Crewe's promotion charge continued but it required a hard working performance and plenty of patience for them to overcome injury-ravaged Blackpool.
It was Crewe's third victory over the Seasiders this season and, although they controlled possession for much of the game, it took them almost 70 minutes to break the deadlock and they always looked vulnerable on the break.
Dario Gradi's side could have been ahead within two minutes when Dave Walton's header was well saved by Phil Barnes and a curling shot by Kenny Lunt from the edge of the area when just wide.
But the best of the opening chances came to Blackpool when Crewe keeper Clayton Ince mishandled a Martin Bullock cross which fell to the Scott Taylor who headed over from close range.
Shortly before the break, Crewe came closest to opening the scoring when a long range shot from the lively Lunt rattled the Blackpool cross bar and rebounded to safety.
Both sides were forced into early reorganisations, with Danny Coid joining Blackpool's lengthy injury list while Crewe's leading scorer Rob Hulse replaced defender Efe Sodje.
The pattern of Crewe's dominance continued after the break with a Neil Sorvel effort on 53 minutes rattling the bar.
The visitors patience finally paid off with just over 20 minutes left on the clock when the always useful Hulse held the ball up in the area for Lunt to sneak a shot past Phil Barnes to send the 2,300 travelling Crewe fans into raptures.
Crewe continued to hold onto the ball, with a deflected shot from striker Paul Robinson the closest Blackpool came to getting back on level terms.
Crewe boss Dario Gradi said after the game: "It was a hard game but we had more chances. At one stage it didn't look like our luck was in.
"We kept our cool. I spend all week keeping players calm because calm players play calm football."Blackpool manager Steve McMahon said: "It was a good performance in the circumstances, I don't make excuses. We've had a nightmare with injuries."