Kitson makes Crewe pay penalty
Neal Kitson marked his Northampton debut with a last-gasp penalty save to earn Aidy Bothroyd's men a 1-1 draw at Crewe.
Adebayo Akinfenwa's second-half strike had cancelled out Luke Murphy's opener for the hosts, only for Alex to win a spot-kick deep into stoppage time. But Kitson pulled off a superb stop to deny Danny Shelley.
Alex hit the woodwork twice and were guilty of missing a series of opportunities as they blew the chance to further narrow the gap on the teams in the play-off places.
Nick Powell stung Kitson's gloves with a stunning 30-yard volley early on. AJay Leitch-Smith then dragged a shot wide before on-loan defender Blair Adams blocked three efforts on the Northampton goal.
But when Powell picked out Murphy with a lofted pass, the midfielder controlled the ball on his chest and volleyed home to give Crewe a 17th-minute lead.
Akinfenwa headed inches wide for the visitors before Steve Phillips parried John Johnson's low drive.
Powell cracked another long-range effort off the crossbar before Adam Dugdale saw a header hit the woodwork.
Northampton made Crewe pay for missing their chances when, in the 59th minute, Toni Brito Silva played in Akinfenwa and the striker rolled the ball past Phillips.
Kelvin Langmead almost won it for the Cobblers but his header landed just the wrong side of the post with Phillips at full stretch before Michael Jacobs fouled Powell in the box and Kitson denied Shelley from the spot.
Source: PA
Source: PA