lee Johnson declared himself proud of his side despite the denial of victory by a last-gasp Crewe equaliser.

Gary Harkins’ second-half strike had seemed set to claim Athletic a valuable scalp to boost the gap between Athletic and the teams below.

But Johnson’s men failed to find the second goal that would have sealed the win.

As Crewe threw players forward in the seven minutes of added time, the Alex manager’s son Harry Davis rose to meet a corner to level the contest after three of them.

“I’m disappointed, as the lads were quality,” said Johnson, who felt the pitch, swirling wind and importance of the occasion contributed to a scrappy start.

“We were very strong, compact and powerful on the break. We deserved to win. We frustrated them, then gradually took over the game.

“We had three or four chances to finish them off and didn’t. So when there were seven minutes of injury time – there shouldn’t have been - it enabled them to launch it. They put on their big boys, got a corner and we just couldn’t hold on to it.”