PROMOTION contenders Notts County had too much resolve and grit for Crewe as they ground out a 1-0 win at Gresty Road this afternoon, reports Gwyn Griffiths.

Mike Edwards headed home a free kick after the break to clinch victory for Notts, but the game ended in furore as Ashley Westwood and Luke Rodgers were red carded in stoppage time.

Steve Phillips's penalty save kept Crewe in contention after they'd more than matched Steve Cotterill's side in the first half.

The experienced loan keeper dived to his right to beat out the spot kick from the right boot of County's Ben Davies with regular penalty taker Lee Hughes serving out a ban.

Had Davies scored it would have been harsh on the Alex for they offered the greatest potency in front of goal in an absorbing first 45.

With Ashley Westwood fit again and Luke Murphy added to the midfield, Crewe gave as good as they got, often causing County problems with the pace of Clayton Donaldson and Joel Grant.

But there was something of a cynical edge with which the sprightly hosts were stopped in their tracks.

Referee Darren Sheldrake was an inconsistent figure in the centre of it all, missing a blatant pull on Grant as he threatened to break clear and then ignoring loud appeals for a penalty when Donaldson appeared to tumble under a hefty challenge from John Thompson on the stroke of half-time.

County's early threat was restricted to a snapshot driven wide by veteran Jamie Clapham and a near-post header Stephen Hunt failed to get clean contact to with the goal at his mercy.

Phillips was in excellent form and he came off his line to snaffle the ball off Neal Bishop's feet after the Notts midfielder had been worked clean through by Karl Hawley.

Crewe kept Kasper Schmeichel busy with Shaun Miller blasting an early chance at the high profile keeper's arms.

Murphy drove inches wide and young loanee Chris Stokes galloped into space to drive across the face of goal.

But the Bolton trainee appeared to be harshly judged when Ben Davies crashed on the far side of the box under his challenge.

The 34th-minute penalty was awarded by Sheldrake's assistant to Alex fury, but Phillips rescued the youngster with an excellent stop.

But he could do nothing about the shocking marking which left him exposed as County drew ahead six minutes after the restart.

Clapham's curling free kick from the right presented defender Edwards with a free header at the far post and he duly glanced it home.

Crewe suffered more disruption when James Bailey retired injured with Steve Schumacher on in his place.

Ricky Ravenhill came close to a second with a ferocious 20-yard drive missing the top corner as the screw was turned.

Stokes took the force of a body check, which earned County captain Thompson a 66th-minute booking and was soon making way for Matt Tootle.

Cotterill's side were far more impressive in the second-half and had a stranglehold on the game by the time Rodgers was introduced to inevitable displeasure from the home faithful.

Hunt, though, needed to clear Schumacher's goal-bound header over from a Westwood corner.

Rodgers should have made the three points safe in the last minute when he was found by Craig Westcarr on the edge of the six-yard box, but he tamely shot straight at Phillips.

The former Alex striker clashed with Westwood in added time. The Alex midfielder was guilty of over-reacting, but Rodgers clearly aimed a kick at the youngster too.

Hapless official Sheldrake needed to be guided again by his assistants after sending off Westwood, but punishing Rodgers with just a booking. After a long stoppage the recalcitrant Rodgers was finally heading for the tunnel when the red card was brandished amid ugly scenes.

The resulting Crewe free kick was glanced inches wide by Donaldson.

CREWE 0, NOTTS COUNTY 1 (Edwards 51)

Teams

Crewe: Phillips, Brayford, Stokes (Tootle, 69), O'Donnell, Mitchel-King, Murphy, Bailey (Schumacher, 56), Westwood, Grant, Miller, Donaldson.

Subs: Clements, Shelley, Worley, Gardner, Legzdins.

Notts County: Schmeichel, Edwards, Hunt, Thompson, Bishop, Clapham (Rodgers, 71), Ravenhill, Bishop, Davies, Hawley (Facey, 79), Westcarr.

Subs: Hamshaw, Canham, Fairclough, Akinbiyi, Hoult. oult

Referee: Mr D Sheldrake

Attendance: 5,003