Crewe End Woeful Run With Shots Draw

Crewe secured League Two safety with a point at Aldershot this afternoon thanks to an early goal from Clayton Donaldson.

But there will be no partying in the streets in Crewe tonight, just red faces with the thought that we've fallen (back) to this level in such a short space of time.

Whilst only goal difference could have sent us down ahead of Grimsby going into todays game, our form of 4 straight defeats meant nothing could yet be taken for granted.

Desperate to find a winning formula, Dario tinkered once more. Calvin Zola returned ahead of Shaun Miller up front, with Walton replaced the injured Schumacher in a forced change.

It all seemed to pay off early on, less than a minute into the game and Donaldson had cleared the Aldershot defence to net his 12th goal of the campaign.

Unlikely to hold on to a 1-0 lead for 89 minutes, it was inevitable when Aldershot equalised minutes before half time. As pressure mounted on the Alex defence, Shots' Ben Harding finally found the back of the net.

Both sides had chances to win it in the second half but neither will complain about a point, with Aldershot remaining in the play-off places ahead of Port Vale.

Dario can be all the more pleased having seen the point won with a makeshift defence for much of the game. Both Mat Mitchel King and Harry Worley were first half casualties for the Alex leaving a back four made up of midfielder Ashley Westwood at right back, full back John Brayford at centre back with outcast Patrick Ada and Matt Tootle the sole survivor at left back.

The result however is unlikely to appease fans who will still want change at management level ahead of the new season. A draw against Aldershot being classed as a successful is a good indicator of how the mighty have fallen.

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