- Nevitt stunner saves a point
- Rowe and Demetriou on target
- Captain Offord sees red late on
Elliott Nevitt’s 98th-minute stunner salvaged a share of the spoils for 10-man Crewe Alexandra against Accrington Stanley.
The Railwaymen were the better side in the first 45 minutes and led through an Aaron Rowe strike and Mickey Demetriou’s seventh of the season.
The visitors pressed hard after the restart and when captain Luke Offord was sent off for a professional man, they battled back.
Ben Woods made it 2-2, adding to Jack Nolan’s first-half goal, and Josh Woods looked to have won it deep into injury time.
But Nevitt smashed an incredible angled strike into the top corner with virtually the last kick of the game to earn a 3-3 draw.
Crewe stay fifth in League Two and will now gear up for a huge home clash with second-placed Barrow on Friday.
Manager Lee Bell made two changes to the side that lost to Bristol Rovers in midweek. Fit-again Connor O’Riordan was returned to the heart of defence and Nevitt led the attack, with Zac Williams and Courtney Baker-Richardson dropping to the bench.
Stanley, who named ex-Alex man Kelvin Mellor amongst their subs, found themselves trailing 1-0 inside four minutes.
Conor Thomas and Joe White combined to find Rowe who took a touch a lashed a low drive beyond keeper Joe Walsh.
But just two minutes later it was 1-1. Stanley won the ball high up the pitch and Nolan tapped in at the far post after a good cross by Joey Pritchard.
As the minutes ticked on, White was instrumental as Crewe wrestled control but were unable to make a number of good positions pay.
That was until Rio Adebisi sped to the line and stood up a super cross and Demetriou rose and powered home with his head.
Ben Woods went close to levelling again but guided his effort off target, and sub Alex Henderson volleyed just wide before the break.
Stanley came closest in the scrappy opening stages of the second half, with a Lewis Billington block proving key.
Just after the hour, the Alex switched to 4-2-4, but the visitors continued to ask questions and Henderson saw a looping header come back off the bar.
On 80 minutes, Offord was the last man when he brought down a breaking Stanley player, and Ryan Cooney was immediately brought on for Shilow Tracey.
On 87 minutes a long-range Woods strike skipped off the surface and found the bottom corner to make it 2-2.
Baker-Richardson cleared off the line and Henderson hit the post with a header, as Accrington searched for a clincher.
A barnstorming run down the right by Cooney paved the way for White to go desperately close to grabbing an injury-time winner, but he blazed over from 15 yards.
In the final minute of the seven that had been added, keeper Harvey Davies could only parry another Ben Woods strike and Josh Woods thought he had won it when he tucked home the rebound.
But Nevitt’s stunning strike in the dying seconds rescued a point for The Railwaymen.
Crewe (3-4-3): Davies; O’Riordan, Offord, Demetriou; Billington (Baker-Richardson, 62), Thomas, White, Adebisi; Rowe, Nevitt, Tracey (Cooney, 81).
Subs not used: Booth, Cooney, Williams, Kempster-Down, Agius, Robinson.
Booked: Tracey, Thomas, Nevitt
Sent off: Offord.
Accrington (4-2-3-1): Walsh; Lowe, Hills, Gubbins, Shipley; Conneely (Trickett, 60), Woods; Nolan, Pritchard (Pickles, 69), Lonelo (Henderson, 28); Woods.
Subs not used: McIntyre, Mellor, Martin, O’Brien.
Booked: Hills, Martin.
Referee: P Howard.
Attendance: 4,012 (162).