BACK FROM THE BRINK

UNBELIEVABLE! Dead and buried with five minutes left, Crewe staged a sensational comeback to secure potentially their biggest point of the season.

Shaun Smith orchestrated and then delivered the knockout blow to QPR in a bad-tempered clash at the Alexandra Stadium on Tuesday night.

It's difficult to understand the hole Crewe had dug for themselves after a solid start.

Using acres of space, Dario Gradi's men threatened an early advantage and almost got it on 6 minutes.

David Wright burst down the right flank into the box but instead of shooting, squared the ball, creating a lengthy goalmouth scramble that ended without reward.

It was a real let-off and despite continued pressure, Rangers made them pay as Crouch latched on to a defensive mistake and applied an easy finish after 15 minutes.

Stunned, Crewe slipped down into second gear and although two wicked curling Shaun Smith free-kicks provided opportunities, QPR extended their lead on 34 minutes.

So solid of late, surprisingly another defensive lapse cost the Alex dear as a mix-up between Foster and Bankole let Thompson in for a tap-in.

Tempers began to fray as the interval approached, with both Crouch and Macauley booked for an incident that eventually saw Crewe's skipper replaced by Sodje.

A dire start to the second-half was sparked into life as Crouch took a controversial early bath, alleged to have blocked Wright's free-kick unsportingly on 55 minutes.

With Thompson off the pitch due to a facial injury, Crewe couldn't make the most of a two man advantage, soon squared by a substitution and Colin Little's red card.

Karl Ready was lucky to have escaped red for numerous elbows against Rob Hulse before the referee, consulted by his assistant, dismissed Little on 60 minutes for an unseen incident.

Dean Ashton replaced the lacklustre Rodney Jack as QPR dominated the latter stages but the wonderkid did the business on 85 minutes.

Smith picked him out down the middle with a classy ball that Ashton chipped onto the fingertips of Harper, hitting the underside of the bar and then the back of the net.

Spurred on, Crewe launched a vigorous assault and found an unlikely leveller in the final minute as justice was served on Ready.

The centre-half hacked down Ashton clean through on goal and received his marching orders with a free-kick given just outside the box.

Having threatened all night, Shaun Smith stepped up and fired home a real stunner sending Alex fans into hysteria.

Ashton almost grabbed a winner in injury time as Crewe snatched an all important draw that may have condemned QPR and put Crewe within four points of that safety target.

Crewe: Bankole, Wright, Smith, Macauley (Sodje 44), Foster, Lunt, Sorvel (Navarro 83), Street, Little, Jack (Ashton 73), Hulse. Subs not used: Kearton, Gannon. Attendance: 6,354.