Simon Walton capped a thrilling comeback as Crewe handed Northampton their first away defeat since November.
The hosts went ahead when John Johnson tripped Joel Grant on the edge of the box and Ashley Westwood curled a low free-kick into the bottom corner.
Ryan Gilligan fired his team level and the visitors took the lead through Adebayo Akinfenwa's side-footed finish.
But Westwood levelled with a low strike and Crewe sealed the turnaround when Walton unleashed a 30-yard half-volley.
Northampton looked to have scored a late equaliser when a Gilligan header appeared to have crossed the line before being cleared by a defender, but referee Peter Quinn waved play on.
Crewe manager Dario Gradi told BBC Radio Stoke:
"It was a terrific victory which you couldn't see coming at one stage, because I thought they took control of the first half".
"I don't know how many players they had booked but they gave a lot of fouls away, so it was terrific really that we should score from one of them".
"I think Westwood and Bailey are really good players I wouldn't particularly split them except that I think Westwood's more likely to score a goal than James is".
The Northampton Town manager Ian Sampson tells BBC Radio Northampton:
"I'm really disappointed not to come away with something out of the game.
"I thought we dominated for long periods, but we didn't have the professionalism to see the game out when we went to 2-1.
"We've got experienced players out there, we needed to be more compact and they were always threat on the break."
Live text and stats
Saturday, 20 February 2010
League Two
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
Crewe
3-2
Northampton
FT
(HT 1-1)
Westwood 16
Westwood 66
Walton 69
Gilligan 45+1
Akinfenwa 57
Crewe
31 Phillips
02 Brayford
05 O'Donnell
19 Westwood
27 Worley
11 Grant
16 Bailey
18 Murphy (Tootle 61)
28 Walton yellow card
14 Moore
15 Miller yellow card (Donaldson 85)
Substitutes
13 Legzdins,
06 Ada,
20 Shelley,
23 Tootle,
30 Martin,
34 Gardner,
08 Donaldson
Northampton
27 Lumley
03 Johnson
05 Hinton yellow card
06 Beckwith yellow card
23 Gilbert yellow card
04 Guttridge yellow card
08 Osman (Harris 83)
12 Gilligan yellow card
14 Davis (Dyer 67)
10 Akinfenwa
17 Mckay (Herbert 74)
Substitutes
13 Walker,
02 Rodgers,
19 Curtis,
15 Dyer,
22 Herbert,
24 Harris,
28 O'Flynn
Ref: QuinnAtt: 4,036
CREWE
NORTHAMPTON
Possession
Crewe41%
Northampton59%
Attempts on target
Crewe7
Northampton9
Attempts off target
Crewe4
Northampton8
Corners
Crewe3
Northampton9
Fouls
Crewe8
Northampton14
Final Result
Full Time
90:00+4:09 The final whistle goes and the game is over.
90:00+3:44 Header from deep inside the penalty area by Alex Dyer goes harmlessly over the crossbar.
90:00+2:49 Booking Luke Guttridge is shown a yellow card for dissent.
90:00+2:14 Clayton Donaldson takes a shot. Save made by Billy Lumley.
88:08 Corner taken right-footed by Luke Guttridge from the left by-line, Peter Gilbert takes a shot. Save by Steve Phillips.
84:44 Substitution Clayton Donaldson is brought on as a substitute for Shaun Miller.
84:44 John Johnson challenges Joel Grant unfairly and gives away a free kick. Matt Tootle takes the direct free kick.
83:12 Byron Moore takes a shot. Save by Billy Lumley. Shot by Ashley Westwood from deep inside the six-yard box clear the bar.
82:17 Substitution (Northampton) makes a substitution, with Seb Harris coming on for Abdul Osman.
81:29 Corner taken right-footed by Ashley Westwood, clearance made by Craig Hinton.
80:46 John Johnson challenges Joel Grant unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Ashley Westwood.
79:18 Booking Caution for Ryan Gilligan.
79:01 Shot from just outside the area by Shaun Miller misses to the left of the target.
78:01 Luke Guttridge takes a outswinging corner.
77:14 Shaun Miller is caught offside. Billy Lumley restarts play with the free kick.
75:53 Foul by Matt Tootle on Abdul Osman, free kick awarded. Billy Lumley takes the free kick.
73:47 Substitution Courtney Herbert is brought on as a substitute for Billy Mckay.
72:08 Ashley Westwood restarts play with the free kick.
72:08 Booking Dean Beckwith is given a yellow card.
71:55 Dean Beckwith gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Shaun Miller.
70:12 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Abdul Osman by Simon Walton. Luke Guttridge produces a shot on goal direct from
the free kick. Dean Beckwith takes a shot. Save by Steve Phillips. Outswinging corner taken by Luke Guttridge from the left
by-line. Unfair challenge on James Bailey by Adebayo Akinfenwa results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Steve Phillips.
69:40 Shaun Miller is caught offside. Indirect free kick taken by Billy Lumley.
68:23 GOAL - Simon Walton:Crewe 3 - 2 Northampton Simon Walton fires in a goal from outside the area to the bottom left corner of the goal. Crewe 3-2 Northampton.
66:53 Substitution Liam Davis goes off and Alex Dyer comes on.
65:02 Assist by Byron Moore.
65:02 GOAL - Ashley Westwood:Crewe 2 - 2 Northampton Ashley Westwood finds the net with a goal from long range to the bottom left corner of the goal. Crewe 2-2 Northampton.
64:01 Free kick crossed right-footed by Ashley Westwood, Peter Gilbert makes a clearance.
64:01 Booking Booking for Peter Gilbert.
63:46 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on John Brayford by Peter Gilbert.
60:46 Free kick taken by Billy Lumley.
60:46 Substitution Luke Murphy leaves the field to be replaced by Matt Tootle.
60:46 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Craig Hinton by Byron Moore.
58:00 Inswinging corner taken by Liam Davis.
57:05 Byron Moore produces a right-footed shot from just outside the box that misses to the right of the target.
56:01 GOAL - Adebayo Akinfenwa:Crewe 1 - 2 Northampton Adebayo Akinfenwa fires in a goal from just outside the box to the bottom right corner of the goal. Crewe 1-2 Northampton.
54:32 Shot from outside the penalty box by Adebayo Akinfenwa goes wide right of the goal.
54:08 Unfair challenge on Luke Guttridge by Joel Grant results in a free kick. Billy Lumley takes the direct free kick.
52:59 Direct free kick taken by Peter Gilbert.
52:59 Booking Booking for Simon Walton for unsporting behaviour.
52:42 Free kick awarded for a foul by Simon Walton on Abdul Osman.
51:47 Liam Davis takes a shot. Save by Steve Phillips.
49:50 Joel Grant concedes a free kick for a foul on John Johnson. Craig Hinton restarts play with the free kick.
45:01 The game restarts for the second half.
Half Time
45:00+2:36 It is the end of the first-half.
45:00+0:54 GOAL - Ryan Gilligan:Crewe 1 - 1 Northampton A goal is scored by Ryan Gilligan from outside the penalty area to the bottom left corner of the goal. Crewe 1-1 Northampton.
44:32 Free kick awarded for a foul by Luke Murphy on Ryan Gilligan. Luke Guttridge has an effort direct from the free kick.
44:07 Ryan Gilligan concedes a free kick for a foul on James Bailey. James Bailey restarts play with the free kick.
43:30 Luke Guttridge has an effort at goal from just outside the box which goes wide of the left-hand post.
41:40 Strike comes in from Ashley Westwood from the free kick, save by Billy Lumley.
41:40 Booking Caution for Craig Hinton.
41:27 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Ashley Westwood by Craig Hinton.
40:20 Foul by Luke Guttridge on Ashley Westwood, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Steve Phillips.
38:30 Ryan Gilligan takes a shot. Luke Guttridge takes the inswinging corner, Adebayo Akinfenwa produces a header from deep inside
the six-yard box that clears the bar.
36:36 Abdul Osman concedes a free kick for a foul on Joel Grant. Free kick crossed by Ashley Westwood, comfortable save by Billy
Lumley.
35:19 Corner taken right-footed by Luke Guttridge from the left by-line, clearance by John Brayford.
33:05 Handball decision goes against Shaun Miller. Free kick taken by Billy Lumley.
31:43 Liam Davis takes a shot. Save by Steve Phillips.
30:28 Inswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Liam Davis, save made by Steve Phillips. Inswinging corner taken from the
left by-line by Liam Davis.
28:51 Billy Mckay takes a shot. Save by Steve Phillips.
24:24 Corner taken by Liam Davis, John Johnson takes a shot. James Bailey gets a block in.
22:58 Unfair challenge on John Brayford by Liam Davis results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Steve Phillips.
21:41 Shot from inside the area by Byron Moore clears the bar.
20:05 Liam Davis takes a shot from 18 yards. Save by Steve Phillips.
18:17 Direct free kick taken by Billy Lumley.
18:17 Booking Booking for Shaun Miller.
18:09 Dean Beckwith fouled by Shaun Miller, the ref awards a free kick.
16:43 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Harry Worley by Adebayo Akinfenwa. Steve Phillips restarts play with the free
kick.
15:16 GOAL - Ashley Westwood:Crewe 1 - 0 Northampton Ashley Westwood scores a goal direct from the free kick from just outside the area to the bottom right corner of the goal.
Crewe 1-0 Northampton.
14:28 Joel Grant fouled by John Johnson, the ref awards a free kick.
11:36 Unfair challenge on Shaun Miller by Dean Beckwith results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Ashley Westwood.
7:49 Shaun Miller takes a shot. Save made by Billy Lumley.
7:13 Billy Mckay has shot on goal from just outside the penalty box which goes wide of the right-hand upright.
6:27 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on John Brayford by Liam Davis. Simon Walton takes the free kick.
4:16 Corner taken right-footed by Ashley Westwood from the right by-line, clearance by Craig Hinton.
3:17 Corner taken right-footed by Ashley Westwood from the right by-line, fantastic save by Billy Lumley.
0:00 The game begins.
Live text and data provided by The Press Association.
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