Clayton Donaldson gave Crewe Alexandra a dream start at Aldershot this afternoon. The striker latched onto a through ball by the recalled Calvin Zola to slot home past Jamie Young within the opening 60 seconds. Donaldson had three other good chances to give Crewe all three points but after Ben Harding had curled home a corner just minutes before the half-time interval, it took a gutsy display from the Alex to avoid defeat here.

Aldershot, who pressed for the winner that would have improved their chances of confirming a play-off place at the end of a gruelling campaign, nearly won it in stoppage time. Former Alex loanee Dean Morgan was rather unlucky to see his shot from the edge of the Crewe penalty area hit a post and bounce away to safety. It would have been incredibly harsh on Crewe if that final shot had gone in because Crewe were well worth their point.

Crewe Alexandra made two changes to the side that lost 3-0 to Bury on Tuesday evening. Returning to the starting line-up was striker Calvin Zola at the expense of Shaun Miller.As expected, Simon Walton was handed a start in the Alex midfield. The 22 year-old returned for the injured Steve Schumacher, who aggravated his groin in training on Thursday.

The match at the Recreation Ground kicked off in splendid sunshine in Aldershot. It took Crewe just 60 seconds to take the lead after the front three combined superbly to unlock the Shots defence. Joel Grant's first touch against his former club found Zola on the edge of the box and his instant reverse pass put Clayton Donaldson through on goal. The striker managed to get the ball out of his feet to get a shot off, and although goalkeeper Jamie Young got something on it, he couldn't prevent it bouncing over the line. Donaldson had followed his own shot in just in case. It was the perfect start for the Railwaymen.

The home side tried to respond from their early set-back but Marvin Morgan was crowded out in the Crewe penalty area, and Mat Mitchel-King was able to complete the clearance. Ten minutes in and Mitchel-King bravely took a shot Anthony Charles square in the face. He needed treatment from physio Rob Sharp and wasn't able to shake off some dizziness. Patrick Ada replaced him at the heart of the defence.

Joel Grant then had a powerful shot blocked on the edge of the box after an exciting run past a couple of Aldershot defenders. Likewise, at the other end, our former loanee Dean Morgan forced Steve Phillips into his first meaningful save of the afternoon. The Alex keeper got a strong hand to Morgan's low drive to turn it behind for a corner.

Substitute Ada then did brilliantly to deny Dean Morgan an equalizer with a wonderfully timed sliding tackle in front of Phillips. It was no wonder Ada got the congratulations from his team-mates for getting to Marvin Morgan's low cross first because his namesake would have had a simple tap-in.

Crewe were playing some neat football and Zola nearly reached a clipped in ball from full-back John Brayford. The powerful Marvin Morgan was always a handful though and Crewe had to defend a number of corners throughout the first half.

They had stood up to most of them well but would concede with just four minutes left of the half. Ben Harding swung in the cross to the near post and under severe pressure from Marlon Jackson, Steve Phillips couldn't keep it out at his near post. The goal was credited to Harding but Jackson may have applied the final touch as the Alex keeper ended up in the netting.It was a soft goal to concede but Harding deserved the credit for the delivery.

To make matters worse for the Alex they lost their second central defender of the afternoon when Harry Worley was forced off due an injury. With Crewe running out of defenders, it meant a change around with Brayford moving to centre-half and Westwood converting to right -back. Danny Shelley came on to play right midfield and Crewe wanted the half-time whistle to regroup.

In stoppage time though, Donaldson had a golden chance to restore our lead after the ball had broken loose after a challenge with Aaron Brown. Donaldson's pace got him there first but he lifted his shot over Jamie Young's crossbar.

Grant also had the ball in the net but his effort was ruled out for offside. Crewe had been caught offside on too many occasions in the first half.

Almost immediately, Aldershot's full-back Chris Blackburn forced Phillips' in a save at his near post after a forceful run down the Crewe left hand side.

Aldershot created the first real effort on goal in the after 52 minutes. The hard working Scott Donelly did superbly well to find space some 20 yards from goal, and after losing possession, fought hard to get it back before finding Dean Morgan on the edge of the Crew six-yard box. The former Alex striker spun quickly but couldn't keep his shot down.

Three minutes later, Crewe broke quickly and should have regained the lead. After collecting a free-kick from Donelly, Steve Phillips quickly released Joel Grant in space and his through ball was expertly picked up by Zola. The striker did everything right but the Aldershot goalkeeper Jamie Young stood up well to turn his shot behind for a corner. It was a swift counter-attack from the Alex that nearly paid dividends.

It was becoming end-to-end stuff with Ada doing well again to block a shot from Dean Morgan from just on the edge of the Crewe Alexandra penalty area.

Donaldson then broke the Aldershot offside trap just after the hour mark to collect a long ball from Simon Walton. The Shots defence stood in unison waiting for the assistant to raise his flag, but it didn't come. Donaldson took the ball down on his chest but wastefully volleyed over the bar.

A couple of minutes, Zola went close with a header after a fine delivery from emergency right-back Ashley Westwood. Zola's flick header just cleared the top of Young's bar as Crewe threatened to retake the lead.

Those two chances prompted a change from the Aldershot boss Kevin Dillon. He withdrew his goalscorer Harding and replaced him with Oliver Bozanic.

Ada was lucky to escape a lapse in his own concentration on 65 minutes. The defender had controlled a high ball close to the touchline, but then elected to try and take Dean Morgan on with a trick. He was caught out and left the Alex defence exposed. Morgan was looking for a team-mate in the area, but his low cross missed out everybody, and just cleared Phillip's left hand post. It was a let off.

Aldershot made another change with Jackson making way for Kirk Hudson.

A piece of wonderful skill from Joel Grant then created another chance for Donaldson. Grant's intelligent flick put Donaldson in behind the Aldershot defence but from an acute angle, the Alex striker tried to find a gap to slip it past Young instead of trying to pick out a team-mate inside the penalty area.

From another Donelly corner, Dave Winfield then saw his far post header tipped over by the agile Phillips. Under a lot of physical pressure, the Alex keeper did well again to punch a Donelly free-kick away from danger. Both sides continued to look for the all-important third goal of the afternoon.

The game was then stopped for a short spell after Donaldson was caught in the face by Aldershot defender Winfield. The incident happened off the ball and the Shots player was rightly booked.

The home side, with their play-off hopes hanging in the balance put Crewe under pressure. Brayford lead by example with a fantastic block on a shot from Morgan.

Grant, desperate to impress on his return to his former club then whistled a shot over the bar after some good build up play from the Railwaymen.

With 6 minutes left, Winfield recovered superbly to deny Donaldson a late winner, after young Shelley had broken the offside trap. He tried to roll the ball across to the Alex striker but Winfield somehow got back to complete the clearance.

With time running out, Zola joined Winfield in the referee's book after an aerial clash. In one last attempt to snatch the points, Aldershot introduced Danny Hylton for Donelly.

Bozanic was then cautioned after tripping Grant after he had lost possession to the Alex winger.

Then in stoppage time, Dean Morgan's 20 yard effort struck the Crewe post and bounced away to safety. It would have been harsh on the Alex who had worked hard to gain the point they needed to be absolute sure of playing in Coca-Cola League Two next season.