The Crewe Alexandra Chronicle
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
No sign of nerves from Calum Agius at 21 — 7.92
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Calum Agius did not need any: 7.92, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Tommi O'Reilly runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Max Sanders goes up and wins it — 7.87
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.87 for the rest of it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Tommi O'Reilly in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Crewe Alexandra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 Aug 2026
Max Sanders the difference as Crewe Alexandra beat Gillingham
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Max Sanders. 2‑1 against Gillingham, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
The crowd has taken to Tommi O'Reilly
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
In brief
- Squad Lewis Billington falls out with a teammate over standards
- Squad No hiding place for Alfie Pond
- Squad Crewe Alexandra pick somebody else ahead of Tom Booth
- Player ratings The pass was always on for Jack Lankester