Frustrated Lee Bell felt Crewe deserved three points from draw at Oldham

Crewe manager Lee Bell was frustrated after seeing his side held to a goalless draw at Oldham.

Emre Tezgel and Owen Lunt both struck the goal frame for the Railwaymen, who missed other clear-cut chances.

“I am disappointed as it was a performance which warranted three points,” said Bell as his side climbed back into the play-off places.

“I thought we were the better team against a very good Oldham side which is well organised and with a good manager and, coming away, playing so well without scoring is the only negative.

“There were so many positives to take from the game: players, fans, performance.

“The fans came wanting to see goals and there was no shortage of goalmouth action.”

It was surprising the game ended goalless as each side had 16 goal attempts, but both only had two on target as they lacked a cutting edge.

Eight-goal top scorer Tezgel, who is on loan from Stoke, could have had a hatful of goals on another day as he missed a host of chances.

“The pleasing thing is that he is getting the opportunities,” said Bell. “He is always in the box and on the move and with the quality he has he will score goals.

“We have him for the season and hopefully we can help him move forward with his obvious qualities. He has settled and we have enjoyed having him.

“With our track record and how we help players, it seems a sensible option and clubs trust us with their players and know they will get time on the pitch.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for Oldham manager Micky Mellon, whose side have won only one out of eight home league games.

While they have the division’s best defensive record, they are one of the lowest goalscorers.

Their best chance fell to centre-back Manny Monthe early in the second half, a point-blank header which was brilliantly kept out by goalkeeper Tom Booth while, late on, substitute Mike Fondop had a couple of sniffs at goal.

“We are a team which is set up to try and score goals. We know what we have got to do and well work at it. We have an honest group of lads,” he said.

Mellon was unhappy with his side’s showing in the first 45 minutes, though, adding: “I didn’t think they were competitive enough in difficult conditions in the first half.

“Crewe had some opportunities where they probably could have got the first goal but didn’t.

“We went in at half-time, spoke about that, and I think that we made more of a contest of it, certainly in the second half, in difficult conditions for both sets of players.

“But we’ve both battled out a draw. I think there’s no doubt that both teams were going for the win. But we certainly weren’t happy at half-time.”