Birthday boy James Jones lashed an 87th minute winner from the penalty spot as Crewe Alex took another three points in their relegation battle on Tuesday night.

The midfielder, who turned 21 yesterday, stepped up to take a vital kick in the dying minutes and made no mistake to give the Alex a precious maximum return.

Earlier Chris Dagnall had opened the scoring with his third goal in two games, but Ade Akinfenwa looked to have earned a point for the combative visitors.

It kept the gap to the drop zone at five points after Leyton Orient also picked up a win, and maintained confidence with a second consecutive win.

And it gave supporters that loving feeling on Valentine's Day.

Wycombe came into the game on the back four defeats in their previous five in all competitions, and manager Gareth Ainsworth made one change to the line-up which went down 3-0 at Stevenage on Saturday.

Wycombe Wanderers' poor run on the road continued when James Jones struck an 87th minute penalty to hand Crewe Alexandra a 2-1 win in their League Two encounter at Gresty Road.

Referee Michael Salisbury adjudged that George Ray was fouled by Sido Jombati with three minutes to go which allowed Jones to smash the spot kick past Jamal Blackman.

Gareth Ainsworth was then sent to the stands by the official, seemingly for inferring that Salisbury gave the wrong decision leading to that goal.

On 75 minutes, it looked as if Adebayo Akinfenwa’s textbook finish would give Wycombe a deserved point.

‘The Beast’ struck when he turned and placed an expert shot into the corner beyond the reach of Crewe keeper Ben Garratt.

Crewe had taken the lead on 10 minutes when Chris Dagnall got past Joe Jacobson in the area and his shot proved too hot to handle for Jamal Blackman, with the ball creeping over the line before Sido Jombati could clear.