Crewe are level on points with leaders Barnet at the top of the League Two table after the Railwaymen made it two wins from two with a 1-0 success over Northampton.
A cheeky finish from Josh March early in the second half proved decisive, but Northampton were left to rue their failure to make more of their first-half chances.
When Harvey Saunders pulled the ball back across the box, Logan Briggs did not get a clean connection on his first-time shot, which went straight at keeper Tom Booth.
Booth was tested by a long-range effort from Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, but Saunders drove wildly over from the right of the box after Briggs slipped him into space.
But the Cobblers were close to taking the lead just before the interval when full-back James Maxwell surged into the box and thrashed an effort off the near post.
Crewe had failed to offer a threat at all in the first half, but they were ahead in the 53rd minute when March capitalised on keeper Zach Jeacock's lack of awareness when rolling the ball out inside his box. The striker nipped in to finish from close range for his second goal of the campaign.
The Alex were indebted to Booth who preserved the lead when keeping out substitute Elliott List's powerful drive at the near post and then pushing away an effort from the same player bound for the far corner.
Match report supplied by PA Media.
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