THE LOSS of on-loan centre-forward Ashley Barnes – Plymouth Argyle recalled him in midweek – affected manager Paul Buckle's options both before Torquay United's 1-1 draw with Crewe Alexandra and during it.

"Although Barnes didn't score while he was with us, he gave us some strength up front, and then we could bring Elliot Benyon on with 20-25 minutes to go," said Buckle.

"Losing him back to Plymouth was a big blow to us.

"We started with Elliot up front with Scott Rendell – he hasn't really played any football over the last six weeks with his broken arm – and Chris Zebroski on the left wing.

"Rendell only had one chance in the game and put it away, and I was pleased with him.

"Elliot worked his socks off up front and played to the top of his game.

"I'm just disappointed that he didn't get a goal that he deserved.

"But we didn't really have any options up front on the bench.

"Maybe I could have changed it, but do you go five in midfield and one up front at home?

"If you look at the last 20 minutes, you would probably say a draw was a fair result.

"But over the whole 90 minutes, we felt we were in control for 70.

"I thought our play deserved more than a one-goal cushion.

"When you don't get that second goal, you always run a risk, no matter how the opposition is playing.

"Crewe are a very good side, and they have spent a lot of money on their squad, but we just couldn't finish them off.

"We are six unbeaten, and the players have put in a big shift to get that return.

"I've got to be very happy, taking all things into consideration."

CREWE'S veteran manager Dario Gradi MBE felt that he was right and the Alex fans were wrong over a key change in the second half of Saturday's 1-1 draw at Plainmoor.

Gradi, 68, took off first-half substitute Calvin Zola midway through the second half and reshuffled his attack for a second time.

"I was surprised that our supporters were that united against me taking Calvin Zola off, but he was finding it very difficult to get hold of the ball," he said.

"But the change, with Luke Murphy on wide and (Shaun) Miller and (Clayton) Donaldson up front, coincided with our best spell of the game.

"So perhaps I got that right, and they got it wrong."

Of Miller's missed penalty, Gradi said: "Shaun was the designated penalty taker.

"I never understand why full-backs and centre-halves take penalties, when they've got no record of scoring goals.

"They can all take one in training, but I'm not sure who we can really rely on to take them in games.

"I would think that Shaun will take the next one too."

Gradi was full of praise for Gulls striker Elliot Benyon.

"They were working to get the ball behind us, and their No.9 was causing us problems there," he said.

"He was a danger, and if he's got a goalscoring record as well, he's a very good player.

"I thought Donaldson and Miller gave us some penetration in the second half.

"We could have won the game if we'd put the penalty away.

"We played better at the end of the game than we did at the start.

"All the pitches are bitty at this time of year – ours is the same as this one – and it's hard to stroke the ball around.

"Set-pieces are even more important and, although we've had a million free-kicks of late and plenty more today, we don't look dangerous from them at all, either from deliveries or players going in on them.

"The Play-Offs are still possible, but we are really trying to build a team for next year."