Conor Thomas’ brace late in the first half helped Crewe to a 3-1 win at Salford in League Two.
Thomas put the Alex on track for victory after Kadeem Harris had scored at both ends of the field.
Salford were awarded a penalty four minutes in after a foul on Adebola Oluwo by Mickey Demetriou. Ben Woodburn’s spot-kick was struck with power but Tom Booth made a brilliant full-length save.
Crewe led following a goalmouth scramble after eight minutes, with the ball adjudged to have crossed the line after ricocheting off Salford winger Harris.
In an eventful debut for the Ammies, Harris restored parity, finding the bottom corner of Booth’s goal after being set up by Kallum Cesay.
Thomas put Crewe ahead after 41 minutes, finishing from close range following a Josh March cross.
With seconds to go before half-time Thomas netted again, tapping in after Salford goalkeeper Matty Young failed to deal with Tommi O’Reilly’s shot.
Crewe came closest to scoring after the break with an O’Reilly shot that crashed off the crossbar.
