DAVE Artell will be hoping he can close in quickly on a raft of transfer window targets after a lacklustre showing continued Crewe's dismal away form.

Adam May's stunning strike just before the interval consigned the Alex to their 10th defeat from 14 road trips this term. That dreadful form, if it continues, will hamper the recent improvement back at Gresty Road and points in one direction only.

Crewe - who drafted Zac Williams back into defence and Scott Robertson in midfield - offered little in the way of an attacking threat at the Abbey Stadium against an in-form side boosted in recent weeks by their FA Cup exploits against Newcastle United.

May's goal was all that was needed against Crewe's tame response. Oliver Finney went close in the first half and Chris Long should have done better with a chance set up for him by Chris Porter soon after the restart.

"I thought we were awful. The one bit of quality in the game won it for Cambridge," said Artell.

"We didn't pass the ball to each other, but just whacked it. And if you whack the ball then don't expect to win games of football.

"That's not our game and not our way. If we'd scored with the last kick it wouldn't have masked a really low-quality performance from us."

Cambridge chalked up their fifth successive win in all competitions and their manager Mark Bonner said: "This a tough league and wins are really hard to come by. The fact that we've got five on the bounce in all competitions is unbelievable.

"We should have put the game to bed in the early part of the second half but we didn't, so then it became a tough finish."

Crewe: Richards; Offord, Sass-Davies, Williams; Johnson, Lowry, Robertson (Murphy), Finney (Griffiths), Mandron (Ainley); Long, Porter

Subs: Jaaskelainen, Tabiner Onyeka, Salisbury

• The Alex are back in action next Saturday (January 29) when they host third-placed Rotherham.