DARIO Gradi felt substituting leading scorer Calvin Zola was decisive in Crewe's 1-1 draw at Torquay.

Zola, who had earlier replaced the injured Byron Moore, struggled to make a mark and the Alex relied on Clayton Donaldson's 85th-minute finish to save a point.

Shortly before Donaldson struck, Shaun Miller's late penalty miss appeared to have been costly.

Crewe had trailed from the 38th minute when on-loan striker Scott Rendell fired home.

But they proved more of a force in the final 20 minutes with Donaldson back in a central role.

The Alex boss pointed out: "The goal looked like it was coming and I was surprised the supporters didn't agree with me taking off Calvin (Zola). Perhaps I got that right as we had our best spell of the game then."