A LAST-MINUTE Mark Ellis own denied Crewe a vital victory in their bid to escape the League One relegation zone.

The Alex seemed on course for all three points after Chuks Aneke's eighth goal in his last 10 appearances put them ahead at the Banks' Stadium.

And they defended heroically to preserve that lead, but Ellis diverted a cross into his own net to hand Walsall a share of the spoils.

However, third-from-bottom Crewe are now in the drop zone on goal difference only – and boss Steve Davis will take great heart from the performance of his side.

Dean Smith today claimed Walsall’s play-off dream remains alive after last night’s 1-1 draw with Crewe.

Visiting keeper Ben Garratt was not forced into a save by a home player until he brilliantly tipped Milan Lalkovic’s stoppage-time drive on to the bar, after the late leveller sparked a frenetic finish.

Honest Smith described his side’s attacking performance against League One’s worst defence as “average”.

“We have stopped the rot of losing games but it was a game we wanted to go and win. But I told everyone it was going to be a tough game.

“Crewe have been fighting for their lives and have been in the bottom four. Just looking at the results we are one point closer to the play-offs but we need to be better in the final third. We know that.”

AFTER watching his Crewe Alex side held to a 1-1 draw at Walsall on Tuesday manager Steve Davis said: "We should have won the game.

"The lads did everything but ran out of legs towards the end. The back four were terrific and deserved a clean sheet. It was a shame they didn't get it.

"Sometimes that's how it goes, but we can't concede that's going to be the case. It was only the last 10 minutes they gave us any problems, but we couldn't keep possession.

"But we have picked a point up and we now have three out of four games at home. The lads are frustrated and extremely disappointed, especially for the fans who came here in numbers.”