Crewe, always the more ambitious, shaped to overwhelm Bristol Rovers in the first-half, but this first away point was finally down to a desperate goal-line clearance by Jim Bailey.
A header from Craig Hinton looked certain to go in with Crewe's keeper protecting his other post, but Bailey somehow managed to hack it away.
There was more to the climax than in anything that had gone before, in a game that got off to a troubled start from the first tackle.
It saw Calvin Zola, the young Crewe forward stretchered off with a leg injury. Rovers centre-back Steve Elliott, who made the tackle followed minutes later, having failed to run off his knock.
Before half-time Rovers had lost right-back Ryan Green with a hamstring problem and referee Richard Beeby was also taken ill.
Rovers rather anxiously opted to play without wingers and packed their midfield, but it didn't save them from a first-half drubbing.
Crewe should have gone ahead when Billy Jones put over a great cross from the left. Anthony Elding, who had replaced Zola, missed his header and two other Crewe men failed to tuck away the chance at the far post.
Later, Steve Phillips, in goal, made two tremendous saves from Elding and saw a long shot by Bailey bounce off his chest.
Rovers found a burst of angry football when Darryl Duffy was pulled off the ball by Danny O'Donnell. The match official saw nothing wrong and all Rovers got from him was a warning for their agitated coach, Paul Trollope.
Trollope survived to change the style for the second half injecting more enterprise and urgency into his side.