Town came from two goals down at half-time to draw 2-2 at Crewe. Poor defending allowed Dean Ashton to score twice before the break, while the Blues missed several good chances. It was all Town in the second period and Richard Naylor and Darren Bent netted the goals which gained the Blues a point.

As expected, there were no changes to the Town line-up which beat Brighton 1-0 last weekend.

The Blues came closest to a goal in the early stages, a Tommy Miller ball ran agonisingly across the six-yard box, striking Stephen Foster on the way out for a corner.

Darren Bent ought to have put Town ahead in the 11th minute when put through by Kuqi. The England U21 slid the ball beyond the advancing Clayton Ince but wide of the post.

Ince and Kuqi clashed soon after when going for a 50/50 ball. Ince won the race but spent several minutes requiring treatment to his ribs for his trouble.

It was Kuqi's turn to miss a good chance in the 15th minute, seizing on the ball on the edge of the area after a mix-up between Chris McCready and Adie Moses. But, like Bent, the Finn managed to beat the keeper but sent the ball wide.

Despite Town's possession and chances, Crewe went in front in the 19th minute. Dean Ashton was found in space on the left by David Vaughan and hit a shot from a tight angle which appeared to go through Kelvin Davis at his near post.

It was a bad goal to concede from Davis's perspective, although Ashton and Vaughan were both given far too much time and space.

Two minutes later, a rattled Town could have been two goals behind when Steve Jones got between Davis and Naylor but stabbed the ball wide.

But a second Crewe goal was only a minute away. Ashton was again found in space on the left, this time by Lunt, and was given time and space to hit a shot across Davis and into the net.

Town went after the goal which would get them back in the game, and on 32 a Darren Bent's flick allowed Kevin Horlock, playing a more than usually advanced role, to hit a strike over the bar.

A minute later, the Blues missed yet another clear-cut chance. Diallo crossed from the right, Bent got his head to the ball and Tommy Miller ought to have stroked the ball into the net but mishit his effort and the ball was cleared off the line.

Ashton was looking for his hat-trick and hit a 20-yard shot which was little trouble for Davis. The Town stopper went some way to atoning for his earlier error when he tipped Kenny Lunt's goal-bound freekick over the bar. On 42 Jason De Vos was yellow carded for a foul on a marauding Steve Jones.

Keeper Davis had another tricky moment late on when he dropped a cross but the danger was cleared, while at the other end Darren Bent twice shot weakly to Ince.

Town didn't really deserve to go in two down at the break and could well have scored three goals themselves. However, the Blues' narrow midfield was putting pressure on the full-backs with the clinical Ashton making the most of Diallo's isolation on both goals.

Diallo had in turn failed to make the most of the space in front of him when Town were coming forward and it was little surprise that the Guinean international was replaced at the break, Matt Richards coming on at left-back and Fabian Wilnis switching to the right.

Within a minute of the restart, Jim Magilton hit a 20-yard effort not far wide of Ince's post.

The Crewe keeper almost made an almightly howler in the 48th minute when he allowed a Kelvin Davis kick to go over his head. Fortunately he managed to get back and claim the ball and prevent his embarrassment. Soon after, he parried Westlake's powerful shot, the rebound falling kindly for the home side.

Town were dominating but Ashton reminded the Blues of his threat with a header over the bar from a freekick. For the Blues, Darren Bent hit a Kuqi knockdown over the bar.

Bent again ought to have got a goal back for the Blues in the 54th minute. Westlake and Kuqi combined well on the left, the midfielder playing the ball across the box to the unmarked Bent who failed to beat Ince with two efforts.

From the resultant corner Town finally did score. Horlock's kick found Naylor, who took a touch before lashing the ball home.

The goal gave the already dominant Blues new impetus and they continued to swarm forward. On 58 Horlock looped the ball into the box and Bent hooked it into the net to put the Blues back on terms, before performing what appeared to be a celebratory folkdance with Matt Richards.

Town went looking for a winner, Kuqi volleying over, Westlake having a shot saved and Horlock having a flick at a Westlake shot cleared off the line.

Kuqi headed a Westlake cross straight to Ince, before Vaughan did very well to block a Bent cross from the right with a host of Town players waiting to stab the ball into the net. Shortly afterwards, Richards hit a powerful first-time shot just wide.

Crewe had shown little other than a couple of Steve Jones breaks, ably dealt with by Naylor, but on 85 Ashton was again found in space on the Crewe left, Fabian Wilnis doing well to get across to tackle.

Magilton hit 25-yard strikes either side of Ince's goal and then picked up a yellow card from replacement referee Ray Olivier after disputing a very poor call from a linesman. As injury time ran out, Westlake turned a De Vos flick to Ince.

Town will probably be disappointed with a point despite going two goals behind. Rarely will they dominate a half like they did the pulsating second period and even in the first the Blues could easily have scored three goals.

Dean Ashton was typically lethal with his finishing unlike his Town counterparts, Bent in particular missing a number of good chances.

At the back, Town's narrowness in midfield — which often left them without a discernable right midfielder in the first half — left the full-backs exposed, something which Dario Gradi clearly noted when he pushed Ashton wide.

Keeper Kelvin Davis will have been unhappy at the first goal and a juggling act when catching a cross but made an excellent save from Kenny Lunt's freekick, something he was unable to do in last year's corresponding fixture when an almost identical set-piece from the midfielder won three points for the home side.

Results elsewhere largely went in favour of the Blues and, with Wigan in action on Sunday, Town remain top of the table.

Town: Davis, Diallo (Richards 46), Wilnis, De Vos, Naylor, Magilton, Miller, Horlock, Westlake, Bent, Kuqi. Unused: Supple, Couñago, Collins, Bowditch.

Photo: Action Images

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