Paul Warne heaped praise on keeper Craig MacGillivray after securing his first win since becoming MK Dons manager.
Warne, who arrived at Stadium MK last week, watched Scott Hogan capitalise on an error by former Dons loanee Filip Marschall for the only goal of the game at Crewe.
The new boss was impressed with his players’ efforts in his second game in charge and he was particularly pleased with experienced keeper MacGillivray.
“I am really pleased with the two clean sheets and Craig has been amazing in the way he defended the box. We had to defend lots as there were lots of throw-ins and crosses,” said the MK Dons manager.
“My players were excellent in the way they threw their bodies on the line. The effort they put in out of possession was unbelievable – I am really proud of the group.
“Scott (Hogan) worked tirelessly up top and we are trying to get him more opportunities to score and the way he pressed their keeper he fully deserved his goal.
“Our fans were right behind the team and it was nice to celebrate with them for their efforts. It was a great win but we’ve got a lot more to give and a lot more work to do.”
Crewe, in contrast, have seen a promising season peter out over the last couple of months, including four defeats from their last six games at the Mornflake Stadium.
Lee Bell’s side found themselves trailing in the 28th minute when Marschall blundered to the delight of the away support.
The Aston Villa youngster has been impressive for Crewe this term when equalling a club record 16 clean sheets, but he was caught dithering by Hogan, who scored into an empty net.
Crewe turned up the pressure in the second half but the closest they came was Joel Tabiner’s free-kick which was inches away from hitting the corner of the net.
While Crewe can still claim seventh place, manager Bell was resigned afterwards to another campaign in League Two as the Alex are five points adrift of Grimsby.
“It was disappointing to lose but I thought we played as well as we have for a long time,” said Bell.
“There was stuff out there we have been working on and you could see it being done, but the problem is – as it has been since Christmas – is scoring goals.
“Filip is in contention for our player-of-the-season and he has saved us more often this season, so there is no blame on him.
“The play-offs are going to be beyond us so it is important that we are working on things for next season.
“The fans will be unhappy as we have lost too many games here. Other clubs have kicked on by bringing players in and we’ve not been able to do that and we have also had injuries, but I don’t want to be making excuses.”
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