Semi-Final Victory Belongs To Crewe Alexandra

Crewe Alexandra secured their place in the area final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy after beating Chesterfield on the 10th Jan 2007.

10 Jan 2007

Crewe made it through to the area finals thanks to a hat-trick from striker, Luke Varney, the first of his senior career. After Nicky Maynard put Alex ahead in the 20th minute, Varney then sealed the deal with his first goal in the 54th minute and the concluding two in the dying seconds of the 90th minute. However, one goal was not without controversy as an attempted clearance hit referee, Richard Beeby and fell perfectly for Varney to secure the win. The final score was Chesterfield 2 – 4 Crewe.

Manager Dario Gradi told crewealex.net: “It is a trophy I would love to see Crewe lift and I will again name the strongest team in the competition, especially after getting so close in 2003.

"We won't take any chances and we'll play the best we can with the strongest team we can.”

Crewe Alexandra will play Doncaster Rovers in the Northern area final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Gresty Road first. Crewe have been drawn against Sean O'Driscoll's side at home in the first leg of the competition with the game taking place week commencing 29th Jan 2007. The second leg will be played at Doncaster Rovers' new Keepmoat Stadium and will take place the week commencing 12th February 2007.