Tom Lowery’s goal four minutes from time saw already-relegated Crewe Alexandra to a 1-1 draw with the Blues at Gresty Road. Conor Chaplin’s goal just before the break had given Town a 1-0 half-time lead but the Blues were unable to find a second and Lowery’s fine late strike gave the Railwaymen a share of the points from an end-of-season dead rubber.
Town boss Kieran McKenna made four changes with Kane Vincent-Young, Joe Pigott, James Norwood and Dominic Thompson coming into the team, while a number of youngsters were included among the subs.
Wing-backs Wes Burns and Matt Penney missed out with knocks, while Pigott and Norwood came into the front three for Bersant Celina and Macauley Bonne, who dropped to the bench. Pigott was down the middle with Norwood behind him to his left and Chaplin to the right.
Keeper Nick Hayes, who rejoined the club in January, was in the 18 for the first time and is joined by midfielder Cameron Humphreys and forward Tawanda Chirewa, as well Elkan Baggott, who has been a regular in the squad in recent weeks.
Hayes, 23, has previously made one EFL Trophy appearance for Salford, while 18-year-old Humphreys has made one Carabao Cup start for the Blues plus two sub appearances, one in League One.
Chirewa, 18, has made one EFL Trophy sub appearance at Colchester in November 2019 when aged 16.
In windy conditions with patches of the pitch boggy due to overwatering ahead of kick-off, the Blues began on the front foot and created their first chance in the sixth minute.
Pigott cleverly turned into Chaplin’s path on the right of the box and the former Barnsley man crossed for Norwood at the near post but Billy Sass-Davies got his toe in to put it behind.
On 13, Tariq Umwakwe floated over a cross from the right towards Chris Long at the far post but Janoi Donacien headed it away.
Norwood was shown the game’s first yellow card a minute later for a late tackle on Luke Offord in the centre circle, although the Town striker appeared to make little if any contact.
Crewe came more into a game not played at the highest tempo, as might have been expected given it had nothing riding on it for either team, with the Blues having had sloppy moments when the ball was needlessly given away, however, with the home side looking little threat.
On 28, a poor clearance from Alex keeper David Richards fell to Tyreeq Bakinson, who quickly got it forward to Pigott in space outside the area but the former AFC Wimbledon man blazed over when he will feel he ought to have done better.
Three minutes later, Norwood tapped back to skipper Sam Morsy on the edge of the box and after working himself space, the Egyptian international struck a shot which deflected wide.
Vincent-Young was played in on the left of the box in the 32nd minute and cut the ball back but the danger was cleared. Moments later, Bakinson was booked for pulling back Ryan Alebiousu on the Crewe right.
Callum Ainley curled a shot straight at Christian Walton at one end, then at the other Bakinson played a ball forward for Norwood to chase. The striker reached it but was unable to put it past advancing keeper Richards, who blocked.
In the 37th minute, Offord got ahead of Norwood as the frontman sought to get on the end of a floated cross from the left, then for Crewe, Luke Murphy’s pass found Long in space on the left from where the forward shot into the empty seats in the stand behind the goal. It was an opportunity worthy of a better finish. Soon after, Thompson was booked for a foul on Uwakwe.
Bakinson hit a bouncing ball onto the front of the roof of the stand at the opposite end in the 42nd minute following Town’s sixth corner of the half.
As the half moved into one minute of added time, Long struck a shot on the turn which flew past Walton’s left post.
Moments before the whistle, Town took the lead. Luke Woolfenden played a ball over the top to the right, Vincent-Young used his pace to keep it in and cut it back towards the penalty spot for Chaplin, who shot across Richards - perhaps not catching it as cleanly as he might have done - and into the corner of the net, the forward’s 11th goal of the season and his second in two matches.
The Blues deserved their lead at the break having been the better side and having created most of the chances in a half which wasn’t always the most enthralling or played with the greatest intensity with the strong wind also having an impact.
Clear-cut opportunities had been rare but Vincent-Young had been a threat down the right throughout the half and did well to get the ball across to Chaplin, who once again showed how clinical he is when a chance falls to him inside the area.
Five minutes after the restart, Pigott nodded a Thompson cross from the left straight at Richards, Town having started the half the stronger.
Two minutes later, Chaplin found himself space 25 yards out before lashing a shot just over Richards’s cross-bar. Moments later, Crewe swapped Alebiosu for Oli Finney.
On 57, Town broke and Chaplin fed in Vincent-Young on the right of the box from where the former Colchester man hit a shot which was too close to Richards.
Almost immediately, Crewe would have levelled but for a brilliant Walton save. Long burst down the left past Chaplin and crossed for Mikael Mandron, whose header at the far post looked certain to be a goal until Walton somehow got across to his left to save it. Mandron’s rebound from a tight angle was hooked over.
As the game reached the hour mark, Tom Lowery was booked for a foul on Morsy on halfway, then the Railwaymen switched Murphy for Regan Griffiths.
Town weren’t too far away from a second when Chaplin sent a free-kick in from deep on the right to the far post from where Cameron Burgess knocked it across the box but too far in front of his team-mates.
Griffiths, who had only just come on and may well not have touched the ball, was yellow-carded for a foul on Pigott in the 65th minute.
The Blues made a double change on 70 with Celina and Idris El Mizouni replacing Pigott, who had made a lively start to the first half before drifting out of the game before having more impact again in the second, and Vincent-Young, who had shown glimpses of the player from his early days at the club.
El Mizouni took over at right wing-back, having been a full-back as an academy player, while Norwood moved into the number nine role.
On 73 Mandron was found in space in a promising area just inside the box but El Mizouni blocked his shot and his follow-up trundled well wide.
Two minutes later, following a long spell of Blues possession, Chaplin played in Norwood inside the area to the right but Richards stopped the former Tranmere frontman’s shot with his legs.
The game was an increasingly end-to-end affair with both sides having opportunities. On 78 Morsy struck a weak effort through to Richards, then four minutes later Long headed a cross from the right into the ground and to Walton. Zac Williams was injured in the incident and replaced by Bassala Sambou.
With four minutes left on the clock, the home side levelled. Woolfenden made a strong challenge on the right of the box but the ball ran out to Lowery 25 yards out from where the midfielder smashed a powerful shot which gave Walton no chance.
Crewe had had chances since the break with the Blues looking less solid at the back than has generally been the case.
Both sides went looking for a winner in five minutes of injury time, Bonne taking over from Chaplin for the final moments.
Seconds before the whistle, Sass-Davies flew into Celina’s shins just outside the area. The Kosovan’s free-kick struck the wall and Norwood was flagged offside after the on-loan Dijon man had nodded it back in.
A draw, Town’s eighth in their last 14 games, was probably a fair result on the balance of the second half.
While the Blues created chances, Crewe had had the better opportunities even prior to their well-taken goal with Walton’s save from Mandron as good as they come.
Once again Town were guilty of not killing off a game once they had secured a lead, something which manager McKenna is all too aware is something which will need to be rectified before next season.
The Blues, who have won one of their last seven, stay 11th with Charlton visiting Portman Road for the season’s final game next Saturday.
Crewe: Richards, Alebiosu (Finney 53), Offord, Long, Lowery, Ainley, Mandron, Murphy (c) (Griffiths 63), Sass-Davies, Williams (Sambou 85), Uwakwe. Unused: Jaaskelainen, O'Riordan, Tabiner, Kashket.
Town: Walton, Donacien, Woolfenden, Burgess, Vincent-Young (El Mizouni 70), Bakinson, Morsy (c), Thompson, Chaplin (Bonne 90), Norwood, Pigott (Celina 70). Unused: Hayes, Baggott, Humphreys, Chirewa. Referee: Simon Mather (Manchester). Att: 4,986 (Town: 1,280).