Alex Morris' Crewe Alexandra Under 23s suffered disappointment at Gresty Road losing out 1-0 to an energetic Crystal Palace side.
A strong looking Alex side looked lethargic, with many of the squad not returning home from the first team game at Crawley the night before until the early hours of the morning.
Kian Flanagan struck the only goal of the game for Palace in the 69th minute on a swift counter-attack & overall Richard Shaw's side deserved the victory.
Oli Finney had two good chances in the first half but couldn't convert Owen Dale's low cross or a more difficult effort that flew into the side-netting.
The Alex's best opening in the second half came just before the Palace goal, James Jones having several bites of the cherry with all his shots being blocked in close quarters with team-mates awaiting a pass.
The result was disappointing for Crewe who opened the season with an impressive 2-0 victory at QPR last week, but Morris will now prepare a side to go away to Coventry City on Monday (26 August).
Crewe: Richards, Johnson, Adebisi, Mbulu, Sass-Davies, Jones (Griffiths, 70), Lundstram, Finney (Heath, 62), Ainley (Offord, 70), Dale, Reilly