- Spoils are shared at Mornflake Stadium
- Eleventh clean sheet of season for Alex
- Crewe 17th in League Two at full-time
Crewe Alexandra were forced to settle for a point when AFC Wimbledon visited on Saturday.
The Railwaymen went closest in a fiercely-contested game, with Bassala Sambou striking a post early in the second half.
But neither side could find the breakthrough, and it finished as the second draw between the sides this season.
Now Lee Bell’s side will look forward to a full week of training before next week’s trip to Mansfield Town.
Bell made on enforced change to his side, after Charlie Colkett (hamstring) failed to prove his fitness.
Connor O’Riordan, recalled from his loan at Raith Rovers, was called into the heart of defence and Conor Thomas pushed forward into midfield.
Wimbledon, who played with five at the back, had the first effort on goal but Arthur Okonkwo was equal to Ethan Chislett’s close-range stab.
But it was an attritional first half, with goalmouth events few and far between.
The Alex arguably edged it, but neither side could produce the required quality to make a difference in the final third.
The best bit of play arrived in the 41st minute, when Crewe worked the ball nicely from left to right and Dan Agyei sold his man a clever dummy in the box.
But when the striker pulled the trigger, Dons skipper Alex Pearce made a flying block to ensure the half finished 0-0.
Immediately after the restart, Tariq Uwakwe and Rio Adebisi combined nicely down the left and Sambou was unfortunate to see the ball come back off the post after he slid to meet it.
Uwakwe swept a shot over the bar shortly afterwards, and keeper Nikola Tzanev did well to claim a Regan Griffiths cross as the Alex asked questions.
On 65 minutes Chislett drove into the box with a couple of handy deflections and curled one towards the far corner, only for it to drop just wide.
Chislett’s direct free-kick flicked off the Alex wall for a corner on 69 minutes, but it came to nothing.
Brook collected a Sambou knock-down and forced a save from Tzanev as the clock ticked down.
In injury-time a lovely move down the left saw Callum Ainley set Agyei racing away, and his swirling cross was met by Sambou, but he couldn’t quite stretchtarget. Crewe to get his header on target.
Crewe (4-2-3-1): Okonkwo; Adebisi, McDonald, O’Riordan, Mellor; Thomas, Uwakwe (Ainley 76); Brook (Tabiner 88), Griffiths; Agyei; Sambou.
Subs not used: Richards, O Finney, Evans, Holicek, Sass-Davies.
Booked: Brook
AFC Wimbledon (5-4-1): Tzanev; Biler, Pearce, Kalambayi, Brown; Curie; Marsh, Chislett, Pell, Senior (Young-Coombes 66); Davison (Robinson 85).
Subs not used: Broome, Gunter, Bendle, Pearson, Osew.
Booked: Brown, Marsh.
Referee: C Pollard
Attendance: 4,379 (206)