PETER Brezovan looks as though he will remain a Town player for the rest of the season but, if he carries on producing Saturday's heroics, the Slovakian seems destined for higher league footballer sooner rather than later.
A brilliant double save late in the second half at Gresty Road spared the visitor's blushes as a lack of Town creation saw them pass up a golden opportunity to pick up a priceless away win.
Billy Paynter's harsh sending off on 75 minutes, for an elbow, ended any hopes of a rare win on their travels though, and by the end it was Brezovan's acrobatics that stretched their unbeaten league run to seven games.
The giant stopper has been attracting attention from other clubs with a series of top drawer displays but, as the January transfer window comes to a close, Town remain intent on keeping hold of their asset.
Chairman Andrew Fitton insisted no official bids have yet been received for the keeper but revealed they have talked money' with one club, believed to be Leeds United, and instantly laughed their valuation away.
He said: "We have said it before but we want to keep hold of our crown jewels. As I said we have not received any official bid for him but we have had enquiries.
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"We did get as far as talking money with one club but their valuation was so far off what ours is for him, we immediately told them there was no chance.
"It would take a substantial offer to prise Peter away and I would say we really don't expect him to be leaving in January."
Brezovan's afternoon did not start in such an assured manner as his casual clearance cannonned straight of Nicky Maynard and almost past him and into the net on just two minutes.
But it certainly got better from there on in, although for long spells he was largely a spectator as Town dominated the possession without ever having that killer touch.
With Moses Ashikodi and Anthony McNamee handed their first starts for the club, boss Maurice Malpas opted for a new formation - one he described as 4-3.5-2.5.
He moved Jon-Paul McGovern into a more central role, with Michael Pook starting out on the right.
McNamee's starting position was left wing but he was given license to float and support the strikers as much as he could.
McGovern's presence in the centre of the park allowed the visitors to get the ball down and control large parts of the match but perhaps the lack of two out-and-out wingers meant that width was missed.
Ashikodi also appeared to be lacking match-fitness but the Watford loanee did do enough to suggest he is going to cause some League One defenders a real problem between now and the rest of the season.
The powerful front man spurned Town's best chance all day, on just three minutes, when he raced on to Brezovan's hopeful punt but hesitated to allow Julien Baudet to produce a crucial block.
From there chances were few and far between as Town's final ball often flattered to deceive when it looked as though a woeful Crewe were there for the taking.
Not testing goalkeeper Ben Williams once, with a plethora of attacking options in the squad, was criminal from Malpas's men as they failed to turn a solid away day into an impressive one.
McGovern's 68th-minute side-footed effort from 18 yards was the closest Town got, after a lightning quick break from substitute Christian Roberts down the left, and after Paynter's dismissal they were left hanging on.
Crewe will argue the former Port Vale man's elbow definitely connected with Michael O'Connor on 75 minutes but to the neutral it looked as though referee Mr Evans had already marked his card after an earlier late challenge.
From there though the hosts finally went in search for the win but, thankfully for Town, Brezovan came into his own.
An acrobatic tip over from Byron Moore's long range strike may have been one for the cameras but from the resulting corner he brilliantly blocked Ben Rix's free header from close range.
Town fans would have left Cheshire with mixed feelings.
A point away from home has not put any major dent in their play-off aspirations but the win looked on the cards against a very poor Crewe side.
Peters been our best player for a while now,we need to bring in Cox BADLY yet no one seems to talk about it only in the comments,with less than a week to go i would hate to see us miss out on an excellent and popular signing along with others and not pit part always injured players....
Peters been our best player for a while now,we need to bring in Cox BADLY yet no one seems to talk about it only in the comments,with less than a week to go i would hate to see us miss out on an excellent and popular signing along with others and not pit part always injured players....
Posted by: Worcester Red, Worcester on 6:29pm Tue 29 Jan 08
The McGovern / Pook swith did not work. Mcgovern looked lost and Pook gave us no width drifting into the centre too often. We lacked any cutting edge up front. When Roberts came on we looked a different side but having 10 men we just couldn't get men in the box for him to hit. Peacock played well but missed our best chance with a header wide. I hope Mcgovern and Pook play in their normal positions tonight if selected.
The McGovern / Pook swith did not work. Mcgovern looked lost and Pook gave us no width drifting into the centre too often. We lacked any cutting edge up front. When Roberts came on we looked a different side but having 10 men we just couldn't get men in the box for him to hit. Peacock played well but missed our best chance with a header wide. I hope Mcgovern and Pook play in their normal positions tonight if selected.
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