- Railwaymen held by League One side
- Baker-Richardson and Long on the mark
- Good runout for 22 squad members
Crewe Alexandra shared a 2-2 draw with Burton Albion in the third friendly of the summer.
Christopher Long and Courtney Baker-Richardson were on target for The Railwaymen, while Cole Stockton and Ryan Sweeney netted for the League One outfit.
Manager Lee Bell gave game-time to 22 players in the first home warm-up match, which was played in torrential rain at times.
It was another good workout which maintained Crewe’s unbeaten record in friendlies so far, as the squad now looks ahead to Tuesday’s trip to Vauxhall Motors.
Bell awarded Lewis Billington a start in the heart of the Crewe defence due to ankle knocks to Luke Offord and Zac Williams.
New signings Jack Powell, Shillow Tracey and Harvey Davies were given an opportunity to impress home fans.
After a quiet spell in the first 10 minutes, Crewe broke the deadlock from the penalty-spot.
Tracey beat keeper Jamal Blackman to Powell’s inventive through ball and was felled. Long blasted home from the penalty spot with confidence despite the keeper’s faint touch.
However, the visitors were immediate in their response thanks to an impressive long-range effort from Stockton. His strike skipped off the turf and beat Davies - the first time Crewe have conceded this summer.
Ex-Crewe man John Brayford almost put one in the back of his own net, but he turned Long’s daring cross inches wide of his own goal.
Burton claimed the lead on the brink of half-time when Brayford shrugged Tracey aside and crossed for Sam Hughes who nodded back for Sweeney to put past the keeper.
The Railwaymen equalised on the 61st minute through splendid link-up play. Baker-Richardson was left with a simple finish from a super Joel Tabiner cross after a determined team effort to seize the ball.
As the match entered the 70th minute, Bell introduced the remainder of his substitutions, meaning that 10 out of the 11 Alex players were homegrown talent.
Burton’s efforts continued with a looping header from Brayford that clipped the bar in the 71st minute.
Rekeem Harper’s low effort challenged Tom Booth who was forced to dive despite a deflection from a Burton Albion boot. The ball skidded out for a goal-kick in the 82nd minute.
The referee blew for full-time to draw an end to a competitive 90 minutes.
Crewe (4-3-3): Davies (Booth 70’); Finney (Cooney 25’), Adebisi (Evans 66’), O’Riordan (Sass-Davies 66’), Billington (Trailist A 66’); Colkett (Lunt 55’), Powell (Griffiths 66’), Tabiner (Kempster-Down 66’); Long (Holicek 52’), Baker-Richardson (Woodcock 66’), Tracey (Trailist B 66’).
Subs not used: None.
Booked: None.
Burton (3-5-2): Blackman; Brayford, Seddon, Sweeney (Trailist B 46’), Hughes; Powell, Harper, Helm, Kamwa; Stockton, Bennett (Chauke 63’).
Subs not used: Crocombe, Chauke, Lakin, Carayol, Gilligan, Delap, Oakes.
Booked: None.
Referee: Oliver Langford.
Attendance: 1,460 (171).