Nick Farqurharson's late strike confirmed an Alex win at Gresty Road, as the young Railwaymen saw off high flying Blackburn Rovers at Reaseheath.
Rovers, currently lying second in the table, arrived in South Cheshire in good form, but couldn't match the Alex in the early stages, and couldn't find a way back into the game once Byron Moore gave the home side the lead from the penalty spot, following an offence which saw Blackburn reduced to ten men.
Academy Manager Steve Holland was able to name an unchanged side for the game, although did make a tactical switch as Gareth Evans, who was handed the captaincy, returned to the right side of midfield, with Ashley Westwood switching to full back.
The game was close in the early stages, although neither goalkeeper was seriously tested, with the best chance falling to striker Shaun Miller, who failed to connect properly with a Chris Clements centre after some good work through midfield.
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Byron Moore - Continued goalscoring streak
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The Alex were in front ten minutes later however, and Blackburn were dealt a crippling blow as they were reduced to ten men.
With the Alex building up in midfield, Clements played a killer pass through the Rovers defence to set Moore clear on goal. Crewe's top scorer used his strength to hold of visiting defender Kevin Pezzani, but the Blackburn man was constantly pulling his shirt, eventually dragging him to the ground as he shaped to shoot.
The referee had no hesitation in awarding a spot kick, and in the process had no option in sending Pezzani off for a professional foul. Moore stepped up and drilled a shot low into the bottom corner of the goalkeeper's net to give the Alex the lead.
The rest of the half proved to be a scrappy display, and that carried over into the second period. Miller came close to scoring once more, as he fired over from a Moore flick on, whilst Blackburn keeper Bence Somodi made a couple of superb saves.
On 72 minutes James Bailey's slotted through ball found Farquharson, who used his strength to hold off his marker before drilling a shot which Somodi saved with his legs. The rebound came back to Farquharson, who laid it into the pass of Luke Murphy, whose effort was headed off the goaline by a visiting defender.
Somodi then made another stop with his legs from Farquharson in the dying minutes, whilst he also lifted an effort over the crossbar, but in stoppage time he ended the visitors resistance.
Blackburn swung a free kick into the Alex box, and when the Alex cleared Amari Morgan-Smith raced clear. As he bore down on goal he unselfishly looked up and laid a pass into the path of Farquharson, who finished perfectly with a measured shot across the keeper and into the bottom corner.
The Alex make the trip to Liverpool on Saturday in their next game.
Crewe: Craig Ellison; Ashley Westwood, Russell Courtney, Thomas Lappin, Luke Danville; Gareth Evans (Nick Farquharson), Luke Murphy, James Bailey, Chris Clements; Byron Moore, Shaun Miller (sub Amari Morgan-Smith).
Subs (Not Used): Nathan Bancroft, Ben McHugh, AJ Leitch-Smith
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