- Gibbons on the scoresheet
- Unbeaten home record continues
- Crewe hit 20 points
Crewe extended their unbeaten home record at Crewe Alexandra In The Community this weekend with a well-contested 1-1 draw with Curzon Ashton.
A first half Katie Gibbons strike looked to be enough for all three points but a swift counter attack from Curzon Ashton was brillianlty finished to snatch a point in the 87th minute.
Matt Fisher made three changes to the starting XI that beat Macclesfield in the cup last weekend with Amanda Fallon, Caitlin Bradbury and Megan Ragdale replacing Emily Cole, Emma Heath and Ellie Jones. The return of Laura Garner on the Crewe bench was also a welcome boost.
The Alex quickly got straight into their groove and carved out a great opportunity for Fallon on 15 minutes, but the club's number nine could only smash her effort straight at the keeper.
Shortly after the home side opened the scoring. Some good work on the right-hand side resulted in Fallon racing clear, her low cross missed Leah Collins, but the ball found its way to Gibbons, who struck first-time into the roof of the net.
Curzon came back at Crewe trying to draw level, but alot of their efforts came from distance, which were dealt with by Hannah Holloway.
The hosts enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half, but Curzon definitely came out stronger for the second.
The home side needed Holloway to keep them in front when Bailey raced clear, but a fantastic save from Holloway thwarted Curzon. Crewe replaced Collins with Cole who settled straight in on the left and then Bradbury was replaced with Jones.
Fisher's side should have extended their lead late on when the Curzon high line was breached but Fallon couldn't find the net. A free-kick landed into a crowded penalty area fell to Crewe's forward, but she couldn't convert from close-range.
As the game entered the final stages, Curzon ramped up the pressure and it paid off when a superb finish from the edge of the area in the 87th minute got the away side back on level terms.
Speaking in the aftermath of the game, Matt Fisher said: "We are happy with our performance against a very tough opponent. We felt like we created enough chances to win the game, but we have to understand that in tough games against top opponents we have to take what few chances we create."
"I don't think we could of worked much harder for the points and sometimes you have to say it's just a strong point and move on."